A man impersonating a police officer from the South African Police Service (SAPS) attempted to scam several residents in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, with promises of permanent recruitment.
A 34-year-old unemployed man sought assistance from Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) on Thursday, 11 September. Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram said: “He reported that the suspect identifying himself as Gumede had made telephonic contact with him and requested R5,000 for a permanent job in the Police Service. The conversation lasted two days and Gumede had instructed the man to meet at different locations in the Verulam CBD in KZN with the cash.”
For a deposit of R2,000, Gumede allegedly promised him documents, medicals, and answers to a psychometric test. When the balance of R3,000 was paid, he would receive sets of uniform and report for duty as a Police Officer the following Monday.
Balram said: “The victim became suspicious when the location changed hourly and the suspect then asked for the money to be sent from a store via a cash transaction at a pay point. He was then given a reference number to use so his job would be secured immediately. The suspect terminated the conversation when the victim began to question the transaction.”
Reaction officers learned that a female working at a local bottle store in eThekwini was scammed out of R2,000 by the same suspect.
