uThukela speaker’s phone hacked by scam artists
The hackers promise municipal jobs in exchange for a hefty 'bribe'
A ‘jobs for sale’ scam has surfaced, and uThukela District Speaker Cllr TY Nqubuka’s name has been used by the perpetrators to con money from unsuspecting victims. Cllr Nqubuka says someone has hacked her phone and not only blocked her from having access to calls and messages, but has been asking her contacts for money.
It is alleged that the hacker promises these people that the speaker, together with the municipal manager (MM), is going to hire them. Victims are asked to bring a ‘drink’ (bribe) to the MM. However, this ‘drink’ ranges from R3000 to R5000, depending on the nature of the job that is promised.
The speaker says she noticed yesterday (May 30) that she couldn’t make calls and then realised that her WhatsApp was blocked as well.
The scam victims are asked to make deposits at the money market of a particular supermarket. The fraudsters also send a number to their victims, purportedly that of the MM, to call for confirmation after they have deposited the money.
The municipality would like to warn the public that neither political leadership nor municipal officials will ever ask anybody for money to get a job.
If, for whatever reason, members of the public receive a call supposedly coming from the municipality and asking them to deposit money to get a job, they must immediately know that this is a scam and should alert the municipality and the police.
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It must also be known that job placement is the sole responsibility of the municipality’s Human Resources Department and has nothing to do with the speaker. uThukela would like to remind people to be vigilant at all times and always keep in mind that municipal jobs are not for sale.
The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Ladysmith Gazette, a sold newspaper distributed in the Ladysmith area.
