Finance Minister warns public of scam

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Pretoria - Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has warned the public about bogus letters or emails purporting to be from him or other senior public officials.

“Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba would like to warn South Africans about bogus letters or emails which purport to be from him and other senior public officials, and use what looks like the logos of National Treasury and other State institutions,” said the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

The emails, said the Ministry, tend to ask for personal details of the recipient or request monies to be deposited into given accounts.

Minister Gigaba condemned the use of his name in what appears to be an attempt to con South Africans to part with their hard-earned money.

The Minister urged South Africans to report all suspected scams at their nearest police station.

“The Ministry of Finance neither requires payments from anyone for its services nor does it pay out funds to anyone. The origins of these scam notices and how individuals are targeted is continuously being evolved by criminals and is an international phenomenon.

“Should members of the public receive a communication purporting to be from the Ministry of Finance (or any other government department) that refers to payments to be made or to be received, it is clearly a scam and they should not respond to it,” said the Ministry. – SAnews.gov.za