Phone cons on the rise in Lusaka

By Ann Zulu

THE rising number of phone cons in Lusaka has brought so many concerns among city dwellers.

                                 counterfeit cell phones

The streets, especially the Central Business District is flooded with vendors selling counterfeit cell phones.

Kelvin Phiri, a student from Evelyn Hone College explained how his dream of owning a smart phone turned into a nightmare after he was tricked into buying a cell phone stuffed with mud from Cairo road.

“The boys who sold me a fake phone are real cons; I wanted to buy a smart phone of any kind but because the new ones are costly I chose to buy from the streets since prices are negotiable. I only realised when that I had been sold a dummy after I got to campus, I found nothing inside but mud, "he said.

Another victim Boniface Silume of Kalingalinga Township bought a Nokia C3 Phone from Freedom way and realised that the phone was dead when he got home.

“I once bought a Nokia phone from the streets, I was shown a genuine phone, so I thought they were all genuine. But when I got home and tried to charge it, the phone was not working, it was completely dead,” he said.

But the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) Public Relation Officer Hanford Chaaba has warned consumers against buying from the streets.
Mr. Chaaba said it was difficult to seek recourse in the event of falling foul to tricksters.

“We advise customers to buy from shops that give guarantees purchased goods. Many are falling prey to conmen because they want cheap goods,” he said.