Durban pensioners warned against grant scam
A 67-year-old pensioner from Phoenix is one of the victims of a SA Social Security Agency scam making the rounds.
The agency says scammers have been posing as its employees to fraudulently withdraw cash from beneficiaries' accounts and through debit orders.
Aysha Mohammed says her diabetic mother-in-law realised last week that her monthly grant was short of a few hundred rand that she'd been billed for airtime even though she doesn't own a cellphone.
"It's targeting the [elderly]. She does so much with the money. She buys her insulin, medication and she also supports herself so it's very difficult.
Also read: How to avoid pension fraud
The agency's Khomoco Diseko says beneficiaries must never give out their personal details. He says agency officials do not visit people's homes to request their details.
"That type of information is handled within the SASSA offices only. So keep your pin secret, you must not disclose to anyone even if it's a SASSA official. The pin is yours not SASSA's pin," he said.
(File photo)