HIGHVELD – The Acting Provincial Commissioner, Maj Gen Meshack Nogwanya, expressed his concern with regard to a scam that is operating in the province in which unsuspecting victims are conned out of their hard earned money.
“There is an old, but seemingly a new way of robbing people of their money that criminals continue to use.”
Many complaints have been received from people who were on the verge of becoming victims when the criminals used the same modus operandi.
The suspects, who are operating in groups, are targeting people who go to banks to withdraw huge amounts of cash, either inside the bank or at the ATM.
They stand in a queue and pretend to be clients, while they are observing people when they do the withdrawals.
When the victim leaves the bank or the ATM, they signal their accomplices who will lure the unsuspecting victim into a trap.
The suspect throws a money bag filled with newspapers that are wrapped with R100 or R200 notes on the sides, in front of the victim and then they act as though they have found the money and pretend to be a good Samaritan and ask the victim to accompany them to a secluded place to share it.
When they arrive at the place, the suspect’s accomplices emerge and rob the victim of his money that he withdrew from the bank and some of his other valuable belongings.
“Mpumalanga Police confirm that there are cases where individuals were conned of their cash through this villainous modus operandi.
“We wish to warn our community to be careful of such criminal activities and to not accompany or follow any unknown person who wants to share money that you did not earn.
“We urge the community to be vigilant at all times,” said Maj Gen Nogwanya.
