Tag: Fraud

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Gauteng MEC shuts down vehicle testing stations

Gauteng MEC shuts down vehicle testing stations

Two private vehicle testing stations in Soweto and Pretoria have been shut down due to alleged fraud and corruption.

Gauteng roads and transport MEC Ismail Vadi said on Monday: ”The Innovative Roadworthy Testing Station in Soweto, owned by Themba Nxumalo, and the Hercules Roadworthy Centre in Pretoria, jointly owned by Ahmed Suliman Ismail and Afzal Abramjee, were closed down on Friday after an investigation by the provincial roads and transport department.

”As part of the Gauteng government’s commitment to improving road safety and its zero tolerance approach towards fraud and corruption, registration certificates of these two testing stations were cancelled on 1 March.”

He said the closing of the testing stations came after an investigation by his department and law enforcement authorities. Three vehicle examiners and one cashier were arrested at the Innovative Roadworthy Testing Station in Soweto in October 2017.

”Similarly, a management representative and three examiners were arrested at the Hercules Roadworthy Centre in Pretoria in November and are facing charges of fraudulently issuing roadworthy certificates to vehicles that were not presented for testing,” Vadi said.

”Vehicles that are not roadworthy contribute to the high accident rates and fatalities on our roads. Testing stations that issue fraudulent roadworthy certificates are complicit in this regard.”

Hercules Roadworthy Centre in Pretoria is one of two that have had their registration certificates cancelled for issuing roadworthy certificates for vehicles that had not been presented for inspection.

African News Agency

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DO NOT hand out cash because you “have won” something. It is “Advance Fee Fraud”.

AN SMS and WhatsApp scam circulating in Nelson Mandela Bay has already duped at least three people who between them have lost about R20 000 in recent weeks.
Eight cases of fraud linked to the scam are under investigation by various police stations across the Bay.
Fears that more residents could fall victim to the scam have prompted police to warn residents not to be conned into believing that they have won money in a lucky draw competition.
Three cases in the Uitenhage and Despatch area have been reported since the beginning of March.
And an additional five have been reported to the Gelvandale police station .
Police spokesman Warrant Officer Basil Seekoei said in all the cases the message, received via SMS or WhatsApp claimed the victims’ cellphone numbers had randomly been selected in a lucky draw.
The victims are then told to deposit money to claim their “winnings”, which vary between R300 000 and R400 000.
“Once they respond to the message it is followed by another stating that various amounts in the thousands of rands need to be deposited for their winnings to be released.
“In two cases, the victims phoned the number and spoke to an ‘agent’, who stated they had to deposit the money as soon as possible before their winnings incurred penalty costs and were forfeited.
“In one of the cases, the victim paid close to R13 000 in several separate transactions to the scam artists.”
Seekoei said this modus operandi was similar to another scam between 2010 and 2013 which saw three men each sentenced to 15 years in jail.
He said the fear of more unsuspecting residents being swindled out of money was a concern.
“At this stage, we are not sure if it is a single group or several groups conducting this scam. We can confirm, however, that efforts are under way to track and arrest these con artists.”
-Gareth Wilson