Woman steals estate agent’s purse, goes on shopping spree

A LA Lucia estate agent is outraged after a woman allegedly posed as a potential home buyer, stole her purse, and then went on a shopping spree using the agent’s cards. What’s more, the alleged thief was captured on CCTV footage at three different outlets just hours after viewing the home in uMhlanga. Samantha Baldwin said the woman had allegedly spent more than R5 900 in the spree.

Baldwin alleges that the woman bought R3 203 worth of items from Edgars at Gateway on credit, before filling her tank up at Caltex Gateway for R511. The estate agent added the woman then went to Flanders Mall in Mt Edgecombe and bought R2 258 worth of items from Woolworths using store cards.

The uMhlanga home owner then reported that her Chanel perfurme worth R2 500, was missing.  The veteran estate agent added that there was also an attempt to withdraw R2 000 from her bank account but this failed.

“I was showing a home in uMhlanga when the woman showed up saying she was interested in the house. She told me a story of how her brother had died and they needed to find a home for herself and her sister-in-law. She got quite emotional and I felt so bad for her.  I offered to make her a cup of coffee. She talked to me for an hour and even pretended she was going to find her husband who was in the area.

“I only realised my purse was missing when I received text messages saying I had spent R5 900 at three different outlets. I began to panic and that’s when I noticed my purse had been stolen. I’ve been an estate agent for 16 years and I’ve never had anything stolen from a home on show nor myself. I’m furious that someone has violated my personal belongings like this. After visiting all the stores, I saw signature had been forged and CCTV footaage shows someone pretending to be me at each store,” she said.

Baldwin has opened a case of fraud at the Durban North SAPS.