Watch out for sapphire scam

Businessman Gavin Reniers was almost a victim of a sapphire scam. He owns an IT company and he was approached by two men who said they needed a supplier and assistance with computers, cellphones and CCTV technology. He later met up with the men in Milpark for a meeting. During the meeting he was asked to pose as a buyer for two sapphire stones. “I went along with it because I was curious,” he said. “I was asked to meet with their supplier to pose as a buyer so that the supplier and their supposed buyer would not meet.” He said he agreed to play along after he met with the supplier in Morningside. “He told me that he was looking to sell the six sapphire raw stones he had on him. The two men said that they wanted to test the stones first but were given only two,” he explained. Reniers went to Killarney Mall with the men to meet the real buyer. He said, “At this point I was getting suspicious but I went along with it anyway.” When they met the buyer he said he’d be willing to pay R380 000 for the two stones but wanted the other four stones as well. “We then left to meet the supplier to get the other stones as requested by the real buyer. The supplier said he needed a deposit or the full amount of R210 000 to release the stones. “The two men said they did not have enough money with them and since I was posing as the buyer, I guessed that I was going to be approached to take out the deposit,” said Reniers. That is when he decided to stop the deal. He said the men were smooth talkers but the whole time he had his doubts. “The moment you have to pay money to get money, you must know it is a scam. I left before they even had a chance to request that I give money,” added Reniers. Captain Kym Cloete, spokesperson of the Sandton police said 18 months ago the police busted suspects operating in an emerald scam and no incident had been reported about a sapphire scam in the area. Reniers said, “This is just a warning to other business owners in the area to look out for these scam artists and not fall victim to their trap.” He said he tried to contact the two men at a later stage but their numbers were no longer in operation.