The funny season is here. This means scammers are pulling out all the stops to con South Africans out of their hard-earned money.
In Cape Town, electricity scams have recently seen an upward tick, much to the consternation of residents.
Here’s everything you need to know about these particular scams:
ELECTRICITY SCAMS: CITY OF CAPE TOWN ISSUES WARNING
In a statement released earlier this week, the City of Cape Town’s Energy Directorate said that individuals were posing as City officials for the purposes of these scams.
Alderman Xanthea Limberg, the Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, explained:
We recently became aware of an incident in the metro’s northern suburbs of a resident receiving a WhatsApp message stating that their electricity would be disconnected due to municipal account arrears. This happens in suburbs across Cape Town.
The scammers, fraudsters wanting to pocket a little extra cash this festive season, typically request urgent payment to be made to avoid service disconnection.
BE WARY OF THESE SCAM MESSAGES
Limberg urged Capetonians to exercise caution when receiving such messages supposedly from the City of Cape Town. She advised that they immediately verify them:
Cape Town residents are advised to be vigilant and to always pause and verify the message. We remind residents that the City does not notify residents of service disconnections via WhatsApp or any other social media platform, and no City official may request payment.
What’s more, payments that are made to the City must be made via official channels. These include making electronic payments utilising the details on your monthly municipal account or in person at a Customer Interaction Office.
TAKE PRECAUTIONS AGAINST ELECTRICITY SCAMS
This is one of the many elaborate scams that con artists are implementing during the festive season. As such, you need to be incredibly vigilant.
Should staff members or contractors who work for the City of Cape Town visit your area or have a scheduled appointment with you, they must be in possession of an identification card that clearly shows the City logo, their full name and an embedded photo.
For further verification, or if you’re just not entirely sure about the person’s credentials, you are urged to contact the City’s Call Centre at 0860 103 089.
To report any suspicious activity, you can call the City’s fraud hotline at 0800 32 31 30. Alternatively, you can email them at fraud.hotline@capetown.gov.za.
If you do encounter or fall victim to these scams, you are strongly encouraged to report them to your nearest police station.
