Three Men Assaulted in Verulam After Scamming Buyers With Broken Tiles Sold as Phones

There was drama in Verulam CBD, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, after three men were caught running a shocking scam. They were beaten by community members after being exposed for selling broken tiles disguised as expensive smartphones.

According to reports, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) responded at around 3:02 p.m. to a distress call about a mob attacking three suspects on Moss Street.

Investigations revealed that the men had been approaching unsuspecting buyers, pretending to sell the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. To win trust, they would first show an authentic device, convincing the victims that they were selling it urgently for a cheaper price.

Once the deal was done, the scammers handed over a sealed Samsung Galaxy S24 box with the phone carefully wrapped in toilet paper. But when the victims opened it later, they found nothing but a piece of broken tile inside.

The fraud came to light when an elderly man lost R100 and another buyer was duped out of R500. Outraged, the victims raised an alarm, and the crowd quickly cornered the suspects.

During the confrontation, a bag was recovered containing two more fake phone boxes stuffed with broken tiles. The scammers eventually returned the stolen money to the victims before being handed over to authorities.