Simon’s Town farm targeted in power disconnection scam

Rocklands farm workers treating vegetables. (Photo: Supplied)

By Velani Ludidi and Siyabonga Goni

7 Aug 2024

A Simon’s Town farmer and the workers were targeted for extortion when a man posing as an Eskom employee claimed a ticket had been issued to disconnect power at Rocklands Farm.

Dr Paul Rowe, the owner of Rocklands Farm in Simon’s Town, received a flood of alarming messages on Monday, 5 August from a man claiming to be “Davis Mfundo”, an Eskom official. Mfundo told Rowe a ticket had been issued to disconnect the farm’s power supply due to tampering with a prepaid electricity box. To prevent the disconnection, he demanded a payment of R5,000.

“He claimed to work for Eskom and said he had received a notice that one of the prepaid boxes had been tampered with, and he was coming to cut the power,” Rowe explained. The man persistently pressured Rowe for the money, threatening to cut off the electricity if the payment wasn’t made.

Simon’s Town, however, is not under Eskom’s jurisdiction but is serviced by the City of Cape Town. The power utility confirmed there is no employee by the name of Davis Mfundo.

In a series of WhatsApp voice notes, Mfundo tried to coerce Rowe, who was not at the farm at the time, to pay up to avoid disconnection.

“I can stop the team [Mfundo’s crew] because they are going with three bakkies, there are six of them… I can stop the system and you will receive the reference number,” Mfundo said in one of the voice notes in Daily Maverick’s possession.

Rowe, standing firm, told Mfundo that all his electricity accounts were up to date and demanded proof of the claim, as well as Mfundo’s Eskom credentials and a copy of the notice. Rowe warned that he would press charges for attempted bribery or extortion if the demands continued.

When Daily Maverick contacted the number used to message Rowe, a man who identified himself as Mfundo denied any involvement, claiming he neither worked for Eskom nor had any knowledge of the situation. He also mentioned receiving similar calls and had considered changing his number.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t even work at Eskom or the City of Cape Town, and I did not call anyone,” said Mfundo.

Rocklands farm workers preparing harvested vegetables. (Photo: Supplied)

Rocklands farm manager Pierre van der Spuy initially thought the call might be legitimate, but soon realised it was an extortion attempt.

“He said the electricity would be cut off if we didn’t pay R5,000. I asked if we could pay in cash, but he insisted on e-wallet, which raised red flags,” Van der Spuy said. He said the farm had experienced electrical issues recently, making them more vulnerable to such scams.

In April this year, the municipality warned residents about electricity scammers who pretended to be employed by the city to “scan meters” or “check plugs”.

These scammers, according to the resident who reported them, were well dressed; one with a reflective jacket and a ‘permit’ attached to it, with a clipboard in hand. Trusting that they worked for the city, the resident let them inside her home but soon realised they were not who they claimed to be and asked them to leave, which they did – but not before stealing her gold earrings.

Xanthea Limberg, the city’s Mayco member for energy, urged residents to be vigilant and reminded them that legitimate city workers carried proper identification and a work order specific to their task.

“We remind residents that the city will make an appointment with them before visiting their home,” she said. “We urge our residents to be aware of these scammers and take the necessary steps to ensure all visitors to their home are legitimate city employees or contractors.”

Disconnecting electricity, Limberg emphasised, was a last resort following a formal process of debt recovery.

Explaining the process, Limberg said debt recovery involved the issuing of warning letters or letters of demand advising the property owners/users of services of the imminent restriction or disconnection of services.

“The debtors are well aware of the situation and the action. If no responses are received, or the debt outstanding is not settled even after the warning notices have been served, the next step in terms of legislation is to either disconnect the electricity supply, restrict to a trickle-flow the water supply, or recover the debt through electricity prepaid deduction.”

“Most people, at this stage, come into our offices to either settle their accounts in full or make arrangements to pay off their debts over an agreed period of time and based on their ability to pay.”

Similar reports and warnings of extortion scams have been reported in eThekwini and Ekurhuleni.

Residents are advised to verify the credentials of anyone claiming to be a City or Eskom official and to report any suspicious activity. The City of Cape Town has also launched a city-wide anti-extortion hotline (0800 00 6992). There is a reward system in place for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of extortionists. DM

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