Businesses and companies in Northern Natal selling cutting machines and lawn mowers need to beware the approach of the Silly Season. Two local businessmen, Trevor Douthway (of Friedman Cup fame) and Johan Schlebusch, of Construction and Cutting Machines Newcastle and Dundee Lawnmowers respectively, almost fell victim to fraudulent transactions of many thousands of rands.
A man who called himself Roy Naidoo, purportedly from 31 Leonard Road, Bombay Heights, Pietermaritzburg, phoned both these businesses and ordered up to R70 000.00 worth of brush cutters and similar machines from Newcastle Construction and Cutting Machines.

The company employees were instructed to hold the transaction back for seven working days, until the money had been cleared. Mr Naidoo and his accomplices showed up with a falsified proof of payment from an electronic funds transfer, but Trevor was adamant that they had to wait until the transaction cleared from the bank. The buyers then disappeared, but Mr. Naidoo tried his luck again, with a similar company called Mighty Mow, which belonged to Trevor Douthway as well, and tried a similar transaction under the same name. This transaction failed immediately when Mr. Naidoo realised that he was speaking to the same people that caught him out previously.

They then seemed to have moved their operations to Dundee, where they targeted Dundee Lawn Mowers of Johan Schlebusch. Naidoo ordered almost R60 000.00 of lawn mowers, brush cutters and generators, produced the same fraudulent proof of payment, and sent a driver to pick the merchandise up from Johan Schlebush.

 He kept calling to ask if the funds had appeared in the shop’s bank account, which it hadn’t, and then Johan Schlebusch realised this was a scam.
Naidoo was kept on the line for a few days to get the police involved, but they did not maanage to snare him. Both these businesses managed to ward off the fraudulent action, and have since issued an appeal to other like businesses in Northern Natal to be on the lookout for Mr Naidoo and his driver in the white Izuzu bakkie.
Do not release any merchandise until the transaction had cleared through the banks. Be careful and aware and do not get scammed….!