Is This Facebook Post Advertising Free Training at the South African Police Service Legitimate?

On 14th November 2021 a Facebook post impersonating the South African Police Service (SAPS) claims that the organisation is offering free training opportunities.

Background

Promising a stipend of R4300-R7500, the post requires applicants to submit their details and contacts through an online form. An additional requirement is that applicants must be willing to be permanently employed after the training.

Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a surge of fake job adverts online. These adverts target vulnerable youth. Africa Uncensored in collaboration with iLab, DW Akademie, and Code For Africa investigated 33 scams such recruitment Facebook accounts, groups and pages targeting Kenyans.

Verification

Official communication from SAPS states that this post was flagged as fake on December 14, 2021. The communication read, “fake news social media posts making the rounds. The #SAPS refutes this and urges members of the public not to respond to fake advertisements for recruitment.”

Comparing these Facebook pages, the SAPS’s official Facebook account was created on May 26, 2011, whereas the one sharing this poster was created on March 22, 2020.

Verdict

This Facebook post claiming to offer free training opportunities at the South African Police Service is FAKE.

This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.

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