Police job scam warning in South Africa

Police and traffic officials have warned South Africans to be wary of fraudulent employment opportunity advertisements on social media and via cellular calls.
The Mpumalanga head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Major General Nico Gerber, said that the police have received several complaints involving citizens being contacted by “police personnel” regarding job opportunities.
These job opportunities are for positions within the South African Police Services, which has said that no institution would call a prospective employee regarding employment without them applying beforehand.
It also points out that the caller’s demand for financial benefits during the call should serve as an immediate red flag, as SAPS would never do this.
This is also occurring in the case of aspiring traffic officers looking to attend the Gene Louw Traffic Training College who fall victim to scams on social claiming to represent the institution.
The Western Cape Mobility Department said that these scammers request payments of R150 for application forms and R3,000 for enrolment.
The college has said that it does not communicate via social media platforms regarding training and recruitment opportunities and that no payments are required to secure enrolment.
“We are disheartened by these fraudulent activities that exploit the aspirations of prospective traffic officers,” the Head of the Gene Louw Traffic College, Jacqueline Tweedie, said.
“Please verify all information through official channels to avoid falling victim to these scams.”
Regarding both cases, Major General Gerber warned that scammers do their research and target applicants who have undergone some selection process, often soliciting bribes with false processes.
The Hawks and the Western Cape Mobility Department encourage South Africans to be aware of such scams and to report suspicious activity to SAPS immediately.
Additionally, citizens are urged not to pay anyone claiming to represent the Traffic Training College or SAPS.
Scams in South Africa becoming more sophisticated
In addition to mass phishing attacks, scammers are beginning to target specific individuals in what is known as spear phishing.
This has also become evident in delivery scams, where recipients of online orders receive fraudulent messages telling them to settle a fee before they can receive their package.
South African Express Parcel Association CEO Garry Marshall said these new scams indicate potential data leaks and no longer involve spamming thousands of cellphone numbers or email addresses.
Marshall said that there was a growing trend towards scams and actual orders that have taken place.
In the past, scammers using phishing attacks have sent out messages in mass, hoping one of them is expecting a package.
However, spear phishing attacks have become so sophisticated that the messages sent to victims often contain the courier and sender of a package they are expecting.
“That would then imply some form of internal leakage towards syndicates and individuals that are hellbent on taking your money from you,” Marshall said.
He notes that many people are involved in the delivery supply chain, including the sender, the airlines, customs clearance brokers, and delivery agents, indicating several points where leakages could occur.
To mitigate the risk of falling victim to one of these scams, Marshall said not to act on any messages received regarding an order, as this may take the user to a false address, prompting them for their banking credentials.
However, because some messages may be legitimate, he suggests going directly to the shipper or originator and tracking the order from there.