Fake gemstone scam back in Durban
Ferdie says he came close to being scammed out of R25 000 in Durban on
Thursday by four men pretending to be traders of Tanzanite stones.
They asked for a meeting to help them with construction projects which they were going to award to Ferdie's company. Once there they began trying to reel him in on the gemstone side. They had their whole story so well set up that they even took him to a gemstone expert who “verified” that the stones were legit and that he is willing to pay R550 000 for them. The seller was eager to let the stones go for R250 000 and wanted Ferdie to become a business partner, buying in with a first payment of R25 000. He was reluctant, called his wife and she did some digging online and discovered it was a big, fat con. This scam has been around for many, many years and obviously catches some people or it wouldn't still be going. Please do not fall for it.
Check your bank statements
Finally, please always check your bank statements to ensure that any debits are authorised by you. One listener received an SMS that a debit transaction was taking place on her back account. Upon enquiring with the bank, it was found that a company had placed the debit order although the account holder allegedly had no knowledge of this. The transaction was reversed by the bank and a phone number of the company was given. However the account holder failed to get through to the company to enquire about the transaction. E-mail your alerts to [email protected]. Follow us on Facebook.