The Department of Human Settlements has issued a warning to the public to be aware of people posing as officials of the Department of Human Settlements.
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This comes after a woman paid R 2000 for a housing approval letter into the bank of the scammer on Facebook who posed as the department of human settlements official.
“Fraudulent scams have increasingly been reported and appear on different platforms, particularly on social media, which request citizens to either, pay a deposit or holding fee for a government house, to pay to be approved for a government housing opportunity, or to pay for the processing of an application for exam.”
In the public notice, the department also wrote that the fraudster usually preys on vulnerable residents with empty promises of facilitating approvals for housing, keys, and title deeds.
To be considered for a government housing opportunity, citizens need to be registered on the housing database at their local municipality. To qualify for a government subsidised house, residents need to:
- Be a South African citizen or have a permanent residency permit.
- Be 18 years or older.
- Be married or living with a partner.
- Be single or divorced and have proven financial dependents permanently living with them.
- Earn a household income of R3 500 or less, before deductions.
- Not be current or previous property owners.
- Not have received a housing subsidy from the government before.
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Picture: Cape town Etc {Gallery}