Have you ever waited in line at Home Affairs in the Krugersdorp CBD, only to be approached by someone asking you to pay for your appointment and later discovered they were not a government official?

The Department of Home Affairs’ acting district operations manager for the West Rand, Nozuko Makapela, said these so-called ‘street agents’ have been an issue for a while, where one in particular has been a thorn in their side.

This lady goes by Joyce, sits on the sidewalk at the entrance of the Home Affairs premises.

“She charges residents waiting in the queue for things like booking fees and skipping the queue. She tells them she can assist them and charges residents anything from R150 to R300.”

Makapela explains their official booking system works online, and when they get the list of people who have their appointments that day, more people show up, claiming they paid the official outside, where in fact, Home Affairs officials only operate inside the premises.

“She promises residents she will help them, although they believe she is an official. This is a huge challenge for us, which creates confusion for residents and staff,” she added.

Makapela explained that the scammer even refers her customers to our actual officials inside, using their real names.

When payments are made at the Krugersdorp Home Affairs, she emphasises that they avoid using cash and prefer cards. You should also verify that the people you pay are, in fact, officials.

“The best way to verify this is to see if they are wearing Department of Home Affairs name tags, and our staff only operates inside the premises,” she informed.

She concluded the scammer has since been addressed by authorities, and they are planning to implement measures to prevent this from happening again.

If you were a victim of this scam, share your story and send an email to heinrichg@caxton.co.za.