Media statement

    For immediate release                                                                           03 August 2021

    Scammers targeting communities in Limpopo (Giyani)

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) wishes to caution members of the public about imposters pretending to be fieldworkers from Statistics South Africa. The scammers are going door-to-door and claim to be profiling households. They request members of the public to provide their banking details and also to confirm if they have mobile banking apps. It is alleged that some members of the community have been robbed of money by these scammers.

Stats SA does not ask respondents to provide their banking details, nor confirm if they are using mobile banking apps. Members of the public are urged to be vigilant and not fall victim to the scam.

The organisation has communicated its temporary suspension of all face-to-face data collection due to the latest COVID-19 restrictions. This includes the frame update project, in which fieldworkers go door-to-door collecting contact details from households so that we can use alternative interviewing modes, including computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) and computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI), to ensure the continued provision of much-needed economic and social statistics. We are currently conducting a risk assessment to determine when we can resume face-to-face data collection. The public will be informed once this decision has been finalised.

Stats SA fieldworkers can be easily identified in the following ways. They will have Stats SA-branded bibs, Stats SA ID cards, and introduction letters. To verify that the person at your door is a legitimate Stats SA staff member you can check online (https://www.statssa.gov.za/Fieldworkerverification/FWVerification.php ), contact the call centre on 0800 110 248, or your nearest provincial or district office (contact list link).

Ends

For media enquiries contact:

Felicia Sithole

Cell: 076 430 0693: Email: felicias@statssa.gov.za

Issued by Statistics South Africa