A Delft ouma has been left penniless for Christmas after fake cops scammed her out of her Sassa money at a local mall.
Elizabeth van der Horst, 59, says she is still in shock after the bogus detectives took her to the back of the mall and took her disability grant after accusing her of a crime.
Elizabeth says on Thursday morning she went to Shoprite at Delft Mall to draw her welfare money and to shop for her family when she was approached by a man with an envelope full of money.
“He came to me and told me he picked up the money and I told him it’s his geluk because the pension money we get is very little,” she says.
“He told me he wanted to go count it and he said I must go with him and he will give me half. I said no, but he asked me to walk with him and so I agreed.”
Video: Monique Duval/Daily Voice
The elderly woman says she was confused but nevertheless went with the man outside.
However, she got a helse skrik when a white Toyota pulled up with two “detectives” inside.
“They told me they saw me with him on the cameras and made me get in the car.
“I told them I was not with him and had my own money and they asked to see it.
PAPER: Scammers gave ou vrou an envelope full of snipped koerante. Photo: Monique Duval/Daily Voice
“The policeman took the R1700 and put it in an envelope and wrote a case number and my ID number on it and gave it back to me.
“When I got back to Shoprite, I opened the envelope and saw it was full of cut up newspapers.”
Elizabeth reported the matter at Delft Police Station, but her relatives say cops were slapgat and they went to the mall themselves to view the CCTV footage, in which the man can be clearly identified, but now they are waiting on police to take action.
“It’s not right, they took all my grant money saying they were cops. Now we must rely on my husband’s grant money and it’s Christmas,” a hartseer Elizabeth says.
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana, confirms police are investigating a robbery case and urged people to remain vigilant and report such incidents to police immediately.
SCENE: Three conmen scammed woman of her Sassa grant at Delft Mall
In a similar case last year, two bogus cops were arrested by a wakker security manager at Parow Mall.
They allegedly followed shoppers from ATMs and banks and then approached them by dropping money and asking them to pick it up.
If the person takes the money, they claim to be police officers and tell the shopper they are being arrested.
The shopper is then taken to a secluded part of the mall or outside where they “check” the money and skelmpies swop the shopper’s own money with a brown envelope full of cut-up newspapers.