The receptionist, Gerda de Jager said the two women entered the building pretending to be interested in making an appointment. “The one lady asked all the right questions and while I was busy attending to her, the other lady stole my cellphone by leaning over the counter,” explained De Jager.
“You can clearly see from the video footage how the first lady moved further up the counter so that I would not be able to see what the other lady was doing.”
De Jager said the woman who was setting up the fake appointment gave her false details. “The name she gave me for an appointment for her son was Greg Hadebe,” she added. “When we tried to contact the number she gave me, the number kept going to voicemail. I’m not sure if the police will be able to trace the number and find the owner of that cellphone.”
She said she had opened a case of theft with the Randburg police and had not heard from them regarding the progress of the case. “We have their faces on camera and a cellphone number that they can try to trace, I’m sure something can be done,” added De Jager.
De Jager said she expected not to get her cellphone back. “What I need is to get those two ladies’ faces out there to warn other people to be on the lookout as they will certainly be targeting other businesses in the Sandton area.”
No comment was received from the Randburg police in time for publication.
Watch this video of two women who walked into a business building in Hurlingham and stole the receptionist’s cellphone from her desk:
