City lists the five scams most often targeting Cape Town residents

The City of Cape Town has published a list of the five scams it says are hurting residents most, and is urging people to stop and verify before paying anyone.

The first is a WhatsApp message claiming your water or electricity account is in arrears and threatening disconnection unless you pay straight away. According to the City, disconnection warnings are never sent over WhatsApp or social media. The other four are offers of state-subsidised housing in return for money, demands to pay supposed traffic fines by SMS, email or WhatsApp, requests to pay parking fees to someone who is not an official marshal, and fake job offers spread on WhatsApp or flyers.

According to the City, there is no fee to be placed on the Housing Needs Register, and it does not charge for job opportunities. Parking is paid only to authorised marshals at the time of parking. Residents should use official City payment channels and never personal bank accounts.

The City lists its call centre as 0860 103 089. Anyone who has been targeted can also report it at the nearest police station.

Sources

Written by TheCapeTownHub in our own words from the reports below. Read the originals for the full story.

• City of Cape Town (main source)
• iol.co.za
• capetownetc.com