By Theodorah waga Mawasha
TZANEEN-Employment scams are on the rise of late with job seekers standing to lose precious money at a time when they can least afford to, along with their most personal information likely setting them up for identity fraud and a myriad of other frauds.
Joyce Malemela is a job seeker from Lenyenye, Greater Tzaneen, who almost fell for a scam that was going to cost her an arm and a leg. She narrated her experience to Tzaneen Voice, sounding alarm to other desperate job seeking people to pay attention to the red flags.
“I received a call from a man calling himself Mr Mathebula claiming to be from the HR department at Letaba FET college, office number 05 Maake campus, saying that I have been shortlisted.
Because I had applied for a position advertised at the institution in February, I almost fell into the trap. The man had all my personal information and I was convinced he was authentic “, she said.
“The man asked for my persal number which I gave. He demanded that I give him R3000k to speed up the process. I did not have the money on me fortunately but I immediately talked to my cousin who borrowed me the money”, she added.
Malema said that her subconscious told her that something was amiss when the man refused to meet up with her so that she can hand him the money.
The central office in Tzaneen confirmed to her that Mathebula does not exist in their system. She alleged that the scam is an inside job.
“I suspect it’s an inside job. People who have applied for any position be it at Letaba FET or elsewhere must be vigilant. They must not send anyone money in exchange for employment”, Malemela advised
Letaba tvet college spokesperson Godfrey Mabasa condemned the incident and stated that the College strictly ensures compliance in terms of its recruitment and selection
policy and all the posts are advertised on our Facebook page `Letaba TVET College, on Local and National newspapers and the College website.
Should applicants be requested for any kind of payments from recruiters, they are advised to urgently contact the South African Police Services (SAPS) as this is regarded as fraudulent activity.
“The College would like to reiterate that it will never ask applicants to pay for the College posts.The College has no tolerance for fraud and corruption” said the Letaba TVET College Mabasa added
