Woman blows whistle on jewellery scam
She said she trusted the guys because they were well-dressed.
The woman warns residents of two scammers going around the community stealing jewellery under false pretences.
A Soshanguve woman in Pretoria has blown the whistle on what could be a jewellery scam targeting residents, Pretoria East Rekord reports.
Elsie Letswalo of block F warned residents to be careful of two men who allegedly hoodwinked her into giving them her wedding ring worth more than R3 000.
She said the men were going around asking residents if they had second-hand gold jewellery.
“They knocked on my door and asked if I have secondhand gold jewellery in the house. I said no. They were insistent, asking if I did not have old earrings, necklace, bracelet or wedding ring,” explained Letswalo.
“I remembered I had an old wedding ring that was broken and needed repairs. I fetched it and gave it to them. One of them sprayed the ring with something and it changed colour and shape. He then made a call. He described the ring and asked me to speak to the person on the line.
“The person told me they were based at Soshanguve Crossing mall, and they needed to see the ring to decide how much to pay me for it. He said the man would leave mirror frames at my house while he rushed back to him to evaluate the ring. He said the man would then bring me money when he returned to fetch the frames,” Letswalo said.
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“l trusted them because they were well dressed and was the last time l saw them. They never came back. They have since disappeared with my ring,” she said.
Letswalo said she did not see the need to report the case to the police.
“I could not report them because I am the one who gave them the ring. However, I feel that I must make other residents aware of the scam in case the guys are still in the community looking for victims to defraud,” she said.
She believed the two were part of a syndicate.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Thembi Nowathe warned that scams were rampant especially during this time of the year.
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– Caxton News Service
