Ladysmith KZN: Job-seekers beware as another employment scam surfaces

uThukela District Municipality would like to issue a warning to all potential job-seekers about yet another job scam currently doing the rounds.

There is allegedly a cartel operating somewhere in the Free State and Mpumalanga that phones people, promising them jobs if they deposit money into one of the big supermarket’s Money Market service.

These individuals usually pretend to be officials working in the Human Resources Department of uThukela District Municipality. Others are operating around Inkosi Langalibalele Municipality, pretending to be working there, but claim to have inside connections in the uThukela District.

They ask their vulnerable victims to bring in their CVs and also bring some ‘cold drink’ along (in other words, cash). Other victims are requested to deposit a certain amount of money in the Money Market, with a promise that they will bypass the interview process – they only need to come and collect an appointment letter or their uniform at the municipal offices.

These scam artists identify themselves using different names, but they are not verifiable at the Human Resources Department.

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“As uThukela District, we categorically distance ourselves from such unscrupulous individuals and can confirm that there are currently no interviews scheduled for any positions and that no one has been ordered to collect uniforms from our offices. “Members of the public should know that it is a scam when:

– They are called and offered a position that was not advertised. The municipality normally advertises / invites candidates for interviews and does appointments. They send out an email first, followed by a phone call for confirmation of the correspondence;

– A potential victim is required to make payment in advance. The municipality does not request interview candidates or job seekers to pay any monies to any individual in any way whatsoever in exchange for job placement, and;

– You are invited to come and collect your uniform without going through an interview process.

“There’s no such thing! Due processes are followed at all times,” says the municipality. They therefore urge the public to be vigilant and not accept any job offer they did not apply for, or never conducted any interview for, and not to give their CVs to any individual they don’t know.

Members of the public are also urged to ignore messages or calls to this effect, and to alert the authorities (including the police) about any suspicious activities related to municipal vacancies. The district’s HR department can be contacted on 0366385100 to verify the authenticity of any interviews and job placements.

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