Scamsters are targeting companies registered on the government’s Central Suppliers Database with some of them losing up to 2-million rand in fake tender contracts.
Private Investigator Rick Crouch who has been investigating the matter for several clients said that while the people behind the scam vary, it appears that they have someone on the inside working with them because the victims were all registered on the database.
He said the victims were asked to supply a wide range of products including air conditioners, bulletproof vests, solar equipment and pumps.
“Most times it is things that the victim does not provide and from a completely different industry, but people get excited because they are getting work from the government. I myself get 4 or 5 a day sometimes and have noticed the increase from before Christmas, I am also registered on the CSD,” he said.
Crouch said the scam first emerged during the Covid-19 lockdown.
How it works is that the crooks send out what appears to be a “genuine” Request for Quotation (RFQ) pretending that the goods are needed by the departments of health or defence.
“The RFQ will ask the company to quote an item that is urgently needed by the department, it will give a specific description and/or part number of this item. When the victim company conducts a google search for that description or part number, the search result will show only one supplier for that specific item.
“The website seems legitimate, but on closer inspection, there are a couple of red flags, like the only number posted is a cell number and the email address is a Gmail address,” he said.
Crouch said the victim would then contact the fake supplier for a quotation and then tell the alleged government department that they were able to supply the requested goods.
“After much back and forth between the victim, the RFQ requester and the supplier, the victim places the order which will be delivered directly to the RFQ requesting department, the victim receives the invoice and pays the amount requested to the supplier.”
He says the amount of money lost by the various targets range from R600 000 up to R2 million, and after the “deal” is done the con artists go missing and the victims only discover that they’ve been scammed when they submit their invoice for payment.
“Now one of two things happen, the RFQ requester and the supplier go silent and disappear, or the RFQ requester emails the victim within a few days saying they received the items and that they are so impressed with the service that they will place another urgent order, the whole cycle starts again and the victim finds out too late that they have been scammed, sometimes twice by the same scammer,” said Crouch.
He says that in the last few weeks there's been an increase in the numbers of victims seeking assistance because when they do attempt to open a case with the police, they are usually turned away on the basis that “there is no one to open a case against,” said Crouch.
Foster Mohale, the spokesman for the National Department of Health said they were aware of the scam and called on entrepreneurs to verify information with the department before signing contracts or spending money. He says they’ve been inundated with calls from people who have fallen victim to the scam.
“The Department of Health warns members of the public about scammers claiming to be working for the department’s procurement unit sourcing quotations for various health services.
“The scammers are using the departmental office address, logo and fake email address to target unsuspecting and innocent community members, especially business owners to fall into their trap. These scammers also influence the businesses where to procure such services.”
Mohale has urged those who receive a suspicious RFQ from anyone claiming to represent the Department to check the email address of the sender, and to verify the authenticity of the request by contacting the department on 012 395 800 before actioning it.
“We receive these regularly, every month, this has been happening for a while,” said Mohale.
He said some of the e-mails used by the fraudsters included [email protected] and NDOH@nationalhealth gov.org. He said government emails did not have “org” in their addresses.
Earlier this week the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) warned the public about a scam in which a company claiming to be working with one of its facilities duped “desperate people” to apply for job opportunities and asked them to pay R1010 for “assessments”.
“The GDoH does not work with external parties to recruit staff and does not request any form of payment to access job opportunities.
“During this period, scammers go on a rampage to scam desperate people looking to find jobs, bursaries and placement into schools and institutions of learning. The GDoH urges the public to first enquire with government entities through social media platforms or contact numbers to verify whether opportunities are fake or not, unless advertised in the platforms stated above,” it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Crouch has called on members of the public to be more vigilant and has warned that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was.