Don’t become a victim of tender scams
Police advise business owners to scrutinise tender deals to ensure they do not become victims of fraud
THE SAPS in KZN has urged the public to not fall victim to tender fraud scams making the rounds.
SAPS provincial spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala said an old trend has resurfaced whereby fraudsters make contact with small business owners and mislead them into believing they have been awarded tenders from government departments.
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“Fraudulent letterheads and email addresses are used to request these businesses to supply a specific or unusual product,” said Gwala.
To source the products, she said the small business owners would search on the internet and identify a specific supplier who is also part of the scam.
“After paying an amount of cash to the alleged supplier to order the items, the victims realise they were scammed.
The scam has been in existence since 2015 and slowed down by 2020 after previous warnings from the police.”
Approximately 68 cases were reported where the suspects have reverted to using the same modus operandi.
She said the scammers were targeting desperate small business owners who are still cementing their feet in their particular industries.
“We are appealing to community members to be aware of these ongoing scams and verify with the relevant government department if they receive such requests,” she said.
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