EThekwini Municipality has issued an alert to customers following an emergence of fraudulent activities involving individuals impersonating municipal workers.
The City’s Electricity Unit stated it had received allegations of extortion attempts from people, with the culprits claiming to represent the Unit.
“It has come to our attention that customers are contacted and told that their municipal accounts are in arrears. These impersonators threaten disconnection of services unless immediate payment is made, thereby attempting to coerce residents into providing financial information or making payments directly to them,” said the City’s Communication Unit.
The City further added that it is aggressively investigating these occurrences in partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS), with the goal of safeguarding residents from scams and determining how these criminals are obtaining critical customer information.
Customers are warned that legitimate municipal officials will never demand immediate payment over the phone or threaten to disconnect without prior notice.
Residents are encouraged to check any statements made by anyone claiming to be municipal employees and to be cautious of such frauds.
Those who receive strange calls are encouraged to immediately report these events to the City’s Integrity and Investigations Unit.
In a similar incident in 2023, the Municipality informed the public of an employment fraud in which applicants were told to pay if they lacked the required papers.
Lubanzi Xaba, who claimed to work in the Municipality’s human resources department, was recognised as one of the scammers.
The municipality stated that none of its records, including those from the human resources department, contained a record of a Lubanzi Xaba.
IOL