Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Check Point Desk
A GHOST “gold mine” in Matabeleland South has struck fools’ gold, conning desperate job seekers out of their hard-earned cash in a slick WhatsApp recruitment scam.
In a suspicious recruitment blitz, a non-existent company calling itself Maphisa Mines (Group of Mines) targets 2 500 hopefuls, offering juicy jobs from engineers to cleaners, but with one catch: a “mandatory lab test” costing US$30!
The too-good-to-be-true opportunity is fronted by a shadowy woman named Mrs Manyora Soko, who communicates only via WhatsApp (0789453562). Once you apply, you’re instantly “hired” and instructed to send money via EcoCash to a Mrs Sifiso Gumbo (0785821394) — supposedly for chest x-rays, TB, stool, and sputum tests!
And it gets fishier.
Our Check Point Desk team applied, and guess what? Instant employment! We were welcomed to the “biggest gold reserve in Southern Africa” with over 107.4 million oz reserves — or so they claimed. They even promised final interviews at Rainbow Hotels in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.
But hotel staff said they knew nothing about the bookings, and more than 20 other duped applicants had already come asking.
Once payment is made, the scammers vanish; no replies, no phone answers, just digital dust.
To make matters worse, it seems the fraudsters hijacked news of a legitimate employment drive at Stella Mine, owned by Gwanda-Tshitudze MP Fisani Moyo, twisting it into their hoax.
MP Moyo fumed:
“That picture is not from my mine! I’ve had countless calls about this scam. There’s no mine called Maphisa Mines. People are being duped!”
The Ministry of Mines has since confirmed the con.
“No such mine is registered. This is a scam — the public must not fall for it,” warned Permanent Secretary Pfungwa Kunaka.
🔴 SCAMMER CHECKLIST
✅ Job offer without interviews
✅ WhatsApp-only contact
✅ Upfront medical “fees”
✅ Vanishing act after payment
B-Metro’s Verdict:
If you didn’t dig it, don’t pay for it! The only thing gold about this mine is how it polishes lies. Stay woke!
