Kimberley - The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has warned that there is a new scam that is believed to be targeting the elderly in the Province.
On Tuesday Sassa sent out an urgent warning to all its beneficiaries after an SMS congratulating a city resident on winning a prize, allegedly from the agency, came to light.
While this was the first report of this particular scam, Sassa’s acting communication’s manager, Mamazane Mvubu, said that the agency had a responsibility to warn its more than 300 000 beneficiaries in the Province of any potential risk to their finances.
John de Wee, a Roodepan resident, said on Tuesday that he had received a message last Thursday afternoon congratulating him on winning a competition.
The text message urged the 52-year-old to contact the “CEO of Sasa (sic) Company, Conrad Steenkamp” on a provided number in order to have R500 deposited into his social security account. He was also requested to provide his ID number and a 16-digit pension card number.
“I was discharged from hospital earlier in the day and as I was leaving, I received the SMS,” De Wee told the DFA on Tuesday.
“Later, I also received a call from Conrad Steenkamp who asked for my account number at the post office.
“I haven’t been able to see if any money is missing from any of my accounts yet but I’m very concerned.”
Sassa staff on Tuesday encouraged De Wee to open a criminal case with the police and urged all beneficiaries to be vigilant and not to respond to the SMS should they receive it.
“We have no record of a Conrad Steenkamp working for Sassa and we believe the message is an effort to defraud the elderly in particular,” said Mvubu.
“At this stage, this is the first incident of its kind that has been brought to our attention but we are very nervous that it can develop into a major problem.
“Mr De Wee has written an affidavit and we are encouraging him to check his accounts and go to the police to open a criminal case.
“We need to act as fast as possible to avoid this problem escalating and that is why we are hoping to make the public aware of it as quickly as possible.”
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