South Africa: Human Settlements Warns of Fake Linkedin Accounts

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The Department of Human Settlements notes with great concern a fake LinkedIn account purporting to be that of Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, used by scammers to take money from unsuspecting individuals promising them funding opportunities.

The fake account recently scammed a member of the public under a fake campaign titled "European Business Fund" requesting a fee of R8000 for registration and a further R60000 after submitting a business plan.

We wish to place it on record that Minister Kubayi has only one official LinkedIn account, accessible here, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmamoloko-kubayib62927203/(link is external) . As such, other accounts should be treated with suspicion, and members of the public are further encouraged to refrain from engaging with suspicious accounts and report or block them. Some of these fake social accounts often spread scams, promote phony products and even share lies and misinformation.

Another scam that often affects the department is the Request For Quotations (RFQs). Therefore, when the public comes across these suspicious activities, they must not fall into the trap of losing their financial resources and must also report the accounts or alert the department.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Department of Human Settlements: Republic of South Africa.