A woman has been left without furniture and lost R3 500 after she recently responded to an advert placed in a newspaper about a business that was offering upholstery services to the public.
A woman from Rooihuiskraal North, whose identity is known, told Rekord that she is scared the alleged culprit may scam other people and that she wanted to warn them about newspaper and other forms of advertisements as most people who claim to be in those businesses always use it as a money-making scheme.
“When I saw the advert, I immediately called the person as I have been looking for someone who could give my lounge suite and two other couches a face lift as I have just moved into a new apartment. The culprit responded and gave me his contact details including the business address. The man offered to come to my house to fetch the lounge suite and the two couches to go and revamp them. I then transferred an amount of R3 500 into his bank account and he promised to return my furniture in a few days. I have been trying to call him for weeks now and the number is on voice mail,” she explained.
Rekord also tried to contact the number of the alleged con artist and it was on voice mail.
According to the complainant, the man claimed to be operating in Lyttelton on Selbourne Avenue and that she deposited the money when he requested her to do so the day he came to fetch the furniture.
“I just wanted to caution the people to be careful, especially with regard to newspaper advertisements of this nature. People are fraudsters and they would use any method to milk others. What worries me the most, is that I have opened a case of theft and fraud at the Wierdabrug police station but have not been given a case number and this is delaying the investigation.”
Police spokesperson, Captain Agnes Huma, said the public should always watch out for fraudsters and make sure that when they deposit money into an account that they have verified the contact details of the recipient and checked if the business is a valid one.
She added that residents should take down all the business owner’s personal details and request the ID of the owner to protect themselves against such fraud.
Huma also advised the complainant to go back to the police station to verify if the number she gave the police when she opened the case was the correct one in order for the investigation to commence.
