Corlia Kruger
The age of the internet has made it all too easy for fraudsters to make a quick buck.
A woman recently fell victim to a swindler who advertised a house to let online, then demanded a deposit before taking the house hunter to view the home.
Lorrinda Snyman came across the perfect home in Waverley for her family.
The advertisement screamed “three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a guest toilet, three well-sized living areas and a pool on a large yard”, yet the low price seemed too good to be true.
Snyman contacted the number advertised and spoke to a man who told her he was the owner of the house.
“As soon as I told him I was interested, he told me of the many other interested parties – pushing me to pay the deposit,” Snyman said.
Snyman said the man kept regular contact.
The man had his ‘lawyer’ draw up a contract.
“It all seemed legitimate, until I paid the deposit,” said Snyman.
The swindler broke contact and disappeared.
“I spoke to neighbours [of the house for rent] who said it was not the first time this had happened and that the man who scammed me was not the owner of the house.”
A case of fraud was opened at the Villieria police station and transferred to Silverton police station for investigation.
The past week another prospective buyer was almost scammed.
The ‘owner’ of a house in Faerie Glen put out an advert for a fairly-priced family home.
“He wanted the deposit first to ‘secure’ the place and then we could meet so he could show me the house,” the anonymous Pretoria East resident told Rekord. “I have seen a post about this exact same thing on Facebook… warning about this scam.”
The resident said the man could not provide proof of ownership or any identification documents, so the deal fell through.
Prospective buyers are warned to watch out for these scams.
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