{"id":42306,"date":"2023-01-05T18:48:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T18:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam"},"modified":"2023-01-05T19:36:41","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T19:36:41","slug":"western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam","title":{"rendered":"Western Cape govt warns of online housing ‘waiting list’ scam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The Western Cape Department of Human Settlements has warned prospective home owners from being scammed into paying for fake title deeds and housing approval letters.<\/p>\n

A WhatsApp message claiming to assist people in receiving a house within two weeks had been circulating, the department said. Scammers ask people to pay R2 300 for an approval letter and title deed to qualify for the housing opportunity.<\/p>\n

Western Cape Infrastructure MEC Tertuis Simmers said: “Vulnerable residents often fall prey to these scams in the hope of being assisted, or bumped up on the waiting list for a government housing opportunity.<\/p>\n

“In most cases, money exchanged due to fraudulent scams is not recovered. To be considered for a government housing opportunity, citizens need to be registered on the housing database at their local municipality.”<\/p>\n

Targeted areas include Khayelitsha, Stellenbosch, Montana, Paarl and Mitchells Plain.<\/p>\n

The department added that people should be aware that placement on the housing data base requires no payment. Neither does applying for a housing subsidy, or any government-related housing service. The request for payment should immediately alert people to the offer being a scam.<\/p>\n

Acting department spokesperson Muneera Allie said scammers often had some knowledge of how government housing worked, and even created fraudulent approval letters and correspondence that looked authentic and lawful.<\/p>\n

“While some residents are also aware of how the system works, the mere suggestion of being bumped up on the waiting list prompts them to find the means to pay a requested fee to fast-track the process.<\/p>\n

“During 2022, one victim arranged for a R2 000 loan in order to pay for an ‘approval letter’. Due to the nature of these scams and false social media accounts created to rip-off residents, it is challenging to crack down on these con artists,” she said.<\/p>\n

People are advised to contact the department, or any municipal housing office, to verify and check a housing social media post or advertisement\u2019s legitimacy.<\/p>\n

To report any fraudulent scams, members of the public are urged to contact their nearest police station.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Western Cape Department of Human Settlements has warned prospective home owners from being scammed into paying for fake title deeds and housing approval letters. A WhatsApp message claiming to assist people in receiving a house within two weeks had been circulating, the department said. Scammers ask people to pay R2 300 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":42305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[274,315,279,2372,355,275,295],"class_list":["post-42306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-cape-town","tag-crime-and-courts","tag-housing","tag-south-africa-2","tag-western-cape"],"yoast_head":"\nWestern Cape govt warns of online housing 'waiting list' scam - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Western Cape Department of Human Settlements has warned prospective home owners from being scammed into paying for f ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Western Cape govt warns of online housing 'waiting list' scam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Western Cape Department of Human Settlements has warned prospective home owners from being scammed into paying for f ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-05T18:48:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-05T19:36:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1672931917.66.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"479\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Western Cape govt warns of online housing ‘waiting list’ scam\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-05T18:48:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-05T19:36:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam\"},\"wordCount\":358,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1672931917.66.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"cape town\",\"crime and courts\",\"housing\",\"South-Africa\",\"western cape\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/western-cape-govt-warns-of-online-housing-waiting-list-scam\",\"name\":\"Western Cape govt warns of online housing 'waiting list' scam - 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