Limpopo police are warning community members of a fraudulent scam where victims are contacted by perpetrators who claim they were paid to kill them and demand money to spare their lives. In some incidents, three public servants reported similar cases. In other cases, two businessmen also received telephone calls from a person purporting to be a member of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks. The callers tell the unsuspecting victims they were investigating their cases before demanding money to avoid prosecution.
Ligato provincial commissioner of police, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has appealed to all community members to guard against these scammers. He advised community members to verify caller identity by asking for their names and location of where they are based. He advised community members to report the scam to the nearest police station, Crime Stop number 08600 10111, or share information on My SAPS App.
In the latest scam, perpetrators have been calling victims, purporting to be members of the Hawks, or in some cases they claim to be hitmen, before demanding money. IOL has been running a scammed series featuring stories of numerous South African women who have fallen victim to romance scams, leaving the women broken, bankrupt, and destitute. In May, a 44-year-old man, Congolese national Joseph Hassan Yaye, was arrested after a Limpopo police woman was scammed of her pension.
