An impostor on TikTok is scamming people desperate enough to pay for state-sponsored housing.
The con artist impersonates Mlungisi Mabaso, the member of the mayoral committee for human settlements in the City of Joburg.
He claims people can get a house in Lufhereng — if they pay R25,000, with a deposit of R7,500 to process the registration.
“I urge residents not to fall for this scam. The department does not sell RDP houses. I also want to reiterate that there are no housing allocations in Lufhereng this week,” said Mabaso.
The department of human settlements does, however, have a major project in Lufhereng and will open applications for rentals and allocations in the coming months. These will be communicated on official channels.
Mabaso said people paying to buy a house or to skip the queue are just as guilty of crime as those who solicit the money.
“It is public knowledge that the government provides RDP houses free of charge to qualifying beneficiaries, so if you are an accomplice to the crime, you face arrest and prosecution.”
This is not the first time the MMC's name has been used by fraudsters.
In February, three suspects were arrested for allegedly creating fake social media accounts in Mabaso’s name, promising RDP houses in exchange for cash. The case continues in the Hillbrow magistrate’s court.
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TikTok 'house deposit' is a scam, warns City of Joburg human settlements MMC
Image: 123RF
An impostor on TikTok is scamming people desperate enough to pay for state-sponsored housing.
The con artist impersonates Mlungisi Mabaso, the member of the mayoral committee for human settlements in the City of Joburg.
He claims people can get a house in Lufhereng — if they pay R25,000, with a deposit of R7,500 to process the registration.
“I urge residents not to fall for this scam. The department does not sell RDP houses. I also want to reiterate that there are no housing allocations in Lufhereng this week,” said Mabaso.
The department of human settlements does, however, have a major project in Lufhereng and will open applications for rentals and allocations in the coming months. These will be communicated on official channels.
Mabaso said people paying to buy a house or to skip the queue are just as guilty of crime as those who solicit the money.
“It is public knowledge that the government provides RDP houses free of charge to qualifying beneficiaries, so if you are an accomplice to the crime, you face arrest and prosecution.”
This is not the first time the MMC's name has been used by fraudsters.
In February, three suspects were arrested for allegedly creating fake social media accounts in Mabaso’s name, promising RDP houses in exchange for cash. The case continues in the Hillbrow magistrate’s court.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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