Scams have targeted residents in the Namakwa District.
It has come to NFM News’ attention that individuals are posing as personnel or agents of Clientele Limited, distributing vouchers.
This deceptive activity has taken place through door-to-door visits in the Namakwa region.
According to community members, they were promised food and money vouchers in exchange for presenting their Identification Documents (IDs) and bank cards, which were then scanned through two different machines.
This was not an isolated incident, as some residents have reported unauthorized withdrawals for funeral policies from their bank accounts since April of this year, despite not recalling entering into any policy agreements with the company.
Gerold Engelbrecht (43) told NFM News that an amount of more than R300 had been debited from his bank account in the past three months.
“The agents informed us that the vouchers were complimentary, and I am astounded by the unauthorized withdrawal from our bank account, which was facilitated by Clientele Life for the debit order,” said Engelbrecht. “The debit orders are processed continuously on the 25th of each month. When we requested a refund from the bank, they informed us that the matter is beyond their control, as it does not concern them, but the individual or entity in question”.
In response to these reports, Clientele Limited stated they had no knowledge of any agents operating in the Namakwa region.
Yurika Pistorius, Clientèle Life Assurance Company Limited Group Compliance Officer, mentioned, “Unfortunately, we are unable to confirm the identities of the individuals allegedly involved in the dissemination of Clientèle vouchers, as further details in this regard have not been provided. However, we undertake to investigate and closely monitor all known activity within this area.”
Community members are advised to take precautionary measures when encountering agents who claim to be working for a particular company and offer benefits.
According to the South African 3rd Quarter Statistics for 2023/24, commercial crime in the Northern Cape has increased by 25.8%.
In the period from October to December 2022, there were 449 reported crimes, while in the same period in 2023, there were 565 reported crimes. This represents an increase of 116 reported crimes.
Last month, Clientele warned the public to be cautious of offers made on social media platforms.
They stated, “Clientèle would never send unsolicited communication to customers via social media platforms promoting investment products or opportunities, and no executive employee(s) of Clientèle would ever contact a customer via social media for the sale of investment products or opportunities.”
Pistorius recommended that a potential client verify the authenticity of an agent, broker, or representative by contacting Clientèle at 011 320 3000 or by “always having access to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s website to verify whether a representative (employee) is acting on our behalf”.
