Scammers fronting as department of basic education (DBE) officials are scamming businesses.

This is according to a warning issued by the department on social media, in which business owners were urged to be vigilant.

“Kindly verify with the department first before responding to such requests. It is unfortunate that some people have already fallen victim to this scam,” it advised.

The department said fraudsters use the names of DBE officials to make their activities look legitimate.

Attempts by TimesLIVE to get further comment from the department on the scam were unsuccessful at the time of publishing this story. Any comment will be included once received.

Last week, the labour department issued a warning to desperate job seekers about a fake learnership advertisement that promised applicants a stipend of R5,000. 

The department's Public Employment Service chief director of employment services, Esther Tloane, cautioned job seekers against responding to any “opportunities” that ask them to make any payments.

“The department uses its online job-matching platform called the Employment Services of SA (Essa), in which job seekers register their CVs, while employers place job opportunities for matching purposes,” she said.

The SA Social Security Agency also warned about a “government phase 4 Covid-19 relief fund grant”. The fake poster, which included a link for applicants to apply, started circulating online after President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that SA would go into alert level 4 lockdown.