Sassa debunks fake R500 chronic illness grant message
Sassa warns beneficiaries to rely on official communication channels and remain cautious of people asking for personal nformation, or payments in exchange for assistance with grants.
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has issued a statement to debunk a fake message that circulated on social media claiming that people over 70 with chronic illnesses could receive an additional R500 per month in grants. Sassa clarified that they did not issue the message. The fabricated message instructed recipients with elderly family members who are chronic patients to apply for the extra R500 by obtaining a form from a Sassa office and having it filled out by a doctor or healthcare facility.
According to Sassa, the message urged recipients to pass it on to their family and friends. The agency administers over 19 million social grants, including the Older Persons Grant for people aged 60 to 74 (R2,315) and those aged 75 and above (R2,335), among others. Beneficiaries are advised to verify the legitimacy of any communication claiming to offer extra grant funds and to respond to any review requests from Sassa promptly, providing necessary information and supporting documents.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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