MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) – The police this week urgently warned local residents against fraud scams with diamonds and emeralds and also with the so-called "black dollars." Suspects are at present operating in town with these scams.

The fraudsters approach members of the public with fake diamonds or emeralds valued at thousands of rands and offer them at almost half price. They will also produce a certificate issued by a jeweller (who does not exist) who is said to have tested the jewels and certified their high value. The potential buyer is even informed that the "jeweller" will be wiling to buy the diamonds and emerald from them at the full price. Only after having bought the emeralds and diamonds, the buyer discovers that the jeweller does not exist and that a huge amount of money was paid for pieces of glass.

In the "black dollar" scam, the suspect approaches a member of the public with information that he can physically double his money. He then produces an envelope and requests a R50 note from the member of the public. He then smears a dark liquid on the R50 note and compresses it between two similar-sized black papers which he takes from the envelope. He subsequently requests water, into which he pours some chemicals. He then washes the R50 note which, in the meantime, has also become black, together with the two other pieces of black paper. After the washing process, three R50 rand notes appear. The suspect then informs his victim that, if the latter can hand over a large amount of cash in notes, he could do the same with them. The victim is then promised his own money back, plus half of the money that is "created" by the suspect. He explains that the process may take up to 24 hours and that he will do this at home. If the victim falls for this and hands over the money, the suspect simply disappears with the cash. The catch is that the two "pieces of black paper" which he takes from the envelope, are in fact two R50 notes which he has treated beforehand.

In another variation of the "black dollar" scam, the suspect may inform his victim that he has several million U.S. dollar notes, but needs for instance R50 000 for the chemicals to wash the dollars. He will even leave the "black dollars" with his victim, but, after having received payment, he never re-appears to wash the money. Only then the victim discovers that the "black dollars" are in fact merely pieces of paper, treated to become black