RENTAL agencies are on the lookout for a scam artist whose boss’ name and work address are literally ‘out of this world’.
The alert was shared with the Zululand Observer last week by Simon Bosman, whose agent had advertised his flat available for rent.
‘A gentleman, whose ID document was obtained, responded, wanting to lease it and pay six months rental up front.
‘His account showed he had the necessary funds and this was confirmed with his bank.
‘He did a transfer of the amount owed, but nothing showed in our bank account.
‘The next day it was picked up that he had sent it to a different bank account, with an account number similar to ours – but it was in fact his own account,’ said Bosman.
‘Under normal circumstances, had we not picked up the discrepancy, we would have given him the keys to the property after seeing proof of payment.
‘And as we all know, once a person is on the property, it is extremely difficult to get him out, with new laws that protect the consumer.’
Bosman was quick to share the scam with other estate agencies, one of who confirmed the man had presented himself to an agent as ‘Doctor’.
But of added irritation was the additional information on his tenant application document, where he listed his employer’s name as ‘The Lord Jesus Christ’ located at address ‘Heaven’ and period of employment as ‘Everlasting’.
‘It adds insult to injury that even as he is intending to commit an illegal act, he is blasphemously using God’s name,’ said Bosman.
He was further irritated by the fact that when he took the matter to the police station, he was informed they could do nothing to the suspect as Bosman had ‘prevented fraud from being committed’.
