The Randfontein Police would like to alert residents about a scam trend they have noticed over the past six months.
The fraud trend involves criminals targeting companies in the area for tenders and contracts for supposed governmental departments.
According to Captain Appel Ernst, spokesperson for the Randfontein Police, “The modus operandi is quite similar in all cases. A person from a ‘government department, local government or other government institution’ calls a supplier and requests for articles of a wide rage. Mining equipment, furniture and tools are but a few of the items that are requested.”
She said if the supplier indicates the time frame for the tender and supply cannot be met the caller insists the supplier contact a subcontractor who is a ‘registered’ provider to governmental departments which the caller provides.
The subcontractor who is eager to assist produces a tender which is accepted by the ‘governmental department.’ The subcontractor then requests money from the supplier before production is started.
Once the supplier realises the delivery date has not been met, the supplier starts to enquire only to find that the subcontracting company does not exist and the ‘governmental department’ has no knowledge of any tenders for the goods that were supposed to be provided.
Investigators of fraud cases in Randfontein indicates that this modus operandi is more frequent in the past six months and needs to warn companies in Randfontein to refrain from placing orders and paying money to subcontractors whom they do not deal with every day.
“Companies should ensure that they know the subcontractor they deal with and pay monies to. Thousands of Rands were lost by companies in the Randfontein area, due to this hoax,” Ernst said.
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