Parliament has warned members of the public about a scam designed to mislead unsuspecting victims using an email address and WhatsApp number purporting to be that of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to defraud victims.

In a statement issued by Parliament on Sunday, the modus operandi is that the scammer sends an email from a Gmail account, appearing to be that of the Speaker, asking potential victims their WhatsApp contacts to initiate a conversation.

“Once the email chat migrates to WhatsApp, the scammer, whose targets thus far have been several staff members of Parliament, then requests potential victims to urgently purchase them an iTunes voucher.

“The WhatsApp number used bears the name of the Speaker but the profile picture is that of the National Council of Provinces Chairperson, Amos Masondo.  Anyone who receives such an email is urged to ignore it,” Parliament said.

Source: South African Government News Agency