Woman loses R15 000 in lockdown cigarette scam

A 56-year-old woman from Brakpan, Gauteng, lost R15 000 recently when she and her friend were scammed by a man pretending to be selling cigarettes.

With the ban on buying and selling cigarettes and tobacco products still in place, smokers are becoming increasingly desperate to get their fix.

There are villains out there using this to their advantage, police warned.

The woman was at her friend’s house when a man “with a lot of gold in his teeth” said he was giving away free masks, reported Brakpan Herald.

She said: “We got talking and he indicated that he could get cigarettes for a very reasonable price.

“I don’t smoke myself, but my friends and family who do smoke are very desperate.

“I immediately started taking orders and collecting money from everyone.

“The man said he would only take a large order, so I received about R15 000 from people who wanted cigarettes.

“My friend added another R600.

“The man later returned to the house and we went inside to count the money.

“At that point, two women arrived and spoke to the other people in the house.

“When I think back, the man tried to confuse me, because he put the money in brown envelopes and then took it out again and counted it again.

“He also talked all the time. At one point, he left the envelopes on the table and said he was going out to fetch the cigarettes.

“He walked down the road to a white vehicle parked a distance from the house.”

The two women also disappeared from the house, leaving her already suspecting the man might not have the cigarettes.

“It was then that I returned to the house and saw that there was nothing but pieces of newspaper in the envelopes.”

She had to take out a loan to repay everyone following the ordeal.

“I realise that what I did was wrong, but I still feel that the public should be warned against the man.

“In the meantime, I learned that he had tried it with other people as well,” the woman said.

Lieutenant-Colonel Peet van der Schyff said that the woman had indeed broken the law.

“The buying or selling of cigarettes and tobacco products is still prohibited.

“Persons who are guilty of it can be criminally prosecuted.

“There are people out there who are spoiling the situation and the public should be alert,” Van der Schyff warned.

– Caxton News Service

The man said he would only take a large order