All too often, this newspaper reports on people falling for some or other false promise.
Invariably, after the story is told, it seems so obvious there should have been ample cause for caution before falling headlong into the trap.
Victims realise, too late, how they were swindled.
We do our best to issue warnings by reporting on these devious schemes, but the message just does not seem to hit home.
The Community Policing Forums also issue regular postings about con artists.
And it’s not just hard-earned cash that is being stolen from people; there is also the matter of personal safety.
An eShowe family gets stopped by what appears to be a police search operation.
They obligingly treat the imposters as the real thing and it’s not long before they are whisked off to a deserted place and left there – minus their money and valuables.
This was one instance where the ending was reasonably ‘happy’. They could just as easily have been killed, as so often happens in such situations.
We had someone ‘bumped into’ at a supermarket, and then being offered special cleansing material to get rid of any unclean spirit that might have been transferred during the encounter.
What did get removed, was plenty of cash.
Another instance sees someone being falsely informed he could multiply his money through a chemical that would turn paper into bank notes.
Again, the money disappears by sleight of hand.
Tricksters and con artists choose their victims well.
They look for the elderly, the uneducated, the naive and the gullible.
They prey on the good nature of strangers; they work in teams, using partners whose faces are those of innocent children.
Oh, and they also feed on the greedy: those who want to get rich so quickly, their eyes and ears will believe anything.
We have had people parting with tens of thousands to buy ‘gem stones’ on street corners!
And these are refined business men.
How many times must we repeat: if something looks too good to be true, it is.
It’s not just the fool and his money that are soon parted.
It’s also the greedy, the unprepared and the unwatchful.
Please, dear readers, don’t allow yourself to become a victim.
