Cape Town - It seems criminals are out to get Nhlanhla Nciza. In 2017 someone hacked into her social media account, stole her cellphone number and started "borrowing" money from her contacts – and she couldn’t do anything to stop it at the time, as she was in Kenya performing.
Now the thief has struck again. Monday afternoon Nhlanhla sent out a warning to her friends on WhatsApp to ignore messages from her old number as she’s been hacked again.
Speaking to DRUM about the matter she says, “I’ve posted a notice warning everyone about my number being hacked and asking that all those who have it, block it. It saddens me that I have to post about selfish, inconsiderate thuggery again because of recent dangerous and desperate incidents.
Last week a close colleague and friend of hers was robbed of all her belongings after agreeing to meet up with the hackers, who led her to believe she’d be assisting in an event to honour Nhlanhla in Ekurhuleni. “They set up a time and spot at the municipality offices and cleaned her out, which has left me hurt and worried because it could have been worse – all in my name,” she says.
In the same week another industry colleague of hers was scammed out of R7 000 when she believed Nhlanhla needed urgent financial assistance.
“Several other people were also targeted but luckily they decided to call me first and verify so they escaped the trap. However, my fear is there are more people who have become victims and some who will still be targeted,” she says.
Nhlanhla asks that people ignore any messages coming from her old number and apologised to everyone who had been affected by the scam. “These people are getting more creative with their lies and highly dangerous in their efforts to scam you off your hard-earned cash.”
