IT HAS recently been reported that a scam, involving counterfeit top of the range cameras and watches, is being operated in the Algarve.
At first, it appears to be a good deal – a top specification camera for just 300 euros plus two complimentary quality watches. Only later, the buyer realises that the goods are just plastic imitations.
Various people have apparently fallen for the scam, many of them too embarrassed to report the incident. The con is reportedly being carried out by street vendors, a situation which makes it more difficult to trace the perpetrators. There have been some victims of the scam, who have haggled with the sellers, managing to obtain a discounted price. In the case of elderly couple, António Barrenha and Maria Reis from Portimão, they managed to buy two of the phoney cameras for the ‘special price’ of 250 euros.
The last known case is said to have occurred last Friday in Algoz. The victim alleges that two men and a woman pressured her into signing a cheque for 300 euros, in return for which she received a worthless camera and two watches.
