Couple scams people for ‘tow truck money’

A reporter was in the right place at the right time to catch the couple scamming people for money.

THE CHRONICLE was lucky to catch a scamming couple on January 20 on the Xavier off-ramp asking people for money.

An elderly lady was standing outside a Citroën C4 attempting to flag people down to stop and help while her husband sat in the driver’s seat.

A reporter drove past at about 11am and noticed the lady trying to stop people. It was evident that she was in an accident because a dent in the left passenger door could clearly be seen but no one was stopping to assist her so the reporter made a U-turn to offer assistance.

The lady claimed that she had been in an accident on Rifle Range Road when they collided with a white bakkie earlier that morning at about 8am. She claimed to be coming from South Rand Hospital and that she was going home to Vereeniging with her husband who was sitting in the vehicle.

The couple claimed that the wheel bearing was damaged and the vehicle can’t move and needed to be towed. She claimed that the tow truck driver is charging her R600 and she only had R150 so far.

She was asking for financial contributions to pay for the car to be towed.

The lady told the paper that they were worried about the car and they need to get it home. How the car got from the scene of the accident to the off-ramp remains a mystery.

She gave the reporter a contact number of the tow truck driver named *Rick. Upon further investigation, the number turned out to actually be her husband’s, who is in fact *Rick.

Accidents are common in the field of journalism and it is our duty to ask all the right questions to compile the story. The woman answered most of our questions oblivious to the fact that her story did not add up.

She claimed that no authorities (ambulances, police etc.) came to the scene of the accident because there were no injuries.

“My husband and I were fine and so was the driver of the bakkie, so there was no need for anyone to come to the scene,” she said.

She also advised that they did not report the accident because they wanted to go home and ‘freshen up to look neat’ before going to the police station to report the accident.

She then gave us her contact number which is a digit different to her husband’s and does not seem to work. When the reporter took a photo and began to leave the scene the couple sped off in their car towards Vereeniging.

The couple could be scamming people anywhere from Vereeniging to the Gold Reef City area or Alberton areas. Be aware and stay safe.

*Not real name.