Desperate job seekers have been warned not to fall for false employment offers.
A Site C woman, Buyiswa Fana, hoping to get a job as a security guard, paid R1 500 to a man who has since disappeared.
“I got his contacts via a Facebook page that advertises various jobs, and he asked me to send my CV. After that, he sent me employment forms from ’Bidvest Protea Coin Security’. I sent them back to him but no communication has come back,” said Ms Fana.
“I event went to Bidvest Protea Coin offices and they had no knowledge of such employment,” she said.
Fake job ads are circulating on Facebook and scammers are targeting desperate job seekers.
Zintle Siyolo, who runs a jobs page on Facebook for free, urged people not to pay for jobs.
“I have helped a lot of people to apply for jobs, and when they get employed they let me know through the page. I am not expecting them to a pay a cent,” said Ms Siyolo.
Vukani called the human resources office of Bidvest Protea Coin in Bellville and spoke to provincial manager, Frederick Dewitt, who said the matter would receive attention and had been escalated to in-house investigations.
“This is a pure scam, and we are advising people who experience this to report the matter to the police,” said Mr Dewitt.
SAPS provincial spokesman, Colonel André Traut, said the scams were a cause for concern, especially in the current economic climate. “Factors such as desperation or human greed are what scammers use to lure their victims into their criminal web,” said Colonel Traut.
Victims were encouraged to report incidents. Several investigations had resulted in arrests and prosecutions, he said.
The Internet Service Provider’s Association of South Africa (ISPA) says victims of online fraud should report incidents to SAPS by writing a sworn affidavit which identifies the victim and the perpetrator (if known).
The affidavit should also include a clear statement that the victim requires the matter to be investigated.
Victims of a scam should ask for the matter to be referred to the cybercrime division. They should also note the reference number (CAS) and details of the duty detective, and follow up regularly.
Alternatively, if victims do not want to report a crime, ISPA advises them to report possible online fraud or suspicious activity to incident@cybersecurityhub.gov.za