It’s that time of year again when scammers and other crooks try their damnedest to relieve people of the hard-earned cash they have squirrelled away over the months for their annual holidays and festive season celebrations.
In one of our articles today, we share the heartbreak of several people in Gqeberha, Jeffreys Bay, the Free State and Gauteng who are facing a bleak Christmas after losing thousands of rand in an alleged pyramid scheme promoted by a popular clown.
In another, we report on two Dutch visitors to the city who were duped out of thousands after using a fake ATM machine installed on the beachfront by wily criminals.
Many of the investors in the alleged pyramid scheme have found themselves in a deep financial hole after the website shut down suddenly last week and the administrator seemingly vanished.
Consequently, some have seen their December holiday plans go up in smoke and others are unable to pay their accounts and risk losing assets such as their vehicles.
Police are investigating four cases of fraud at this stage, but no doubt there are more.
Though the clown, Pieter Vorster, better known as Ollie the Singing Clown, says he is also a victim — which will ultimately be determined by the police investigation — the investors were directed to a website via a referral link on his page and he kept them updated daily and asked for screenshots after each deposit to ensure everything was on track.
After the website went down, he placed a “scam” sticker across his referral link, and a message confirming that it was a scam.
The stories of the victims all have a similar theme, with most investing small amounts initially to test the waters before progressively investing more.
While in some cases the victims managed to withdraw at least some of their money before things went to hell in a handbasket, others lost everything.
A Gqeberha man who started a small T-shirt business and hoped the money he’d invested would ease the financial strain he was under, said: “This was supposed to be my way out, but now this is ruining me. I don’t know where to turn.”
This should be a cautionary tale for those considering investing in schemes offering massive returns.
The adage, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is”, are words that should always be borne in mind when unbelievably profitable schemes pop up.
HeraldLIVE
A cautionary tale for investors tempted by get-rich-quick schemes
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Image: FACEBOOK
It’s that time of year again when scammers and other crooks try their damnedest to relieve people of the hard-earned cash they have squirrelled away over the months for their annual holidays and festive season celebrations.
In one of our articles today, we share the heartbreak of several people in Gqeberha, Jeffreys Bay, the Free State and Gauteng who are facing a bleak Christmas after losing thousands of rand in an alleged pyramid scheme promoted by a popular clown.
In another, we report on two Dutch visitors to the city who were duped out of thousands after using a fake ATM machine installed on the beachfront by wily criminals.
Many of the investors in the alleged pyramid scheme have found themselves in a deep financial hole after the website shut down suddenly last week and the administrator seemingly vanished.
Consequently, some have seen their December holiday plans go up in smoke and others are unable to pay their accounts and risk losing assets such as their vehicles.
Police are investigating four cases of fraud at this stage, but no doubt there are more.
Though the clown, Pieter Vorster, better known as Ollie the Singing Clown, says he is also a victim — which will ultimately be determined by the police investigation — the investors were directed to a website via a referral link on his page and he kept them updated daily and asked for screenshots after each deposit to ensure everything was on track.
After the website went down, he placed a “scam” sticker across his referral link, and a message confirming that it was a scam.
The stories of the victims all have a similar theme, with most investing small amounts initially to test the waters before progressively investing more.
While in some cases the victims managed to withdraw at least some of their money before things went to hell in a handbasket, others lost everything.
A Gqeberha man who started a small T-shirt business and hoped the money he’d invested would ease the financial strain he was under, said: “This was supposed to be my way out, but now this is ruining me. I don’t know where to turn.”
This should be a cautionary tale for those considering investing in schemes offering massive returns.
The adage, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is”, are words that should always be borne in mind when unbelievably profitable schemes pop up.
HeraldLIVE
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