Warning: fake prophets target students
Over five students have already been mugged by the prophets.
Residents, especially students, should be wary of criminals posing as prophets, Ga-Rankuwa police have warned.
“Over five students have already been mugged by these prophets,” said police spokesperson Captain Matthews Nkoadi.
Also read: Be careful of bogus prophets
Nkoadi said all the cases had the same modus operandi.
He said the prophets usually operated in groups of two men and one woman.
“They target students from the Tshwane University Technology.”
Nkoadi said the “prophets” stopped the unsuspecting victim, lured them to a spot and then robbed them of their belongings, including laptops, cellphones and money.
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“They pretend to pray for you. While the victim is still focusing on the prayer, they run away with the belongings,” he said.
Police also warned residents to be careful of fraudsters targeting unemployed people.
“It has come to the attention of the Tshwane North cluster police that criminals have developed a trend to rob unemployed people,” said Nkoadi.
He said over a dozen unemployed people had already fallen prey to the criminals.
“They (criminals) apparently advertise vacant jobs on social media and at places like George Mukhari hospital, Coca-Cola and Nissan,” said Nkoadi.
Also read: Charges against ‘snake prophet’ withdrawn
“They then ask the job seekers to deposit a certain amount of money. That is the last time the job seekers ever hear from them.”
“We are pleading with residents to try to avoid these scams by all means.”
Anyone with information regarding the scams can contact Crime Stop on 086-061-0111 or SMS Crime line on 32211.
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