Ekurhuleni property owners warned of a title deeds scam
If you’re a new property owner in Ekurhuleni, beware of scammers posing as city officials asking for money in exchange for the issuing of a title deed.
The City of Ekurhuleni has recently been hit by a number of title deed scams that have seen residents duped out of their hard earned money. Various residents waiting for their title deeds to arrive have been approached by scammers posing as city officials requesting them to pay a large sum of money in exchange for the document, which is in fact fake.
A title deed is a legal document that proves ownership of a property, outlines details of the property and what the purchase price was, and can be obtained by going to any Deeds Office and filling in a form to apply for one. A fee for this document is not charged if the property is classified as either low-cost housing or provided for by the government. If a property is classified as neither of these, the fee is R58 for a title deed. It is important to note that this document can only be supplied by the Deeds Office and is not for sale by any other person or company.
The amounts charged by the scammers have ranged between R1600 and a substantial R80,000 to issue illegal title deeds to victims currently waiting for theirs to be sent to them via post. Since November 2018, eight cases have been opened up with the city’s internal investigators, as well as the South African Police Service.
Residents who have recently bought a property and are waiting for their title deed if it was not issued at the Deeds Office, are advised to be aware of being approached by so-called city officials asking them to pay for the issuing of their title deed. If you or someone you know has been approached in this way, the anti-fraud hotline can be called to report the incident on 080 010 2201.
