Beware of Grant-in-Aid applications scam – CoE
CoE has been inundated with complaints from residents who are receiving calls from the scammer soliciting money to purportedly fast-track their Grant-in-Aid applications.
The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) warned the public about a Grant-in-Aid scam that has been carried out by a person claiming to be an employee of the city.
Spokesperson of CoE Themba Gadebe said the city has been inundated with complaints from residents who are receiving calls from the scammer soliciting money to purportedly fast-track their Grant-in-Aid applications.
“The scammer claims to be involved in Grant-in-Aid adjudication solicits amounts ranging from R1 500 from applicants, and recite their personal information contained in their applications to gain their trust,” said Gadebe.
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“The CoE informs all Grant-in-Aid applicants that applications for Grant-in-Aid are handled and processed free of charge.”
CoE provided the following tips to differentiate scammers from credible communications from CoE:
- The name of the city is City of Ekurhuleni, not Ekurhuleni Municipality.
- Landlines in the city have the 999 prefixes.
- The email address for staff is – person’s name.surname@ekurhuleni.gov.za and not XXX@ekurhuleni-gov.org or any other variation.
“The CoE urges companies and individuals to be very vigilant and to verify information on the website,” said Gadebe.
To report fraud and corruption with CoE call 0800 102 201.
For more information go to www.ekurhuleni.gov.za
