There are probably very few people that didn’t want to be a pilot when they grew up, but for those who pursued their dream, South African Airways has a Cadet Pilot Development Programme. The same programme is now the centre of fraudulent websites, and the airline has warned users not to visit them.

“South African Airways (SAA) would like to advise the South African public that it has taken note of unofficial websites that purport to be SAA official websites. Those websites contain false and/or misleading information about SAA’s Cadet Pilot Development Programme and cabin crew recruitment process,” SAA said in a statement.

The company also warned that the false websites are making use of its corporate identity to look like official websites, and explained that they are asking for fee in order to process any applications Cadet Pilot Development Programme and cabin crew recruitment process.

“A quick way of identifying these bogus sites is that they ask for a fee to be paid to ‘secure an application, or to ensure that an applicant gets shortlisted’. SAA never charges any fee during recruitment drives,” it said.

SAA is urging the public to contact the airline if they are unsure if the website they are visiting is genuine or not.

“SAA would like to clarify that it does not have any relationship whatsoever with those channels (websites), nor individuals behind them. Members of the public are advised to take caution and are encouraged to contact SAA telephonically in case they need to verify the official SAA electronic platforms they could use.”

[Source – SAA, Image – CC by 2.0/Xevi V]