By Staff Reporter

Scammers are trying to defraud government workers of their pension money via SMS by encouraging them to resign rather than retire, the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has warned.

GEPF is the largest pension fund in Africa with more than 1.2 million active members and about 500 000 pensioners and beneficiaries. The fund is responsible for more than R2.3 trillion in assets under its management.

GEPF said it was recently made aware of fraudulent letters being sent to its members and pensioners, “using fake GEPF letterheads by fraudsters trying to defraud members and pensioners off their pension’s money”.

The pension fund said the individuals are sending letters to GEPF members and pensioners to request information relating to their pending pension payments. These letters request members and pensioners to provide:

• Personal details such as identity numbers, pension numbers and bank details.

• Confirm that they agree to transact electronically with the GEPF with respect to submitting and processing of their information.

• Verifying personal details including email and cellphone details.

• Accept and respond to a One-time Pin (OTP) to legitimise the communication.

“Members and pensioners are also being targeted via SMS’s encouraging them to resign and collect their pensions indicating that they would receive more funds when they resign rather than retire.

“Pensioners and members are advised not to respond to such correspondence. Such correspondence should be brought to the attention of the GEPF. Pensioners and members are further advised to always contact the fund to verify any type of communication, especially when they are expecting payment on their pensions.”