KwaZulu-Natal police have issued a warning about a housing scam as more than 70 cases of fraud relating to the scam are being investigated by the provincial commercial crime investigation unit.

In a statement issued on Monday, police said a growing number of people had fallen victim to a housing scam in the Phoenix area, north of Durban, where people would allegedly advertise a property for sale at a low price in a local newspaper.

“These criminals would provide contact numbers to people who want to buy houses and arrange for viewing of the house with the “homeowners,” some of whom are also part of the scam. The unsuspecting buyer would be instructed to sign an offer to purchase for houses that are not really on sale,” said SAPS KZN spokesperson Capt Nqobile Gwala.

Gwala said unsuspecting victims would be given banking details of a fake attorney for them to deposit money for a property.

“They may even be instructed to pay the full purchase price of the house into the account,” she said.

She urged anyone who is victim of a similar crime or who knows people who use the same modus operandi to contact the investigating officers, Capt Singh on 082 458 5873 or W/O Ramdass on 083 735 5031.