The Gibela Rail Transport Consortium has warned members of the public about a scam designed to mislead the public about existing job opportunities at Gibela’s production factory in Dunnottar, in the City of Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg.

At the centre of this scam is a mobile number and WhatsApp profile falsely purporting to be that of Gibela’s head of communications, Loyiso Jiya.

“After investigating the matter, Gibela has discovered that the cellphone number 065 655 0351, with a fake WhatsApp profile bearing Jiya’s image, is being used to defraud members of the public – especially those residing in the vicinity of the Gibela train manufacturing factory,” Gibela said on Wednesday.

Members of the public have been encouraged to disregard any correspondence emanating from this number, as it is a scam.

“As a standard recruitment procedure, Gibela advertises its vacancies on the company website (www.gibela-rail.com). Gibela’s contractors and subcontractors have their own recruitment channels that are not managed by Gibela employees,” the consortium said.

Members of the public are advised that they should know it is a scam when:

They receive interview invitations via SMS or mobile phone call, because Gibela does not use SMSes or cellphones to invite applicants for interviews.

They are requested to call the sender on their mobile phone because Gibela does not ask applicants to call the company, particularly on their cellphones. Gibela mostly uses email to confirm interviews and conduct other vacancy-related communications activities.

The potential victim is required to make a payment in advance. Gibela does not request applicants to pay any money to any individual in any way in exchange for a job placement.

An applicant is invited for an interview for a job they did not apply for.

For more information, or to report any fraudulent activity, please contact Gibela Head of Communications Loyiso Jiya at loyiso.jiya@gibela-rail.com.

Source: South African Government News Agency