Another municipal scammer on the prowl in Mogale

With growing socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, job losses, debt and other impacting factors being the order of the day, criminals will always raise their ugly heads to try to find a way to exploit innocent members of the public.

According to Mogale City’s communications officer Adrian Amod, scammers are using the name of Mogale City to con people.

“In a recent scam targeting clients who are in debt, a gentleman going by the name Ishmael is approaching municipal customers with the false promise of settling their municipal debt at a lower fee than what’s owed to the municipality,” Amod said.

Amod added that members of the public are urged to note that, as a government entity and for the protection of their clients, the municipality uses official platforms with verifiable contact details for client communication such as municipal statements, their website and SMS messaging.

• Also read: Beware of Mr Khan, an impostor claiming to be a municipal official

“Furthermore, no payment arrangements, discussions or even actual payment requests are made through individuals who promise to reduce any personal or business municipal debt. To avoid being scammed, we encourage customers to always verify the authenticity of individuals, companies who could pose as municipal service providers or any platforms of communication,” Amod stated.

To verify the authenticity, you can contact the municipality using any of the following platforms:

• Municipal switchboard on 011 951 2000
• WhatsApp on 083 787 2814
• customerservices@mogalecity.gov.za

“While the municipality calls on residents to be vigilant and avoid making any payments via non-trusted platforms or make upfront payments for account settlements, jobs, RDP houses, vacant land or any other municipal offerings used by scammers, we again urge residents to always verify before succumbing to being scammed,” Amod concluded.