Cape Town - As more shocking reports surface of pensioners and the disabled being robbed of grant monies, the Daily Voice can reveal that fraudsters have stripped Sassa of R340 million in the last four years.
In a shocking revelation, a senior Sassa official has confirmed that none of the scams can be effective without an “inside contact” operating from within the ranks of the SA Social Security Agency.
Despite Sassa having fired a number of corrupt staff members, millions are still being siphoned from peoples grant money.
Pensioner latest ‘Sassa’ scam victim
This year got off to a bad start for about 1 000 beneficiaries who gathered at Athlone Civic Centre to complain that their accounts had been stripped of cash.
People say they started the new year with as little as R10 after finding strange deductions for airtime and electricity which they say they did not authorise.
The same scenario played out in several other areas on the Cape Flats.
In Hanover Park, pensioners were getting phone calls from a mysterious “Charmaine” who claimed to work for Sassa and was asking people for their secret PIN code and details in exchange for food parcels.
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And the same scam emerged in Manenberg where angry residents managed to confiscate a book of Sassa accounts, ID numbers and pin codes from thugs allegedly part of a syndicate running the scam.
These ripped off beneficiaries are all saying one thing: “It’s an inside job.”
And the National Fraud Management and Compliance Department (FMCD), within Sassa agrees.
The FMCD is working closely with cops to bring an end to rampant corruption within their ranks.
The national FMCD office is based at Sassa’s Bellville offices.
National General Manager Renay Ogle says none of these fraud cases can happen without the help of a Sassa official.
“It begins inside,” says Ogle.
“No person can have full access to the account of a beneficiary without an official being involved.
“These syndicates we are investigating must have someone on the inside processing requests.”
Ogle says while they can monitor their employees internally, they need the public to come forward and report any and all cases of corruption or scams.
“All the activities of officials are monitored. We can see exactly who accessed and processed the accounts we investigate, but beneficiaries need to come to us for assistance,” advises Ogle.
Ogle says in her line of work, everyone is a potential suspect.
“We work very closely with SAPS and the Hawks,” she says.
“People are being robbed of their livelihood and we work in the shadows, flushing them out. We are very subtle and it’s all very secretive and it might seem that we are not working fast enough, but we do things the right way.”
She says they have to work at putting together water-tight cases against corrupt staff.
She says since 2012, a total of 13 258 scams totalling R340 million have been reported to their office.
Of this, only R2.6 million has been recovered.
Sassa also reports that between September 30 last year and now, they have received 625 reports of fraud valued at R99m.
Ogle confirmed that between 2012 and October last year, 588 officials had been linked to 14 233 grants that had been defrauded.
The Western Cape has emerged as the province with the most incidence of fraud totalling R369 376 with 70 cases related to money lending reported since 2012 linked to 47 suspects.
Sassa confiscated 2 932 beneficiaries’ cards.
Ogle adds: “The officials and all others involved in stealing grants must have no chance of getting away.”
To report any grant scam or fraud, or if money is being stolen from your account, please contact the Sassa fraud line on 0800 60 10 11.
Daily Voice