The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) has warned the public about a fake post circulating on social media claiming application forms for a R700 grant are available.
The post encourages people between the age of 18 and 35 to apply for the grant through an online registration process.
Sassa said the link is not from the agency and the post is “fake”.
“Sassa warns clients against the below fake information. This message does not come from Sassa. Kindly ignore or delete it.”
SASSA warns clients against the below FAKE information. This message does not come from SASSA. Kindly ignore or delete it.#SASSACARES @The_DSD @nda_rsa @GCISMedia @GovernmentZA pic.twitter.com/sZBKXKt1IQ
Speaking on eNCA, Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi advised people to verify the information.
“We just want to put it on record that when we want to communicate with our beneficiaries there is a proper way in which we communicate with them. One of those particular platforms which we use is to send alerts because we’ve got the addresses of individuals so that they are able to respond,” said Letsatsi.
Previously, Sassa warned those who receive, or are applying for, the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant to be careful who they share their personal details with, and to always check their contact details on the system are correct.
The agency issued a statement after its customer care unit in Mpumalanga received several calls from people who receive the grant, complaining that their contact details have been changed.
According to Sassa, there is a WhatsApp message circulating in which scammers are offering to assist people to complete their applications.
The scammers request the personal details of the person.
“By surrendering personal details to strangers, the scammers are able to change the contact details on behalf of applicants,” said Sassa.
The process of changing your contact details requires your ID number.
Once you have provided that, you will receive an OTP number on your cellphone.
Entering the OTP number will allow you to update your contact details.
To verify or change your contact details you must log in to Sassa’s R350 grant website.
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