Alert: Don’t fall for this Dirco legislation services scam

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) warns the public of a scam where fraudsters solicit money for legalisation services.

According to the department’s alert, legalisation services provided by Dirco are free of charge.

Take note of the scams

Dirco services for a fee scam

Services currently offered by the scammers include legalising official (public) documents executed within South Africa for use outside the country

They also claim to provide members of the public with guidelines to obtain the correct signatures or documents, if documents submitted are incorrect or incomplete.

Dirco says: “Should members of the public receive requests for payment of legalisation services by Dirco, please report this immediately to the nearest police station and to the department”.

Any incidents may be reported to the department at 012 351 1000 or legalisation@dirco.gov.za.

Reserve Bank procurement scam

Earlier this month, the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) of a scam where “unscrupulous people circulate fraudulent tenders under the bank’s name”.

In a statement issued by Sarb, the email address and the tender documents attached to the email – calling on prospective suppliers to bid for 300 units of MRTX flashlights – is fake.

“All Sarb email addresses end with ‘resbank.co.za’. Suppliers are advised to scrutinise all bids that they receive, including the email addresses of Sarb buyers, as well as other details of Sarb.”

“It should also be noted that all procurement at Sarb is centralised within its Procurement Division. If a potential supplier is unsure about a tender purporting to be from the Sarb, they are encouraged to contact Sarb’s procurement support desk at supplier@resbank.co.za,” Sarb said.

Gibela Rail Transport Consortium scam

The Gibela Rail Transport Consortium has warned members of the public about a scam designed to mislead the public about existing job opportunities at Gibela’s production factory in Dunnottar, in the City of Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg.

Members of the public are advised that they should know it is a scam when:

• They receive interview invitations via SMS or mobile phone call, because Gibela does not use SMSes or cellphones to invite applicants for interviews.
• They are requested to call the sender on their mobile phone because Gibela does not ask applicants to call the company, particularly on their cellphones. Gibela mostly uses email to confirm interviews and conduct other vacancy-related communications activities.
• The potential victim is required to make a payment in advance. Gibela does not request applicants to pay any money to any individual in any way in exchange for a job placement.
• An applicant is invited for an interview for a job they did not apply for.