CONMEN are on the prowl and targeting unsuspecting first year students caught up in the process of registering to study at Durban tertiary institutions. Berea police this week issued a strong warning to prospective students to be extra vigilant during the drawn out registration process.
According to Lieutenant PN Naidoo, spokesman for Berea SAPS, the warning comes after Berea police received reports of first year students being scammed out of their registration money by preying con men at DUT's Mansfield Road campuses.
Naidoo said it was not the first they had heard of the scam where conmen prey on desperate and unsuspecting first year students. “DUT Mansfield Road is a place were people from all over the country come to register. There are some desperate people who are conned into scams that centre around registrations and student accommodation,” he said.
According to Naidoo, this is not a new development. Last year first year students at DUT were also conned out of their registration fees by three men, posing as officials. “Those men promised students registration at the university if they students payed their fees to them. They took the students to their vehicle where the payments were made and issued the students with replica DUT registration forms.”
The slick scam used student number's belonging to already registered students making the scam look legitimate. The unsuspecting students were sent home and told to come back with the balance of the money for their chosen course.
According to Naidoo, the scam this year is equally polished and has been made to look legitimate by offering students a great deal. “Students this year have been approached by these conmen at the various campuses who try to assist them with an easier registration process. Only after paying over their registration fees to these men did the students realise the registration for the particular course had closed and they were left with no money and no entry to study their chosen course.
“We appeal to the public and students not to pay anyone monies for registration or accommodation to people on the street. They must pay only at the cashiers designated by DUT within the respective offices and make sure they are issued with receipts once payment is made at the office. If students need assistance at the university they must go inside and check with the staff of the campus to direct them to the relevant departments. At least five cases have been reported where students fell for these scams and lost all their money to the conmen who cannot be found and there is no record at DUT of the students' registration,” he warned.
Berea officers are working on leads to arrest the con men. Last year a 26-year-old was arrested outside the campus for possession of fraudulent documents and this year Naidoo said he hoped an arrest would be made soon.
