Update: Hawks gets involved in Record exposé

After the Record recently reported on an elaborate scam, more victims and potential victims who have been approached have come forward from as far afield as Durban.

The Hawks has at the behest of the Record decided to take on the case.
Although the modus operandi is exactly the same in every case the latest victim’s story has a disturbing difference that could possibly lead to more businesses being duped.

According to Tebogo Phasha, who is in the security industry, he received a fax seemingly from the Department of Labour (DOL) at the beginning of May requesting a quote for 95 industrial grass cutters. This was followed shortly after by a phone call to find out whether he received the fax.

After searching around Phashas company could not find the exact product and informed the ‘department’ accordingly but said they could source a similar product. The ‘department’ agreed as long as it was of industrial quality.

At this point the scam deviates from the other instances where it was an imaginary product solely supplied by an imaginary company on the internet. Phasha indeed found the product at a local legitimate supplier in Honeydew. The cost to his company was just over R500 000. They added their mark-up and submitted the quote. They then received a call from the ‘department’ saying they have under quoted and since they still have some funds in their budget Phasha should up his quote, which he did.

Brazenly the scamsters informed him to collect the purchase order at the DOL’s offices in Pretoria. The company’s Managing Director (MD) went to Pretoria and while he waited in the reception area the ‘official’ met him. They concluded their business in his car. Everything seemed legitimate and nothing untoward was suspected. The letter asked for the goods to be delivered within seven days. Phasha’s company delivered the goods on 20 May. A day before delivery the ‘department’ once again contacted Phasha and asked him if he does not own any other companies because they had more orders. Phasha wanted to know why they did not use suppliers in Pretoria and was told that it was “difficult to find suppliers with his kind of financial muscle”.

The ‘department’ requested that Phasha’s company to phone on the day of delivery as soon as they leave Florida which they did. On arrival at the DOL they were met in the parking lot and told that the municipality urgently needed the product and a truck would soon be there to collect the cutters straight away in order to deliver them. The ‘official’ signed for the goods and Phasha and his trucks left.

“Still no alarm was raised and we were still under the impression everything was above board,” said Phasha. He remained in contact with the scamsters which made him feel even more at ease. He was promised that payment would be made on 4 June. When the day came and went he could not get hold of the scamsters anymore.

He then went to the DOL again and met with the supply chain director but was told that he was scammed and that no one by the names provided to him worked there. They told him that their fraud department would investigate.

“The way they did this convinces me these guys know the departments inside out and has worked for them before or has connections on the inside. The fact that in my case there was an actual product that I personally delivered makes me think they knew about a real department that was looking for the product and they would use my cutters to supply them,” said Pasha.

When the Record spoke to Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi he immediately said that the case will be investigated by the Hawks since he believes it is a national syndicate.

“We have more resources and are better capable to tackle a case of this magnitude,” said Mulaudzi.

He asked the complainants to report the case to the Hawks head office and supply them with all the relevant documentation.

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Also read:

Bogus government department’s R200 000 scam

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