DINEO TSAMELA: Don't be scammed out of your house and home by 'stokvel' fraudsters
For many South Africans, the idea of owning property is a distant dream. In a country with such a big inequality gap, many people can't look forward to owning a home. Some fraudsters have started taking advantage of this and are luring people into "property stokvels" that are nothing more than elaborate scams. They are everywhere on social media, and all of them require you to attend some sort of presentation or join a WhatsApp group where registration fees are charged. Stokvel scams are nothing new to South Africans - scammers just keep presenting seemingly new concepts to impress unsuspecting investors. The property stokvel scams work this way: Each member contributes an amount monthly and the pooled funds are used for the benefit of a single member who wants to buy property. Once that member's property is bought, the next member in line is assisted to buy a property. This continues until all members in the group have a property. Members are required to pay an "administration fee"...
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