• Thief posing as BCM worker steals watch, cellphone and wallet while doing ‘inspection’
‘I fear my family will be targeted since he has my name and ID’
SARAH KINGON
A STARTLED Vincent Road resident was robbed of a cellphone, wallet and watch when a man posing as a BCM municipal worker entered her property for an “inspection” earlier this month.
Volunteer caregiver, Lezanne Kretzmann, who looks after and resides with a friend in Vincent said: “The thief said he was from BCM and had come to check our electrical connections. “He said that the government wanted to make it easier for pensioners to pay their electricity. I wasn’t aware of the danger and let him in.”
She said the man in his early 20s, arrived wearing a black, white and yellow top and tracksuit pants. He was holding a tablet, which he used to take photographs of the house. Kretzmann said he spent about two hours in the house and took down the two residents’ names and identity numbers.
“I noticed nothing amiss until the next morning, when I saw that the cellphone, watch and wallet were missing,” she said.
“I am the fool for letting him in! He was a professional con artist. After I discovered what he had stolen I felt like I had met Satan. I was angry. I had to tell myself that I must learn to forgive. I trust people too much and believe what they say. I am gullible. I fear that my family will be targeted since he has my name and ID number,” Kretzmann said.
She warned members of the public to be on the lookout for the man or others like him, and not to allow anyone suspicious to enter their property. “Never open the door when you see a municipal worker, unless they have an identifiable badge or requisition paper. I blame myself for allowing him in without thinking.”
Kretzmann has not reported the incident to police, but hopes that other residents will heed her call to be vigilant.
