Criminals specialising in scamming and other forms of fraudulent activities appear to have put down roots in every sector of SA society. Every day the news is flooded with stories of people and organisations being scammed out of their funds.
The culprits vary from lone wolves, individuals who come together for a once-off mission to well-oiled operations run by syndicates. It's free for all, as our lead story yesterday on student housing scams show.
The story reveals how unsuspecting students are scammed into paying deposits for lodgings they hope to use once the academic year starts. The whole fraudulent activity in student housing does not seem to be ending any time soon because as the police say, this is an annual activity this time of the year.
The victims – students who have just passed matric and are new to big city life – are targets of the scammers. For two months of the year, January and February, their inexperience and naivete are a pot of gold to the gleeful scammers seeking to make a quick buck.
It is natural for young newcomers to the city to secure affordable accommodation as quickly as possible. One student was made to feel at ease when a scammer assured her she could pay off her deposit in instalments. But after the first payment of R1,500, the fly-by-night landlord vanished.
It is a common cause to say students must pay more attention when hunting for lodgings in the university cities they arrive into study. We can implore parents to be more involved in helping their children in hunting for reliable accommodation. In reality, all of us must be wary of scams because it's the right thing to be careful.
The scammers, however, will always find a way, more so when the state fails in its endeavours to keep fraud at bay in society. Criminality thrives in an environment that enables it.
Other countries succeed because their police forces visit schools to workshop pupils on anti-crime efforts and how to report suspicious activities. By the time these pupils become university students, it becomes harder for anyone to hoodwink them into parting with their cash over dodgy housing offers.
In our situation, we depend on the SA Police Service anti-fraud systems to give the scammers a hard time by squeezing them out of their comfort zones – with the help of the public as a well-informed partner.
SOWETAN SAYS | We must all be wary of scammers
Image: Beeld / Deaan Vivier
Criminals specialising in scamming and other forms of fraudulent activities appear to have put down roots in every sector of SA society. Every day the news is flooded with stories of people and organisations being scammed out of their funds.
The culprits vary from lone wolves, individuals who come together for a once-off mission to well-oiled operations run by syndicates. It's free for all, as our lead story yesterday on student housing scams show.
The story reveals how unsuspecting students are scammed into paying deposits for lodgings they hope to use once the academic year starts. The whole fraudulent activity in student housing does not seem to be ending any time soon because as the police say, this is an annual activity this time of the year.
The victims – students who have just passed matric and are new to big city life – are targets of the scammers. For two months of the year, January and February, their inexperience and naivete are a pot of gold to the gleeful scammers seeking to make a quick buck.
It is natural for young newcomers to the city to secure affordable accommodation as quickly as possible. One student was made to feel at ease when a scammer assured her she could pay off her deposit in instalments. But after the first payment of R1,500, the fly-by-night landlord vanished.
It is a common cause to say students must pay more attention when hunting for lodgings in the university cities they arrive into study. We can implore parents to be more involved in helping their children in hunting for reliable accommodation. In reality, all of us must be wary of scams because it's the right thing to be careful.
The scammers, however, will always find a way, more so when the state fails in its endeavours to keep fraud at bay in society. Criminality thrives in an environment that enables it.
Other countries succeed because their police forces visit schools to workshop pupils on anti-crime efforts and how to report suspicious activities. By the time these pupils become university students, it becomes harder for anyone to hoodwink them into parting with their cash over dodgy housing offers.
In our situation, we depend on the SA Police Service anti-fraud systems to give the scammers a hard time by squeezing them out of their comfort zones – with the help of the public as a well-informed partner.
Stolen ID used to scam lodging seekers
Students warned about accommodation scams
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos