DURBAN - eThekwini Municipality mayor Mxolisi Kaunda would like you to know that he is not raising any funding for a 'top achiever' who is going on a school trip overseas.
On Tuesday, Kaunda said a fraudster has been using his name to solicit monies from people.
He said he had not sanctioned any fundraising campaign for the learner named Kheswa.
"This is a scam and members of the public should treat it as such," he said.
Kaunda has condemned this fraudulent activity and he is encouraging members of the public who come across such scam to report it to law enforcement agencies.
This is not the first time that a scam artist has tried to pull a fast one, using Kaunda's name.
In September last year, a 28-year-old man was charged with extortion after he tried to solicit a bribe.
At the time, KwaZulu-Natal SAPS spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, said the man was nabbed during a sting operation.
She said that the man pretended to be mayor Mxolisi Kaunda.
He offered a woman a contract where she would be paid more than R1m on condition she paid R200 000 in cash up front. She was also promised to be the ‘first lady’ after the deal had been secured.
"The woman became suspicious and reported the incident to the police after she was instructed to put the cash in a plastic bag and wait for further instructions at a taxi rank. The police intercepted the suspect after he received the cash, which he had instructed the woman to place in a bin at the taxi rank. The cash he had accepted was recovered in his possession," Mbele said.
A few weeks prior, a man had created a Facebook account using Kaunda's name and advertised jobs.
Mayoral spokesperson, Mluleki Mntungwa, has urged the public not to fall prey to scam artists.
IOL