Even in death, the legacy of celebrated Kwaito star Siphiwe "General" Sibisi is being exploited, with his family falling victim to a callous scam. Barely days after his passing, fraudsters have targeted his grieving relatives, preying on their vulnerability during this difficult time.
The scam unfolded when Zamo Mguli, General's younger sister, received a phone call from an individual claiming to be advocate Sekoto, representing Universal Music. This alleged lawyer contacted Mguli under the guise of assisting with insurance claims related to General's estate.
"He counted the list of people which included my brother Xolani as beneficiaries. I then decided to add my brother Xolani on the call," Mguli recounted to ZiMoja.
The scammer informed them about significant potential payouts, including a R300 000 insurance claim. He then requested personal information, including ID copies, proof of address, and banking details, ostensibly to facilitate the payment process.
Mguli stated that the bogus advocate initially requested R4 000 to cover alleged penalties, a sum she paid without suspicion. However, shortly after this payment, another demand followed.
"He said there is an extra R800 for tax clearance that needs to be paid immediately, but for this one he claimed that it needed to be paid to another advocate in Pretoria, which I also paid into a different bank account," Mguli explained.
The scammer's true intentions were revealed when the family attempted to move General's body from a Diepkloof government mortuary to a facility the scammer had specified as being used by Universal Music.
"We asked him whom I am supposed to be meeting up with at the mortuary to move the body and he was no longer responding to me," Mguli said.
Repeated attempts to contact the supposed advocate proved futile. Further investigation revealed that the designated mortuary had no record of any such arrangement.
It was only after a call from her bank alerted her to fraudulent transactions that Mguli realised she had been scammed.
"They told us this was all fraud. The first account I had paid money into was being investigated by the bank's fraud department. They said it is an ongoing scam. That is when it hit me that we have been scammed and this was fraud," she shared.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of grieving families in the wake of a loss and the lengths to which unscrupulous individuals will go to exploit their emotional distress. The brazenness of the scam, targeting a family dealing with the death of a loved one, is particularly shocking.
The scammer's meticulous approach, including providing seemingly legitimate details and making multiple requests for progressively smaller amounts of money, made the deception highly convincing.
The timing of the scam, occurring just before General’s funeral, adds another layer of cruelty. The family's grief is compounded by the financial loss and the emotional distress caused by this heartless act.
