A woman who has been trying to sell her home online says she was shocked to discover a scammer has hijacked the listing and is now “renting” out her house.
Amanda Goliath, 50, says she advertised her Elsies River home on Property 24 and was not aware that “Naomi Carolissen” had stolen her pictures and was “renting out” her three-bedroom house.
“Last Monday a young couple who had already paid a deposit for renting the house arrived and started asking me weird questions like who I am and what I am doing here,” says Amanda.
“I told them that this is my house and that I didn’t know what they were talking about.
“They explained that they paid a R1500 deposit to Naomi so they could rent the house.”
The angry homeowner says she invited the couple inside.
According to them, Naomi had advised them to drive by the house to see it was not a scam, but they decided to investigate further.
“When they were in my lounge, they said they were definitely in the right house as they recognised my living room from the pictures Naomi sent them.
“They said they saw the advert on either Gumtree or Facebook but they were interested in viewing it first,” she explains.
“She told them they can drive past the house and see that it is the real house. At the time, my realtor had not put up a for sale sign so it worked to her advantage.”
“Naomi” had made her victims pay R1500, half of the R3000 deposit, through Shoprite.
Amanda says: “That is one of the red flags that I want people to look out for and also to prove that this was all a scam – she didn’t take the full deposit, which should be R3000.”
To catch out the skelm, Amanda asked her daughter Monique to pretend to be a potential tenant and they recorded the phone call.
In the call, she asks for a deposit, “even if it is half”, to secure the deal, and she would then collect the rest when they meet at the property.
“Naomi” then suggests that payment be made through Shoprite or the “cash send” services of a banking app.
Her excuse was: “I paid in a bit short so you have to send it that way and not into my bank account at FNB.”
Amanda says they decided not to confront Naomi: “I’m speaking to the Daily Voice so that people can be warned about this scammer who is taking advantage of poor people.”
When the Daily Voice called Naomi, she didn’t answer, and after sending her a text to ask about the scam, she blocked the reporter’s number.