The Stellenbosch Football club has warned soccer enthusiasts against scammers that have been requesting payment for trials at the club. PHOTO: Unsplash/Lindsey LaMont, Pixabay/Gerd Altmann, Instagram/Stellenbosch Football Club.
Stellenbosch Football Club (SFC) recently alerted their social media followers to continuous fake social media accounts that were scamming soccer enthusiasts out of their money.
According to SFC’s statement on their social media platforms, on 17 August, the scammers have been requesting payment for SFC trials on Facebook and WhatsApp platforms, only to disappear with the money.
The club alerted its community to the scam on 17 August. FACEBOOK POST: Stellenbosch Football Club
It is not yet clear how many people have fallen victim to the scam, however, according to the club’s social media posts, at least five people have come forward and indicated that they have received the messages.
According to the examples of scam messages shared on the club’s Facebook and Twitter pages, victims are being persuaded to pay anywhere from R370 to R480.
“It is regrettable that these scammers use the club’s name as a vehicle for corruption and fraud,” said Courtney Williams, spokesperson for SFC.
Williams said that the club is not holding any upcoming trials. He added that the club would not request any kind of transactional fee for trials in the future, nor had they ever made this request before.
“Any information around trials would be communicated through [our] official website and social media platforms,” said Williams.
The scam text messages request different amounts of money as a registration fee, based on the age of the young players hoping to try out for the team. The text also uses fake dates, venues and other false details to convince their victims of its legitimacy. SCREENSHOT: Facebook/Stellenbosch Football Club.
It was stated in the club’s social media statement that the scammers use the contact name “Jason Rhoda” as part of their scam.
According to the club’s Facebook page, the actual Jason Rhoda is their Multichoice Diski Challenge assistant coach and is also a sergeant at Stellenbosch SAPS.
Captain Nathalie Martin of Stellenbosch SAPS has confirmed that sergeant Rhoda is not involved in the scam and that they are aware that his name is being used by the scammers.
Nothing could be done about the scams yet, Martin said.
“The club or the victims of the scam will need to open a case,” said Martin.
She confirmed that once a case has been opened, Stellenbosch SAPS could investigate further.
The scammers target the many young soccer enthusiasts who hope to be part of the SFC team. PHOTO: Instagram/Stellenbosch Football Club.
According to one source, who wishes to remain anonymous, she fell victim to the scam after being sent a text message from a family friend who wanted to participate in the trials and was asking her to help pay the fee.
“He is [in] grade 12 and really wants to play soccer professionally,” the source said. “It’s very sad that people are trying to take advantage of young people in this way.”
The source added that she was unsure who first sent her family friend the text message. After suspecting the text was fraudulent, she reached out to the SFC to confirm its credibility.
The SFC has since confirmed that the source’s text message was part of the scam as well.