KZN police have issued a warning to the public not to fall victim to tender fraud scams.
According to Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala, cops have detected a trend where fraudsters make contact with small businesses and mislead them into believing they have been awarded tenders from government departments.
“Fraudulent letterheads and email addresses are used to request these businesses to supply unusual products.
“To source the products, the small businesses would search on the internet and identify a specific supplier who is also part of the scam,” Gwala said.
She said victims notice they have been scammed after paying money to the alleged supplier to order items.
Gwala said in 2016, a complainant from Richards Bay alleged that he received a quotation from one of the government departments.
“In the letter, they requested 100 dyroc cylinder gases. After the money was deposited to the supplier, he realised that it was a scam.
“About 68 cases have since been reported where the suspects have reverted to using the same modus operandi,” she said.
The public is urged to verify with the relevant government departments if they receive such requests.
