We finally found the source of a story going around about one very lucky victim of crime.

According to a post by John Minnaar (name changed for privacy reasons) on the free neighbourhood community platform OurHood, the story began as this guy was leaving Aces ‘n Spades in Cape Town CBD a few months ago.

What happened next may sound somewhat familiar, because John isn’t the only person to have fallen victim to this particular crime.

We got in touch with John to get the full story and here’s what happened…

It was pretty late and his phone was flat, so he couldn’t summon an Uber to take him home.

After walking outside the club, he was offered a ride by a smartly dressed gentleman, in a clean, new, Toyota Corolla. They haggled a bit on a price for a lift to Green Point and settled on a figure of R50.

Off they went, onto Buitengracht street and then up Strand, ostensibly to turn right again, down toward Somerset road. But the driver didn’t turn right after that – he turned left, into Rose Street.

According to John, his heart sank at this point, as he asked the driver why he had chosen to make the incorrect turn. The driver apologised and said, “this was not my idea.”

Just as the now genuinely grave situation dawned on John, the car stopped and a bigger guy got in and sat next to him.

They started driving again, as John handed over his watch, phone and wallet. He made a point of not looking either man in the eyes. The new guy asked for his bank card pin as they carried on driving around town.

We’ve all heard so many stories that start like this and end up very badly, with death being a very real possibility. That is probably why John pleaded with his kidnappers, justifying that he hadn’t seen their faces. They had got what they wanted, and he assured them the pin code he had provided was correct.

That’s when the impossible happened. They opened the door and let him out. John managed to get to safety, notified the police, and got a lift home.

It is incredibly fortunate that this story ended this way. It could have so easily ended in a loss of life.

We got in touch with OurHood MD, David Bonellie, who had this to say:

“It seems as though syndicates or operatives have key areas that they target in various neighbourhoods around SA. We receive a number of messages from different neighbourhood associations who use the platform to share insights with local communities about the dangers in their specific areas. It’s no doubt a huge issue at the moment.”

The golden rule here is to only travel with reliable, genuine operators like Uber. If your phone is flat and you can’t call an Uber, then perhaps try and catch a lift with someone else, or make sure you’re using a reputable taxi service with a name that you recognise.

Most importantly, make sure your neighbourhood is talking and sharing information. OurHood lets you choose what notifications you want to receive. Sign up here, or download the app from the app store for Android and iOS.