Mayor warns: Scammers are using my name!

"IF someone asks for money in my name, don't give it to them, it's a scam."

These are the words of eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba.

He warned residents not to fall into the trap of a scammer who is busy scamming unaware residents out of their money using his name.

The eThekwini Municipality spokesman, Mluleki Mntungwa, said it has come to the attention of the municipality that there is a fraudster on the loose who is soliciting money from members of the public in Xaba's name.

"We want to alert the public about this scammer who is sending WhatsApp messages asking people to send money to the mayor as his bank app has a problem," he said.

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Mluleki said this is a scam and residents should treat it as such.

"Mayor Xaba has condemned this fraudulent activity and he is encouraging members of the public who come across such scams to report them to law enforcement agencies," he said.

An eThekwini resident, Nonhlanhla Ndaba, said: "People are desperate to make money they've even resolved into using other people's profiles. I'm glad the mayor picked this up now before more people were scammed."

Another resident, Talent Mchunu, said scammers should be given a harsh sentence when they are caught because they are stealing other people's hard-earned cash and that is unfair.