The past few years have been challenging for many South Africans with Cyril's economy not improving. But a lot of people, especially women, have for months saved money through stokvels so that they cover their expenses for the new year.
SAFEGUARD YOUR MONEY
As the stokvel season is here, criminals are also looking at making a quick buck that they did not work for. In Vhembe in Limpopo, a group of women were robbed of over R140 000 in cash by thugs who stormed the shack where they were sharing the money. Recently, a woman who had the stokvel money was also robbed at gun-pointing Sekhukhune jut after a meeting with other stokvel members to discuss the distribution of their money.
With all this, incidents that have been happening for years, the South African Police Services have shared useful tips to help stokvel members safeguard their hard-earned cash.
TIPS TO YOUR STOKVEL MONEY SAVE
There are always criminals lurking everywhere, sniffing information about how stokvels operate, so they can pounce on their unsuspecting victims, so to avoid being caught wanting this festive, the police advise that you:
- Avoid announcing stokvel meetings or money
- Avoid carrying large sums of money
- Keep money in the account
- Do not withdraw all your money at the same time
- Avoid withdrawing money in dim areas
- Walk in groups and ensure that there are males in the group
- Don't make deposits during high-risk days, such as the Monday after month end and over weekends
MAKE ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS
- Don't make cash deposits of club members' money on high-risk days.
- Change the days on which you deposit money or withdraw money.
- Avoid money sharing during peak holiday months like December.
- Avoid making cash payments.
- Make electronic payments only.
- Don't withdraw all your money at once.
