The students said that when they arrived at the mine they were shocked to learn that they had wasted their money and time on a scam.
“We called ‘Mike’ and he gave us another contact number [which appears] on the mine’s website,” she said. ‘Mike’ told us that we needed to meet him at Moruleng Mall, where we’d do a medical examination to get a medical certificate.
“He told us that we need to transfer R550 each to a TymeBank account. That’s when we realised that this was a scam because we do not know of a big company that uses that bank.”
The student then called the college, which tried unsuccessfully to contact “Mofokeng”.
The distressed students camped at the mall for hours while the college arranged transport to take them back to Gauteng. While at the mall, the students said they met students from four other institutions in Gauteng who had been scammed by the same man.
On Tuesday, some of the students were seen leaving the college carrying their clothes and bedding in bags.
An electrical engineering student said: “I am from Mpumalanga and have nowhere to go because I did not pay rent for June as I was going to be in another province where the accommodation would have been covered by the mine.”
Jan Greyling, the spokesperson for the P&T Training Educational Institution, said they were approached by what appeared to be a genuine agency which had promised to place students at the mine.
“The agency presented documentation aligned with legitimate requirements. As part of the placement process, P&T Training incurred costs associated with the required medical clearances for the learners, ensuring they were fully prepared for their work-based learning experience,” he said.
Greyling said arrangements were made for the students to report to the mine as stipulated in the placement agreement with the agency on the college’s behalf.
He said the matter has been referred to their legal team for investigation.
Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine spokesperson Hope Tyira confirmed that “Mofokeng” tried to solicit payments for medical examinations and certificates using a fake recruitment process.
Tyira said the mine was investigating the matter with their shareholders.
“On becoming aware of the incident, we acted swiftly and in co-ordination with relevant partners to safeguard the wellbeing of the students and we are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the matter,” he said.
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Scammer dupes college managers and students with fake internship jobs
Hopefuls took the two-hour trip to Rustenburg only to find there were no jobs
A scammer duped college managers by promising their students nine-month employment contracts at a mine and then disappeared after they arrived to start work.
The man, who called himself “Mike Mofokeng”, is said to have altered Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine’s landline number on Google, replacing it with his cellphone number.
He then approached the P&T Training Educational Institution in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, to encourage its managers to have their students registered and placed at the North West-based mine for a “life-changing opportunity to gain experience in mechanical and electrical engineering while earning a salary”.
The college informed the students and instructed them to meet “Mofokeng” at the mine in Rustenburg on June 2.
The excited students took the two-hour trip to Rustenburg, little knowing that the journey would leave them angry and confused as the mine was not expecting them. The mine also knew nothing about a “Mike Mofokeng”.
A 25-year-old mechanical engineering student said she sold her furniture because she expected to be away in another province for some time while earning a living to support her family.
“I needed money to cover me for the first month at work, so I sold my belongings. I sold my fridge for R900, the heater for R60 and the carpet for R200.
“We had to pay the driver R450 each to get us to Rustenburg. We also had to buy snacks for the trip,” she said.
The students said that when they arrived at the mine they were shocked to learn that they had wasted their money and time on a scam.
“We called ‘Mike’ and he gave us another contact number [which appears] on the mine’s website,” she said. ‘Mike’ told us that we needed to meet him at Moruleng Mall, where we’d do a medical examination to get a medical certificate.
“He told us that we need to transfer R550 each to a TymeBank account. That’s when we realised that this was a scam because we do not know of a big company that uses that bank.”
The student then called the college, which tried unsuccessfully to contact “Mofokeng”.
The distressed students camped at the mall for hours while the college arranged transport to take them back to Gauteng. While at the mall, the students said they met students from four other institutions in Gauteng who had been scammed by the same man.
On Tuesday, some of the students were seen leaving the college carrying their clothes and bedding in bags.
An electrical engineering student said: “I am from Mpumalanga and have nowhere to go because I did not pay rent for June as I was going to be in another province where the accommodation would have been covered by the mine.”
Jan Greyling, the spokesperson for the P&T Training Educational Institution, said they were approached by what appeared to be a genuine agency which had promised to place students at the mine.
“The agency presented documentation aligned with legitimate requirements. As part of the placement process, P&T Training incurred costs associated with the required medical clearances for the learners, ensuring they were fully prepared for their work-based learning experience,” he said.
Greyling said arrangements were made for the students to report to the mine as stipulated in the placement agreement with the agency on the college’s behalf.
He said the matter has been referred to their legal team for investigation.
Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine spokesperson Hope Tyira confirmed that “Mofokeng” tried to solicit payments for medical examinations and certificates using a fake recruitment process.
Tyira said the mine was investigating the matter with their shareholders.
“On becoming aware of the incident, we acted swiftly and in co-ordination with relevant partners to safeguard the wellbeing of the students and we are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the matter,” he said.
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