Bogus KZN health MEC tries to dupe car buyers on Facebook

There is a fake KwaZulu-Natal health MEC in town - and he's trying to rip you off.

That's the word from the office of the KZN MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo's office‚ who issued a warning to social media users on Tuesday.

In a statement‚ Dhlomo's office said: "It has come to the MEC’s attention that the administrator(s) of the page is involved in fraudulent activities‚ including reportedly successfully selling a non-running car to an unsuspecting social media user."

It said that‚ unlike MEC Dhlomo’s official Facebook page‚ which is managed and run by the KZN Department of Health’s Corporate Communications Unit‚ on the online impostor’s page the MEC’s surname is wrongly spelled as “Dlomo".

The bogus doctor‚ who has 4,999 friends‚ also lists MEC Dhlomo as an employee of the Western Cape Department of Health‚ and falsely states that he studied at Cape Peninsula University of Technology‚ went to Cebisa Secondary School‚ and lives in Cape Town.

Although the fake page has been reported to the administrators of Facebook‚ it is yet to be taken down.

The department said the matter is‚ also currently under investigation by law enforcement authorities and an independent cyber crime intelligence expert.

"In a rapidly changing media and communications environment‚ MEC Dhlomo recognises the value of social media as an agent of public empowerment through the dissemination of information‚ and exchange of ideas. However‚ MEC Dhlomo will not tolerate the use of his name or photographs for nefarious purposes by any individual‚" the department added.