A Molepolole woman has found herself P10 000 broke after playing into the snare of con-men, giving away her ‘Motshelo’ cash to the thieves in a swiftly orchestrated scam operation.
The police revealed that the 45-year-old woman was intending to deposit more than P10, 000 cash in her Orange Money account at Shoprite Supermarket.
“The matter was reported to us last Saturday, it is reported that after the woman parked her car she was confronted by some men claiming to be police officers before convincing her to part with her money,” briefly explained Assistant Superintendent Motshwari Mokamogo.
It is alleged that immediately after the woman moved away from her car, she saw a certain man picking something next to her car and upon questioning him what he was picking the man claimed it was money.
Being suspicious that the money might have fallen from her, the woman reportedly agreed to follow the man to go behind the shop complex to count how much it was.
Unaware that it was a scam, whilst behind the complex two other men appeared, impersonating police officers and claiming to have been looking for her.
They allegedly ordered her to hand over all the money she had to them and they took out a brown envelope into which they put the money and instructed her not to open it.
Later on, after the men left when the woman opened the envelope she found only pieces of paper inside and that was when it dawned on her that she had been scammed.
ASP Mokamogo also confirmed that the previous day on Friday they received a report from an 82-year-old man alleged to have been attacked by three men who made away with his P20, 000 cash after cashing from one of the Automatic Teller Machines at Mafenyatlala mall.
The thieves reportedly snatched the hand bag that had the money and vanished, leaving the elderly man empty handed.
The police boss also advised the public to keep their money in the bank and avoid carrying large sums of money especially as the festive season approaches.