A Florida business woman was recently defrauded of R191 000 in a scam that could have come out of a Hollywood movie.
The woman, who does not want her business or herself identified’s woes started on 20 May. A woman claiming to be a certain Lerato Masinga, a senior consultant of the supply chain at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Daf), called her to find out if she received the department’s request for a quotation. The business woman did not find this strange since she supplies government departments with various goods from time to time. When she asked the government official where she got her details from, she said from a national database of suppliers to the state. During the conversation the business woman mentioned that her husband also had his own business. After checking her email she indeed found a request, which was on a letterhead that came from the department and seemed legit. The department requested ‘500 M7 Laton’ discs for angle grinders.
She then searched the internet and found a company, Zille Group in Cape Town who stocked the item in question. She in turn requested a quotation from them which came to R191 000 after a discount of R33 000. After Daf accepted her quote she paid the money into the Zille Group’s account and on 28 May received a confirmation letter from the department saying they received the goods in good order and would deposit payment into her bank account two days later.
They then told the woman they are requesting another 500 of the discs and would pay her for both orders when they receive the second order.
It was then that her husband started getting suspicious. They contacted the Daf and then found out no one by the name of Lerato Masinga worked there and the department never requested such goods. The department informed her they were aware of the scam and was investigating it but that they could not reimburse her. When they went to the Zille Group’s web site it was down and no one was answering the phones at the alleged company.
Although Daf scamsters could still be reached at their telephone number the business woman and her husband did not want to alert them and opened a case at Roodepoort Police station where they were told Florida Police was investigating a similar case.
Only in hindsight did the couple pick up small clues they did not see at first. The stamp on the documents looked real but was printed on. The item Daf requested did not exist except on the bogus company’s website which would naturally lead an internet search to them only. The bank account of the company was not in Cape Town but in Randburg. When the police officer started investigating they found all money was withdrawn from the account and the bank employee who helped the account holder to open the account did not work for the bank anymore.
Due to the fact that the scamsters did not know the couple knew they were victims of a scam, the husband received a similar request for a quotation on 4 June, this time allegedly from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). DTI also confirmed they were aware of the scam.
The couple warns business owners to be careful and first make sure the relevant government department has requested the goods in question and also check whether they have the correct telephone numbers for the department they are dealing with.
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