Zelda la Grange, the former private secretary to the late President Nelson Mandela, shared how a sophisticated scam cost her R6 000 after callers posing as Vodacom employees convinced her she had won an iPhone, grocery vouchers and R30 000 in cash. 

La Grange, an international motivational speaker and author from the Western Cape, is now warning others to remain vigilant following the incident. 

She recently detailed the experience on Facebook, writing that ‘none of us like admitting to making mistakes’, but she wanted to share her ‘expensive lesson’ so others do not fall for it. 

Fake anniversary promotion 

La Grange explained she received a call from a man claiming to represent Vodacom, who informed her she had been selected as a long-standing customer to receive a prize for the company’s 32nd anniversary celebrations. 

She recalled thinking the claim sounded plausible, as she was among the first people in South Africa to own a cellphone. 

The caller warned her that the call was being recorded and assured her that Vodacom would never request banking or login details. He then asked her to select from three prize options before pretending to consult a manager. 

“Ms La Grange, he screamed, you have just won a brand-new iPhone 17, a R5 000 grocery voucher and R30 000 in cash,” she said. 

 “He screamed again, laughed and clapped,” La Grange added. 

The caller instructed her to collect the phone from a local store and provided a reference number. 

Pressure tactics on banking app 

He then claimed they needed to activate her cash prizes through her banking app, instructing her to follow steps to link her account to the payment. 

The caller added that donations would also be made to the Gift of the Givers and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. 

“Oh, that’s great, so proud of both organisations and that they are getting money – I thought to myself,” said La Grange. 

The caller then told her they would first activate a R5 000 shopping voucher, which could be redeemed at participating stores. He instructed her to purchase a R1 000 voucher through her banking app and send it as a gift to her own email address, using ‘Cashback’ as the reference.

When La Grange questioned why she needed to pay R1 000, he told her the cash prize could not be activated for less than that. 

She followed the instructions and was then asked to provide the bank reference number to activate the R5 000 grocery voucher. She shared the number, and another voucher was purchased. 

Although she received emails from FNB confirming the vouchers, she did not realise the transactions were part of the scam and believed the vouchers were safely stored in her inbox. 

He then told her they were 87% through the process and instructed her to use the e-wallet function on her banking app. When she questioned the cellphone number provided, he claimed it was being used to generate the payment. 

After she refused to use the number, he instructed her to use her own number and then asked her to provide the reference number. 

La Grange questioned why she needed to provide the reference number. The caller claimed it was required to activate the payment into her account. 

“No, someone else will then have access to the money,” La Grange said.  

“I have used e-wallet before, and I know you need this number to withdraw the cash. I’m not giving you this number.” 

The caller increased the pressure, claiming the system was timing out and that the money would remain in her account. She eventually provided the number again. 

When he asked her to complete another transaction and provide another reference number, she became uncomfortable and challenged him. 

“No, I am not comfortable with this,” she added.  

“You can’t just keep asking me to do this. One transaction to activate, yes, but now we are going on four.” 

When La Grange demanded to know where the call originated, he claimed to be calling from head office in Midrand. Realising she had been scammed, she ended the call and visited the local shopping centre, only to discover all the vouchers had been redeemed. 

She reported the issue to Vodacom, while FNB’s fraud department later contacted her and secured her banking facilities. 

Call centre background fooled victim 

Speaking to Caxton Network News, La Grange said the call appeared legitimate because the scammers started by confirming her name and number. 

“I have never had spam calls on this number. Secondly, they cited that I am a long-standing loyal Vodacom client – which I am. Furthermore, they used all the right language when you speak to someone making a legitimate call: ‘Calls are recorded’, ‘Vodacom will never ask for your personal details’, and then they could tell me immediately where my closest Vodashop was. They even provided a reference number for the phone I supposedly won, which I would need upon collection.” 

She added that the background noise resembled what you hear when calling from a call centre. 

Warning 

“We expect these scam calls to involve one or two people, not a full call centre. I only realised it was a scam when we used the e-wallet feature – which I have only used once before – and they asked for the reference or pin.” 

La Grange said she felt stupid after falling for the scam, but chose to share her experience at her own expense to warn others and help them avoid making the same mistakes. 

“They caught me at a vulnerable moment, and we all know times are tough for everyone, so that contributes to your mind filtering out the warning signs I should have heard. The problem is also that I have never bought an iVoucher from my banking app, so I did not know how it worked.” 

She added that because the callers repeatedly told her they did not want her banking details, she was at ease giving them the reference number. 

She said emails from the bank appeared in her inbox while she was still on the phone, confirming that she had received two iVouchers. Seeing the vouchers in her inbox made her believe the money had not left her account. 

Challenge scammers 

La Grange has opened a case with the police. 

“I am under no illusion and know I will not get any of the money back, but it is important to register all these cases. We all know the SAPS is overburdened, but people much more vulnerable than me fall for these traps and it destroys livelihoods. If we allow it to continue unabated, the scammers will continue because they are not challenged.” 

She added that if 200 people register cases similar to hers with SAPS, the issue cannot be ignored. 

“I will keep my finger on this and see where it goes.”

Western Cape spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala said Hermanus police are investigating a case of fraud and no arrests have been made.

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