Watch out for this scammer!
Residents of Carletonville and Fochville should be careful not to fall prey to a new scam.
According to a business owner in Oberholzer, a man called them on Monday afternoon.
“Your municipal account is in arrears, and your electricity will be cut,” the man, who identified himself as “Paul Khumalo,” told the employee who answered the phone.
“Khumalo” apparently wanted money to prevent this from happening.
The business owner realised something did not sound right and contacted an acquaintance at the municipality. This official confirmed that no one by that name worked at Merafong and warned that it was a scam. When the owner tried to contact “Khumalo”, they found that his telephone number and email address were not linked to the municipality in any way.
“We spoke to other people about it. The same man had also contacted the owner of another business in Oberholzer, and a pensioner in Senatus. We realised it was a scam, but other people could pay this man some money,” the owner complains.
Although the municipality did not respond to questions about the matter by printing time, a senior police member also warned against dealing with “Khumalo”. Scamsters like these are even known to phone people from prison, he said.
