Holidaymakers allegedly duped by fake Camps Bay villa listing as agents targeted

A Camps Bay villa has been allegedly used in a scam to targeting estate agents and tourists.

A Camps Bay holiday villa has become the centre of an alleged scam in which holidaymakers have paid for accommodation advertised using its photographs, while estate agents have bee approached with altered ownership documents.

The scheme has also disrupted guests staying at the property, with agents arriving for valuations after being led to believe the villa was for sale.

Elize Sewell, owner of Camps Bay Apartments, which manages the villa, said the repeated visits were disturbing guests.

“Our guests should be relaxing, not opening the gate to strangers,” she said.

According to the villa’s management, the scheme began when people posing as wealthy buyers viewed the property with an estate agent. They claimed to own a mine in the Congo.

Management said the agent subsequently shared the owner’s private documents, including a municipal account.

The alleged scammers then altered the rates bill and company registration certificate to display their own company name, presenting the documents to estate agents as proof of ownership.

One of those involved allegedly claims to be an advocate.

Management said agents were offered a sole mandate to market the property. Once an agent expressed interest, the supposed owner requested petrol money for a brother allegedly stranded in Mpumalanga.

In one hour on the Thursday before the statement was issued on October 24, two agents arrived at the villa and at least five phoned, according to management.

Sewell said she had also received calls at all hours.

Management said a property advertised as “Mountain View Escape” on Booking.com used photographs of Lion’s View that the estate agent had shared.

According to management, at least two groups of holidaymakers, one from South Africa and another from Denmark, paid for accommodation advertised with those images.

Both groups were directed to a different address and later posted reviews describing the listing as fraudulent.

Management said the listing remained on Booking.com when its statement was issued.

“Please never send money to anyone using Lion’s View’s name. If you want to stay with us, book direct at lionsview.co.za,” Sewell said.

The matter has been reported to the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority, according to management.

Lion’s View management urged estate agents to:

It advised holidaymakers seeking to book Lion’s View to use its official website, lionsview.co.za.

For bookings made through accommodation platforms, management advised travellers to keep payments on the platform and check that the listing’s map pin matches the property’s address.

Anyone who has paid for a fraudulent listing was urged to report it to SAPS and the booking platform.