The following was sent to Varsity by Jennifer Miller, a UCT student.

Dear Editor,

I am writing to warn Varsity readers about a conman who has been operating in the UCT area.

A short, well-dressed, middle-aged white man stopped me when I was driving along Rugby Road with a story about how he had been filming on the rugby fields and had locked himself out of his office. He asked to use my cell phone. He could not get through to the numbers he needed and so asked if he could borrow some petrol money to get to Hout Bay. When I realised I did not have any cash, he asked me to draw money from an ATM so that he could call a locksmith. He claimed to be the owner of Aca Joe and promised to give me R1000 Aca Joe voucher and the money next time he was in the Southern Suburbs. He gave me a lot of contact details, which turned out to be false, and took mine. I very stupidly gave him R300.

He is a compelling character, telling about his family and life story. He is about 5' 9", in his forties, with closely shaved white hair.

I recently met another girl who had been conned by a man telling the almost identical story. This happened at the robot at Presitge and Voortrekker roads in Maitland. A friend tells me he has been working the area for years. I am sure many others have been conned by him but, like me, have been embarrassed to admit it. I have realised, however, that this must be spoken about to prevent him from continuing.

Thinking back, I can notice the inconsistencies in his story, but he is a smooth talker, and fooled me anyway. I hope that we can prevent more UCT students from being conned.

Yours,
Jennifer Miller