An old con never dies…

A WINDHOEK resident says he recently found out the hard way that “translators belong in court, not on the street”.

Riaan Van Eden (21) says he was swindled out of N$100 in cash as well as his cellphone on Sunday afternoon, after falling for a common confidence trick on the streets of Windhoek. Van Eden was on his way to a taxi from a Windhoek shopping complex on Sunday afternoon when he was approached by a man with ‘a dilemma’.”He needed me to translate between him and another man who was standing a bit away,” he told The Namibian.The men were on their way to buy a diamond from a third person, they told him, but unfortunately they could not understand one another.”One apparently only spoke English and the other only Afrikaans,” he said.”Apparently, the Afrikaans one’s sister would have translated for them, but she didn’t show up and couldn’t be reached on her phone,” he continued.It only dawned on him later that all three men were of the same ethnic group.Asking for his help, the two promised the young man N$3 000 if he helped them complete the sale, and a further N$250 for his services as translator.”That was going to be the sister’s share, but now it would be mine,” he said.After translating between for a while, he says it soon emerged that they only had N$10 000 on them, whereas the diamond was to cost them N$20 000.They even showed him a rolled up bundle of notes, “probably fake” he remarked.The plan of action now was that the English-speaking man would return to his office at the shopping complex to collect the rest of the money he had purportedly left in a drawer.Van Eden and the other man would meanwhile go to the waiting ‘diamond dealer’ and play for time.They found the third man waiting for them about 400 metres away, and Van Eden proceeded to translate the negotiations between the two men.The third man was nervous, Van Eden said, and asked him if he was a Police officer, and whether he had a gun.After being told that the money was on its way, the man said he would allow them to take the “diamond” with them while looking for their friend with the money, who did not seem to emerge.”But he said he doesn’t know any of us, so if he was to trust us we must give him some form of compensation,” Van Eden said.This is when both men handed the ‘dealer’ their cellphones and cash.”I even thought my cellphone is worth much less than the one the other guy had, so they wouldn’t steal mine,” he said.His fellow businessman then decided it would be too risky for them to go back together, Van Eden said, as a security guard nearby was starting to look suspicious.”So he suggested I walk one way and he another, and then we would meet up on the other side of the building,” the young man said.When he reached the other side of the building, however, the other man was nowhere to be found, and he ran back to the spot where he had left the other two.”That was the last time I saw them,” he said yesterday, shaking his head.He opened the newspaper in which the ‘diamond’ had been wrapped, only to discover a piece of rock.”When I told my friends about it, they said they know of that trick.But I honestly only got to know about it after it happened to me,” he said laughing.”If I meet them now? I’ll shake their hand and tell them ‘ten out of ten’.They had me,” he said.”It just tells you one thing, translators belong in court, not on the streets,” he said.Van Eden was on his way to a taxi from a Windhoek shopping complex on Sunday afternoon when he was approached by a man with ‘a dilemma’.”He needed me to translate between him and another man who was standing a bit away,” he told The Namibian.The men were on their way to buy a diamond from a third person, they told him, but unfortunately they could not understand one another.”One apparently only spoke English and the other only Afrikaans,” he said.”Apparently, the Afrikaans one’s sister would have translated for them, but she didn’t show up and couldn’t be reached on her phone,” he continued.It only dawned on him later that all three men were of the same ethnic group.Asking for his help, the two promised the young man N$3 000 if he helped them complete the sale, and a further N$250 for his services as translator.”That was going to be the sister’s share, but now it would be mine,” he said.After translating between for a while, he says it soon emerged that they only had N$10 000 on them, whereas the diamond was to cost them N$20 000.They even showed him a rolled up bundle of notes, “probably fake” he remarked.The plan of action now was that the English-speaking man would return to his office at the shopping complex to collect the rest of the money he had purportedly left in a drawer.Van Eden and the other man would meanwhile go to the waiting ‘diamond dealer’ and play for time.They found the third man waiting for them about 400 metres away, and Van Eden proceeded to translate the negotiations between the two men. The third man was nervous, Van Eden said, and asked him if he was a Police officer, and whether he had a gun.After being told that the money was on its way, the man said he would allow them to take the “diamond” with them while looking for their friend with the money, who did not seem to emerge.”But he said he doesn’t know any of us, so if he was to trust us we must give him some form of compensation,” Van Eden said.This is when both men handed the ‘dealer’ their cellphones and cash.”I even thought my cellphone is worth much less than the one the other guy had, so they wouldn’t steal mine,” he said.His fellow businessman then decided it would be too risky for them to go back together, Van Eden said, as a security guard nearby was starting to look suspicious.”So he suggested I walk one way and he another, and then we would meet up on the other side of the building,” the young man said.When he reached the other side of the building, however, the other man was nowhere to be found, and he ran back to the spot where he had left the other two.”That was the last time I saw them,” he said yesterday, shaking his head.He opened the newspaper in which the ‘diamond’ had been wrapped, only to discover a piece of rock.”When I told my friends about it, they said they know of that trick.But I honestly only got to know about it after it happened to me,” he said laughing.”If I meet them now? I’ll shake their hand and tell them ‘ten out of ten’.They had me,” he said.”It just tells you one thing, translators belong in court, not on the streets,” he said.