The South African Social Security Agency has made efforts to help people facing financial crises. For this purpose, it has created different types of grants which are applicable to different categories of people.
Unfortunately, some people have spread fake news about SASSA grants on social media. The information on social media about the SASSA R700 grant is fake. People are trying to find ways to apply for the R700 grant, but SASSA offers no such program.
Some people who tried to apply for the fake R700 grant also faced the problem in receiving their actual grant. Please be careful, and don’t believe in such posts unless it comes from original SASSA sources.
Fake News Circulating on Social Media
An unknown person posted a picture of a fake notice on social media. This post started trending instantly. The notice states that SASSA is working with the DA and social development portfolio committee to provide relief vouchers. It claimed the voucher was for unemployed parents and recipients of the COVID-19 social relief of distress grant. According to the notice, the voucher was valued for R700.
Scammers posted another fake advertisem*nt of about R700 on social media. This post mentioned that SASSA had approved the payments for the R700 grant. The post states, “Application Has Begun, And The Citizens That Have Applied Have Started Getting Their Payments“.
SASSA’s Reaction to Fake News
There was widespread confusion about the R700 grants. After many queries from people, SASSA made a tweet in response to these fake posts in April 2022. In the tweet, SASSA targeted the fake post and stated that the agency has no links with this advertisem*nt. The South African Social Security Agency has not introduced any R700 grant. There is no additional type of grant in the SASSA policy apart from grants the agency already provides. SASSA has slammed the advertisem*nt as fake and malicious. The agency solved all the confusion about the R700 grant through this particular tweet.
The agency has also appealed to people not to provide their ID number and personal details to any website apart from the SASSA’s official website. It is important to know that there are also pirated websites of the agency. Do not submit your personal information to those scam sites.
To be safe from these frauds, you must know the official grants SASSA offers.
Read also about How you can file a case against Sassa Fraudsters?
Official Grants of SASSA
SASSA has offered a total of 8 grants for needy citizens. Please do not apply for any additional grant other than these eight grants.
- Older Persons Grant, also known as Old Age Pension (For people aged 60 or above)
- Child Grant, also known as Child Support Grant (For people aged below 18)
- Disability Grant (For disabled people)
- Special COVID-19 SRD Grant, also known as COVID-19 social relief of Distress (For jobless people)
- War Veteran’s Grant (For people who fought WW2 or the Korean war)
- Foster Child’s Grant (For foster children)
- Grant in Aid (Additional funding)
- Care Dependency Grant (For foster parents or caretakers)
Check your SASSA status:
Check Status
What Can You Do If You Find a Fake Advertisem*nt?
If you find an advertisem*nt about any grant except these eight grants, follow the instructions we have provided below.
- First, take a screenshot of that advertisem*nt and note the URL of the website on which the ad is available.
- Afterward, contact the police immediately. You can also report to the SASSA office so that they can take action against scammers.
- You can also call the helpline number of SASSA to report the fake advertisem*nts about any other grant that the agency has not mentioned on its website.
- Then, post that advertisem*nt on social media with the hashtag ‘fake’ in the description and spread awareness about the scam. This step is essential to keep people from falling into the fraudulent trap.
The screenshots and URL you took of that fake advertisem*nt will help you when you report it to the authorities. Your contribution will surely help many others stay safe from fraud.
Read also:
How to Report SASSA Corruption?
Conclusion
Please confirm if you find any news, post, information, or advert before spreading it. It is important to differentiate between real and fake ads. If you find any post or news related to SASSA, you can contact the agency’s representatives to know its reliability. They will guide you on this matter.
Below are the contact numbers of the agency.
- 0800 601 011 is the USSD helpline number of the SASSA
- 082 046 8553 is the WhatsApp number of SASSA
- You can also send messages to the agency through email. The email ID of SASSA is ‘[emailprotected]’.
You can inquire about any queries through these channels
