‘Pay R5 000 e-wallet to be a police officer’ – Watch out for this scam

The South African Police Service (Saps) in Limpopo has warned the public about ongoing recruitment scams aimed at misleading job seekers by promising employment within Saps in exchange for financial compensation.

According to information, these scammers call the prospective applicants for police jobs, to pay an amount of money through the e-wallet and cash send procedures in exchange for receiving competent results after writing their psychometric assessments. 

Police spokesperson said scammers are asking their victims to pay between R2 000 to R5 000 in return for a job with Saps.

Police said they have already received several complaints across Limpopo regarding these scammers. They have since initiated investigations into these fraudulent schemes to bring the perpetrators to justice.

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Recruitment based on merit

 “Community members should know that our recruitment processes are transparent, merit-based, and do not require any form of payment at any stage of the process, ” said Acting Provincial Commissioner Major General Jan Scheepers.

“We, therefore, call upon all the victims who have fallen prey to these scammers to come forward and report to their nearest police stations,” added Scheepers.

For accurate information regarding recruitment, he urged the public to visit the official Saps website or Report Criminals on toll-free number 0860010111 or the nearest police station or Use the MySAPSApp.

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Not the first recruitment scam

Last year, police warned the public about fraudulent recruitment scams targeting aspiring police candidates as well.

The warning came after messages were circulated on social media urging candidates, who applied for police posts across the Waterberg District but were not called back to report to the Modimolle police station.

“We once again make an urgent appeal to the community that scammers are posing as South African Police Service (Saps) recruiters. Furthermore, genuine recruitment processes do not involve financial transactions,” he said.

Money for police college accessories

Also last year, Saps cautioned all applicants who participated in the recruitment and selection process for the Basic Police Learning Development Programme (BPLDP) about a hoax message that demanded applicants to pay for “college accessories”.

National police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, said the hoax message demanded that each applicant pay R200 towards college accessories.

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Mathe added that successful candidates are not required to pay any amount of money towards entry-level police training.

“The Saps covers all training costs inclusive of transportation to the training academies and makes provision for all equipment and uniform that is required during training.”