It has been established that scammers are preying on residents and allegedly scam them of their groceries.
According to the Linden Police Station, the observed scam involves special store discount offers. A neatly dressed woman, wearing black and carrying a clipboard, approaches customers while shopping. She then offers them a special in-store discount on the spot and congratulates the customer. Later an assistant joins her, and they offer to park a customer’s trolley with already paid-for shopping in it, at the door while they explain to the customer how the discounts works. They will then allegedly claim that the store manager will make the ultimate call, but it is better for the customer to look like he/she needs a discount. They suggest that a customer place their watch, rings and phone in their handbag.
“Once you are on the way to the manager’s office, they grab your bag and run. You then find out that your trolley has also disappeared,” explained Linden Police Station spokesperson Constable Takalani Sibiya.
She said the scam was established at shopping centres in Ferndale.
Police warned residents to not forget that criminals can be nice and kind. Please report all suspicious activity immediately to your security provider and SAPS on 10111.
