News / Regional
VID conman on the loose
13 Jun 2015 at 13:03hrs | Views
A CONMAN is on the loose, targeting transporters to swindle them of cash after posing as Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) Gwanda manager.
The VID Gwanda manager, Norman Mthethwa, confirmed the worrying incidents yesterday.
He advised members of the public to be on the lookout for the trickster and not deposit any money to any account claimed to be his (Mthethwa's).
"I've received a number of reports from transporters about that issue. The problem started last year but it seems the conman has since resurfaced and this is very worrying. Therefore, I would like to advise members of the motoring public not to fall prey to any person asking for money claiming to be Mthethwa from VID," he said.
According to the transporters, the conman uses the cellphone numbers written on their trucks to trick them. They said in separate interviews, that he does not ask for big sums of money.
"He phoned me saying he was Mthethwa from VID and that he needed financial help to go for his father's funeral in his rural home. He kept phoning until I decided to deposit some money thinking that Mthethwa was having serious problems since I know him.
"I deposited $50 through an Ecocash account of the number he was using but when I later tried to phone that number, it was unreachable," said a transporter.
Mthethwa came to know about the problem from the transporters asking him if all went well at his father's funeral and whether the money deposited had been of any help.
"When I met Mthethwa in Gwanda recently, he was shocked to learn about the issue saying he knew nothing about the deposited monies," said another transporter who also deposited $50 into the conman's Ecocash account.
Some of the transporters said they did not report to the police as the monies involved were small, hence did not warrant wasting time on.
The VID Gwanda manager, Norman Mthethwa, confirmed the worrying incidents yesterday.
He advised members of the public to be on the lookout for the trickster and not deposit any money to any account claimed to be his (Mthethwa's).
"I've received a number of reports from transporters about that issue. The problem started last year but it seems the conman has since resurfaced and this is very worrying. Therefore, I would like to advise members of the motoring public not to fall prey to any person asking for money claiming to be Mthethwa from VID," he said.
According to the transporters, the conman uses the cellphone numbers written on their trucks to trick them. They said in separate interviews, that he does not ask for big sums of money.
"I deposited $50 through an Ecocash account of the number he was using but when I later tried to phone that number, it was unreachable," said a transporter.
Mthethwa came to know about the problem from the transporters asking him if all went well at his father's funeral and whether the money deposited had been of any help.
"When I met Mthethwa in Gwanda recently, he was shocked to learn about the issue saying he knew nothing about the deposited monies," said another transporter who also deposited $50 into the conman's Ecocash account.
Some of the transporters said they did not report to the police as the monies involved were small, hence did not warrant wasting time on.
Source - chronicle
