Rustenburg - North West Community Safety and Transport Management MEC, Dr Mpho Motlhabane on Thursday, warned people against bogus learnership recruitment.
"It has come to attention of the department that a scam is currently underway in which suspects demand an amount of R3 000 or so from young people around Mahikeng in a pretext to recruit them and afford them access the Road Traffic Management training advertised by the department in 2017," he said.
"We understand that there is too much pressure emanating from high unemployment rate especially our young people but that must not drive the youth to fall victims of these fraudsters and their scams."
He said a man was arrested for allegedly defrauding a number of people in Mahikeng with a promise to take them to the traffic college.
"It is reported that the suspect claims to be working at the head office and is responsible for the recruitment of traffic officers.
"The arrested suspect appeared at the Molopo Magistrate's Court and was remanded for further investigation whilst the accused, an adult male will remain in custody until the 18th January 2018 for bail application. The police are still looking for his accomplice/s and more leads."
He advised people wishing to undergo the Road Traffic Management training to send their application to the department only when there was an official advertisement from the department which would be published on the departmental letterhead with the correct logo including address and contact details.
"Applicants are requested to fill in the Z83 application form. Note also that we always avoid to specify the number of positions available for the learnership since this depends on the availability of budget and spaces in colleges."
He appealed to members of the community who might have fallen victims of the scam to come forth and report their cases at the Mahikeng Police Station.
"If individuals know these perpetrators, they should report them to the police station and those scammed must report to the police station."