Fraud Alert
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The City of Cape Town has issues a warning to residents about ongoing scammers targeting residents. The scams cover a range of issues from service disconnections to fake job and housing opportunities. Residents are urged to always pause and verify any request through official City channels. ‘The City is alerted regularly about various incidents where …
The City of Cape Town was rocked in early October 2025 by a large-scale police operation targeting a massive network of alleged corruption involving municipal contracts. This incident exposed deep questions about the efficacy of the city’s internal oversight mechanisms. Discovery and Investigation The investigation was primarily ignited by a whistleblower’s tip-off regarding alleged …
The Hawks’ Bellville-based serious corruption investigation team have arrested Renay Claudine Ruiters for acts corruption. Ruiters, 47, is a traffic official who allegedly extorted R15 000 from a person whom she arrested for driving under the influence of liquor in September 2023. The matter was brought to the attention of the Hawks and the arrest …
The City of Cape Town has warned prospective housing beneficiaries to be weary of fraudsters posing as community representatives. The city said fraudsters posing as community representatives are active across city but tend to target areas where the city is set to commence with new housing developments. “Residents are advised to exercise caution and not …
CAPE TOWN – The Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court has sentenced Martin Smuts (48), to 10 years imprisonment for defrauding victims in an apparent bogus investment scheme of approximately R6-million. Smuts was arrested on 7 November 2014, by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime unit after investigations revealed that in the course of 2010 and 2012, …
A Cape Town man will serve 12 years effective imprisonment for large-scale Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud worth R15 million, said the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Johannes Tobias Wessels from Kraaifontein was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for fraud in the Wynberg Magistrate Court on Monday. “Wessels fabricated invoices from five of his businesses …
Email Fraud Alert received from: Don I recently received an email with this subject line: Your Payment Attached and I am concerned that it could be an attempt at defrauding me. Let me know in the comments section what you think, please. The full contents of the suspected fraudulent (phishing / scamming) e-mail appear below: …
Three arrests in recent weeks suggest that license disc tampering is on the rise, reports the City of Cape Town. “From these cases it is clear that the drivers are either tampering with the licence discs themselves or paying someone to do it for them. We’re also not ruling out the possibility that people with …
As tax season 2016 comes to an end, two men have been arrested for claiming R110 million VAT refunds for a non-existent business in Cape Town, said the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The business man and his accountant were arrested on Thursday morning. “The business man, his accountant and five connected closed corporations received …
Pretoria – A Hawks investigation has led to the arrest of a suspect and seizure of almost R5.3 million in cash. The Hawks also recovered several ID documents during the operation in Belhar, in Cape Town, on Monday. The suspect (33), who was arrested, is allegedly running an illicit licensing and police clearance operation. Acting …
Members of the Police’s Anti-Corruption Unit arrested a 32-year-old police Detective Constable stationed at Cape Town Central on Thursday 10 November 2016. According to information received the Constable defrauded informers by submitting claims on their behalf and the money claimed never reached them. A case of fraud was opened and an investigation into the matter …
Cape Town – A Cape Flats accounting clerk has been arrested for allegedly defrauding her ex-employers out of more than R4 million. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) nabbed Fadwa Alexander, from Hanover Park, in August after she allegedly transferred R4.3 million into five personal accounts over three years. Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha …
Cape Town – Two men and a woman, involved in the second hand motor trade, appeared in a court in Cape Town on Monday on multiple charges that included racketeering and fraud. Erens Johannes Uys, 48, and Crische Uys, 30, both of Chapman Road in Gordon’s Bay, and Denzil Bell, 35, of Caledon, appeared in …
A brother and sister have appeared today in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court facing charges of Fraud, Uttering and Theft, following their arrest last week Thursday by the Hawks’ Commercial unit. The accused allegedly siphoned approximately R3 million from the City of Cape Town between 2008 and 2010. Kiaamdien Darries, 39, and Rughshana Darries, 38, …
Many incidents have been reported on by the media where the dangers of responding to social media adverts have been highlighted. Still community members and young people become vulnerable to these types of posts, and expose themselves to great danger. On Friday, 9 September 2016 at 12:00 a 23-year-old man from Grassy Park saw a …
Two Nigerian men and two local women were arrested in Cape Town on Tuesday night for opening bank accounts at all the banks in South Africa and using them to receive monies from online dating victims. One suspect was arrested shortly after receiving a dummy parcel from the Hawks at Postnet Somerset West Mall. The …
Email Fraud Alert received from: Severely I recently received an email with this subject line: 45 000 E-marketing database Cape Town. and I am concerned that it could be an attempt at defrauding me. Let me know in the comments section what you think, please. I have received this mail a number of times before …