{"id":224556,"date":"2019-11-27T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/224556\/old-criminal-modus-operandi-resurfaces-in-katlehong-north\/"},"modified":"2019-11-27T09:54:25","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T07:54:25","slug":"old-criminal-modus-operandi-resurfaces-in-katlehong-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2019\/11\/27\/old-criminal-modus-operandi-resurfaces-in-katlehong-north\/","title":{"rendered":"Katlehong North police warn of \u2018prophet\u2019 scam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Katlehong North SAPS is sending a stern warning to the community after an old modus operandi used by criminals to gain entry into residents\u2019 homes recently resurfaced.<\/p>\n<h4>ALSO READ:\u00a0<a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/223938\/police-work-hard-to-rid-the-area-of-crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Germiston police work hard to rid the area of crime<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>\u201cUnder no circumstances should you leave a stranger at your house,\u201d said Capt Lesetja Mathobela, communications officer for the Katlehong North police.<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cCriminal syndicates are allegedly visiting homes in the area, posing as prophets and\/or pastors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey reportedly tell the homeowner a story about their health problems, marriage, unemployment or winning money through gambling.<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThey then ask the resident to go to the shop to buy some candles or milk to cleanse the house of bad luck, this creates an opportunity for the suspects to be alone at the house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the resident returns they discover their valuables are missing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThough we respect our community\u2019s beliefs, we ask everyone to be careful and never leave their house alone with an unknown person.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/223948\/alleged-drug-dealers-brought-to-book-by-empd-officers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ALSO READ: Three alleged drug dealers found with drugs worth R17 500 in Katlehong<\/a><\/h4>\n<p><strong>The SAPS offered several tips to help avoid becoming a victim of this scam:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Do not allow a stranger into your house.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Do not leave a stranger at your house alone.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Do not talk to any stranger about your problems.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Avoid talking\/sharing your personal information with any unknown person.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Report any suspicious activity to your nearest police station.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Hav<\/strong><strong>e a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor)<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><strong><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/wp-admin\/germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za\">germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za,<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>Leigh Hodgson (News Editor)<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><strong><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"mailto:leighh@caxton.co.za\">leighh@caxton.co.za\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>or Ashley Kiley (Journalist)\u00a0<strong><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"mailto:ashleyk@caxton.co.za\">ashleyk@caxton.co.za.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Also follow us on:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/germistoncitynews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-210323\" src=\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2019\/07\/Facebook.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"62\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GCNnews?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-210324\" src=\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2019\/07\/Twitter.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"62\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/germistoncitynews\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-210325\" src=\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2019\/07\/Instagram.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"62\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCblgxW6BRXTLGLQvpcumLqA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-210326\" src=\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2019\/07\/youtube.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"62\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"anchor_post\" href=\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/newsletter-signup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-210327 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2019\/07\/Newsletter.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"62\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"stream-item stream-item-below-post-content\">\n<div class='tenancy_slot tenancy_slot_1 jannah_ad' style='display: none;' data-query-id='6493e10e2ce1a986fc171e7f36778f74'><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Criminals allegedly pretend to be prophets to gain access into residents\u2019 homes in Katlhong North.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1848,"featured_media":156012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hasGravity":false,"cxt_article_byline":"Content Provided ","cxt_disable_google_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,2],"tags":[1041,8297,989,1012,1003,1106,979,969,2730,999,998,2362],"class_list":["post-224556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-crime-news","category-news-headlines","tag-arrests","tag-community-2","tag-crime","tag-east-rand","tag-ekurhuleni","tag-gcn","tag-germiston","tag-germiston-city-news","tag-leigh-hodgson","tag-police","tag-saps","tag-south-africa"],"amp_enabled":true,"category_labels":{"Category":"News","SubCategory":"Crime News"},"tag_labels":["arrests","community","crime","East Rand","Ekurhuleni","GCN","germiston","germiston city news","Leigh Hodgson","police","SAPS","South 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