An elderly couple were conned out of R400 by a man claiming to be gay.
After taking their money, he warned them to be careful because “crooks” target the elderly.
According to Edenvale resident, Mrs Stephanie De Beer, the man approached her husband and introduced himself as Marius Roos.
“He said his partner was a doctor at Arwyp Hospital in Kempton Park,” said Mrs De Beer.
The man asked Mr Jan de Beer if he could use his phone because he had accidentally locked himself out of his house while installing new security gates.
“He said he was living adjacent to our house and had been robbed several days earlier,” said Mrs De Beer.
Marius said he needed to call his mother to bring him the spare keys to the house and Mr De Beer allowed the conman to use his phone to make a call.
“He was allegedly speaking to his mother. She was on the other side of Pretoria with his grandmother, who had suffered a stroke,” said Mrs De Beer.
“Apparently his mother could not come out and he would have to fetch the keys from her. I asked him why he did not call his partner and was told his partner was operating on a patient,” she said.
The conman then asked to lend money for petrol so that he could fetch the keys.
“My husband, who is a very kind soul, said he would assist and asked how much money he needed. Marius replied that he wanted R500,” said Mrs De Beer.
She told him they had R250 and that he could use it.
“My husband told him he had money upstairs. We gave him R400 and he gave me a hug and said he would be back later to return the money.
“He said we should be careful because crooks target old people in complexes and then he left,” said Mrs De Beer.
He never returned.
Acting spokesperson for the Edenvale SAPS, Lieutenant Colonel Robbie Roberts, warned residents to be careful of conmen operating in Edenvale.
“These people do not care about you, they only care about getting your money,” he said.
He advised residents to not open themselves and their homes to suspicious people.
“No matter how sincere these people may seem, do not trust or believe anything they say. They will say almost anything to get hold of money,” said Lt Col Roberts.
