City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, has sent out a warning to residents of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) following reports of a tender scam.
Mangena stated that criminals pretending to be City Power officials have been targeting unsuspecting companies and business people by using the City Power logo and name with Requests for Quotations (RFQ) for the provision of sanitizing machines or generators.
“City Power came to know about the recent scam after receiving a number of queries and complaints from companies and people who fell for this scam, with some already having been swindled out of a lot of money,” read Mangena’s statement.
The criminals operating these scams seem to have done so quite efficiently, as Mangena has confirmed that the fraudulent RFQs are sent out using cloned email addresses of Supply Chain Management officials. The emails even have the correct contact details and a fake signatures of the SCM and Finance (SCM) officials along with the City Power logo. The scam victims are also presented with false order numbers and deadlines, and asked for invoices.
People who have fallen victim usually come from start-up businesses or those who do not produce the sanitizing machines or generators in-house, and rely on other companies to build the machines for them. The fake City Power officials request proof of whether the victim’s company can produce the items in-house, or whether they use another company to produce the machines. When they confirm that another company is used to make the items, the fake City Power officials then recommend a company, which is believed to be either fake or in partnership with the scammers, that can allegedly produce the ordered items within a quick turn-around time and deliver them to the victim, who would then deliver them to City Power.
The victims are asked to pay a 50 per cent deposit to the fake company, who say that when the order is complete they will meet the victim at a specific location or outside of the City Power offices in Booysens. The victim waits for the ordered machines to arrive so they can pass them on to City Power, but the delivery truck never shows up, at which point the victims enter the City Power office to ask questions and subsequently find out that the entire process has been a lie.
“This modus operandi is a complete opposite of how City Power works. As City Power we will not send companies RFQs directly. All our RFQs or Tenders are advertised on www.etenders.gov.za or on our website www.citypower.co.za,” stated Mangena. Available tenders can be found by following these links and checking the Tender Bulletin, then Available Bids. RFQs are downloaded directly from the website and submitted to the RFQ box before the closing date and time.
Mangena urged residents and businesses to verify any RFQs or tender adverts that they feel are fraudulent with City Power. The City Power Tender Advice Centre can be contacted on 011 490 7112.
