The Department of Human Settlements would like to warn South Africans against an apparent scam that uses what appears to be the department’s official logo as well the South African Government’s Coat of Arms.

In a bid to entice unsuspecting citizens to partake in the scam, the con artists have devised a letterhead that, at glance, may fool people into thinking it is an official memoranda from the Department of Human Settlements.

As part of the scam, unsuspecting people are sent deceiving letters that purports to be promoting the Orange Africa Cup of Nations’ soccer games that are currently being played in South Africa.

The Department of Human Settlements is not running any competition in relation to the African Cup of Nations’ games. This is just the scammers’ usual attempt to use dishonest means to obtain money or other goods from innocent people.

Recipients of these hoax correspondences are also told that they have won millions of rands as part of an international competition and are instructed to provide important details such as full names, address, occupation and contact numbers in order to claim the prize.

The Department of Human Settlements urges people to be wary of such scams as these are often used to trick people into believing they will win large sums of money whereas the actual intention is to fleece unsuspecting people off their hard earned money.

South Africans are urged to be cautious by protecting their personal information such as identity numbers and banking details. Giving such details to strangers is not advisable as it may compromise your security especially when it comes to the protection of personal finances and citizenship status.

Issued by the Department of Human Settlements

For more information please call Xolani Xundu at 083 788 5747