A woman has been arrested after she allegedly scammed people by pretending to be a sales agent.
Image: RDNE Stock Project/Pexels
A woman, who allegedly scammed people out of monies by pretending to be an estate agent, has been arrested.
Kyle van Reenen of Ensure Security, said the woman was apprehended by security in Morningside on Monday evening.
"The woman had been renting an Airbnb in Florida Road, which she then advertised the various units she rented on Facebook Marketplace for lease.
"The suspect would then book viewings for potential tenants under the pretence of being a licensed estate agent showing them the unit as up for rent at the end of a period once the current tenants had moved out," he said.
Van Reenen said people interested in the property were asked to pay a deposit in order to secure it - and after making payments, they could not get hold of the woman.
"A description of the suspect was made available to Ensure Security and our Central Command (CENTCOM) identified a female matching the suspect's description, entering the building with a client," van Reenen said.
Through facial recognition technology, Ensure was able to obtain photographs of the woman.
"Together with the South African Police Services, Ensure Security's Tactical Intervention Unit confronted the suspect in her rental apartment, where she admitted to being the lady in the footage," van Reenen said.
The woman was handed over to police for further investigation and processing.
In 2023, a Free State woman was jailed after he convicted of fraud, money laundering and contravention of the Estate Agency Affair Act and Prevent of Organised Crime Act.
Sabata Israel Papane posed as a real estate agent and scammed a victim out of R100,000 by "selling" a house that she did not own.
seanne.rall@iol.co.za
IOL
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