eThekwini Municipality warns residents about fake employees
Scammers have been posing as employees at the eThekwini Municipality and have been threatening to disconnect households.
THE eThekwini Municipality is urging residents to remain cautious of scammers impersonating municipal workers. This follows reports of cases where fraudsters attempt to illicitly obtain funds by threatening to disconnect the resident’s power.
Also read: eThekwini warns of fake inspectors
The Energy Management Directorate said there has been a rise in such cases. In a recent incident a Bonela resident said that they received a phone call from someone who claimed to be a municipal official.
During the conversation, the caller informed the resident that their electricity was going to be disconnected due to arrears. The resident said they initially believed the fake official as they had knowledge of their address.
However, a notable discrepancy was that the fake officer proposed to cancel the impending disconnection if the resident did an eWallet transfer of R850.
Also read: Be warned – armed robbers’ scam returns
The Energy Management Directorate is working in close collaboration with the City Integrity and Investigations Directorate (CIID) to conduct a thorough investigation into these incidents. A particular point of concern lies with these fake officers having access to internal information about residents, like their address.
“The safety and protection of residents remain of paramount importance. The City maintains a zero-tolerance approach to criminal conduct and will continue to work with relevant authorities to address these unlawful activities,” read a statement from the municipality.
Contact
Residents are urged to assist the Municipality in combating this scourge by taking the following precautions:
- Report any suspicious activity immediately to law enforcement authorities, SAPS on 10111 or City Integrity and Investigations Directorate (CIID) on 0800 20 20 20
- Always verify the identification credentials of any person claiming to be a municipal official before granting them access to your property.
- Never make payments directly to individuals claiming to represent the municipality. All municipal payments must only be made through official municipal offices or approved City payment channels.
For more Southlands Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
