A 24-year-old Kempton Park woman recently fell victim to a scam in which she was duped into handing over her handbag to a woman posing as a staff member at Foschini, East Rand Mall.
According to the victim’s father, Mpumelelo Mkandabila, what initially seemed like a routine shopping experience turned into a nightmare as the woman disappeared with her bag, leaving the victim to deal with the aftermath.
“The incident unfolded when the scammer, a woman in her late 20s or early 30s, approached my daughter inside the store. The woman was in a black uniform identical to Foschini employees and had a fake name tag, making her appear to be an official staff member.
“She offered the victim a discount on her purchases, an offer that seemed too good to miss, especially with the timing just after month-end when many shoppers are on the lookout for deals.
“Completely unaware of the scam, she handed over her handbag to the woman. In the blink of an eye, the scammer vanished into the store, never to return.”
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Mkandabila said on realising something was wrong, his daughter quickly alerted the store’s management.
“However, the response from the store was less than helpful, with management advising my daughter to cancel her bank cards and report her stolen phone to her service provider. The bag contained her cosmetics, phone, bank cards and ID, though fortunately, the scammer took no cash.”
He said a nearby shopper overheard the conversation between the victim and management.
“She interjected, revealing her daughter had fallen victim to a similar scam the day before at a nearby Edgars store. This revelation points to a troubling trend of such scams in retail outlets, particularly in high-traffic malls like this.”
Mkandabila is warning other shoppers about the growing threat.
“I want to create awareness so that others do not fall prey to these scams. I am calling on retail stores to take stronger security measures and provide clear warnings to customers, particularly women, who seem to be frequent targets of these schemes.
“This scam shows how vulnerable shoppers can be, especially when offered something that seems too good to resist. It is important to stay alert and never hand over your bag to anyone, no matter how convincing they may seem,” he added.
The victim’s father revealed they did not open a case because they believe such cases are never taken seriously.
The Boksburg Advertiser reached out for comment from the mall but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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