There is a new trick in town used by con artists to rob members of the public of their hard earned money when buying cell phones on the street.
In a rare glimpse into the underworld of cell phone tricksters, this reporter was shown nicely chiselled pieces of glass, which are the exact size of smartphones, ranging from 5.2inc to 6.1inc in size, which are used in the smart con.
The tricksters revealed that they get glass panels then cut them up into smaller smartphone size pieces, which they then put inside phone housing and dress them up with new shatter proof glass, and then sell to unsuspecting members of the public as cell phones.
When they hit the streets they actually have real phones at hand, which are used in the “sale” where an unsuspecting buyer is given the real phone to inspect.
When satisfied with the device and it’s functionality the unsuspecting client is then told to wait for the actual device on sale as the one they would have been shown is said to be only for show purposes, with the device on sale being stored in a safe place, usually allegedly in one of the shops around the area of the sale.
When the client agrees to buy they are asked to wait in the company of one of the crooks while the other goes to supposedly fetch the correct device when in-fact the trickster would have gone to switch the devices and replace the working one with a fake one.
This usually happens around the Ximex mall area as well as the Copacabana rank. The same scheme is also used at the Mbare bus terminal where the usual targets are travellers, who are unlikely to ever see the tricksters again. The tricksters charge far cheaper prices & can negotiate downwards sharply in order to lull the unsuspecting buyer into a presumed bargain purchase.
Stay woke on these streets.