Students warned to beware of bursary scam
The police have issued a warning to students to beware of the latest bursary scam, allegedly run by a woman who goes by the name of Mapula Lefang
POLOKWANE – The police have issued a warning to students to beware of the latest bursary scam, allegedly run by a woman who goes by the name of Mapula Lefang.
Capt Ntobeng Phala, Polokwane police spokesperson, said the woman called students from the University of Limpopo who applied for Department of Education bursary funding for next year.
“When she calls, the woman claims she is from the department’s human resources development finance section.
“She seems to have accessed applicants’ confidential information and reportedly calls the students and informs them that their applications have been successful and in order to activate the approved bursary, they must deposit R970 into the Department of Education’s Standard Bank account number 100 741 62843. Applicants are further advised to fax proof of their payments to 086 567 6523 with their names and ID numbers as reference,” Phala explained.
He further said both the University of Limpopo and the Department of Education confirmed that the information provided by Lefang was false.
“Parents and students are hereby warned not to have anything to do with this conwoman,” Phala said.
Education senior communication manager, Dr Naledzani Rasila said the department was not aware of this scam. “We will send the information to our security directorate for further investigation. The department does not sell bursaries; we offer them to assist our learners. In most cases, the department does not even deal directly with the students but pays the tertiary institution for the student’s services at tertiary.
By the time of print, the University of Limpopo had not commented on the matter.
Phala confirmed that no criminal cases in this regard have been reported to the police. He called on victims to report the matter to the nearest police station.
