A woman was almost robbed by bogus police in Silverton on Tuesday morning.
Cynthia Tredoux (69) was walking along Pretoria Road when two men in a VW Polo Vivo without a registration number approached her.
“They flashed fake SAPS IDs, but I know very well what a police IDs should look like.
“They told me about a roadblock further down the road,” she said.
Tredoux said one of the men made it seem like they were searching for two women who had shot and killed four people and stole R387 000.
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“They told me one of the women was wearing a purple top, of which I was.”
Uneasy, Tredoux said she started walking towards a car dealership nearby.
She said her suspicion grew when she realised the men had targeted her from a distance.
“I slowly moved back towards a car dealership where two salesmen who know me very well were watching.”
She said the men pursued her even at the dealership.
“They were not deterred. They asked me if I was at the bank and whether I was carrying money with me. I shouted and said: ‘listen, I have already speed-dialled the police, so you better make sure of your identity with the SAPS’.
“They drove off at a tremendous speed in the car with no registration,” she said.
According to Tredoux, the salesmen had previously seen the same cop-playing men rob two people of Asian descent.
Tredoux warned residents to be vigilant.
“Sadly others fall for their stories so easily and end up being robbed. What I will do is carry pepper spray with me in future, that’s for sure,” she said.
The Silverton police were not immediately available for comment, however, Garsfontein police spokesperson Captain Ilze Jones said residents could call the police to verify the identity of anyone who claimed to be a police officer.
Jones said if motorists suspected that the police stopping them were bogus, they should find the nearest public place to stop at or drive to the nearest police station.
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“In a case where police are investigating a crime, they should show their badges, give their names and they will explain what the investigation is about.
“Members of the public that were suspected of a crime can ask the officers to question them at a more official place like the police station,” she explained.
Jones said elderly women were often targets of such scams.
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