A SUSPECTED scam artist was caught on CCTV footage during two recent counterfeit money-scamming incidents in Glenashley. The suspect is a ‘well-built’ male. He is bald and has a mustache and a goatee.
He was caught on camera entering the Wimpy Glenashley restaurant at Almil Cente on Ashley Avenue on Wednesday, placing a take-away order and paying for it with a fake note, said Tyron Powell of Marshall Security.
The suspect then headed to one of the other restaurants in the same centre where he also attempted to use a fake R100 note. However, his plans were thwarted when the shop’s money scanner detected that the cash was fake, and the staff refused to accept the note.
At the same time, an accomplice of the suspect pulled the same scam at the centre’s pharmacy. He also used a R100 note, which had the same serial number as the money used at the Wimpy (DJ 7316654D), to make a purchase.
According to Powell, the counterfeit money has no watermark or any other significant features, but the quality of the paper is distinctly different from real notes.
The suspects were seen fleeing the scene in a white single-cab Isuzu bakkie before the scam was detected.
A case has been opened at the Durban North SAPS.
