A Day in the Life of the University of Pretoria. 19 October 2015

On this "Day in the life of the University of Pretoria" UP’s Department of Security Services warned students against scam artists. The article, featuring the most prevalent 2015 scams targeting students, was printed in the student newspaper the Perdeby on this day.

One of the scams was the “false prophet scam” where mainly female students were approached by individuals that claimed to give them divine intervention while praying for them. Victims were instructed to hand over their property while the student went to buy water for the purification process. When the student returned with the water, their property, along with the scam artist, had disappeared. Other popular scams including students being targeted by perpetrators impersonating the Avon company and another scam where the perpetrator impersonated a police officer. In both these instance the victims were required to hand over personal items, like their phones and wallets, in order to take part in the process. The Department of Security Services urged students not to hand over their personal belongings to strangers and report all incidents to the Department of Security Services.

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