Pensioner falls for prepaid meter scam

Local pensioner Mr Douglas Du Plooy recently fell victim to a prepaid meter scam and was conned out of R5000.

It all happened on Monday, July 6, when Mr Du Plooy says a good-looking Indian man visited him at his home in Farquhar Road. He recalls that the man was well-spoken as he discussed installing a prepaid meter.

The con-artist explained that if he paid R5000 to install the meter, he would only need to pay R300 over 48 months for electricity. Mr Du Plooy realised it would work out cheaper and would save him a lot of money in the long run.

He says that his electricity bill comes to R1400 every month. The scam artist made such a good impression that while they were talking, Mr Du Plooy made him coffee and gave him something to eat. Mr Du Plooy noticed that the man was on his cell-phone a lot, talking to someone else and appearing to be a very competent businessman.

The young Indian man’s seemingly extensive knowledge regarding prepaid meters won Mr Du Plooy over and he agreed to install the meter. The trusting pensioner wrote a cheque for R5000 and signed the forms for the installation. The young man shook hands with Mr Du Plooy, left with the cheque and promised he would be back soon to install the meter.

About an hour later, Mr Du Plooy had a strange feeling about the whole thing and decided to go to the bank to cancel the cheque. However, when he got there, the money had already been withdrawn. It then dawned on him that he might have been scammed and immediately went to Ladysmith police station to report the incident.

Up until now, he has not seen nor heard from the Indian man again.

“I want everyone to know about this scam and to be careful, please. Intelligent crooks are behind these scams and get gullible people to fall for their smooth talk and empty promises. Before you know it, you’re in their trap,” says Mr Du Plooy.

Emnambithi/Ladysmith Municipality would like to warn the community, especially pensioners, of people who are currently posing as municipal officials from the Electricity Department.

These people call homeowners who use prepaid electricity and promise to install new prepaid meters. These meters, they say, will assist in decreasing the tariffs for pensioners so they won’t pay a lot of money on electricity.

This is a scam and should such a person arrive at your home, do not fill in any forms or give personal details.

Please contact the SAPS or the Electricity Department immediately, say the municipality.

For the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.