Pretoria - Close to R1 million has been stolen from the public through fraudsters using bogus paperwork in the past year, said the Department of Public Works.
"[We] calculate that close to R1 million has been stolen from the public since last year, using the fraudulent documents of the Department through this fraudulent orders scam," said the department's spokesperson Thami Mchunu.
The department announced this on Tuesday after it foiled yet another attempt to defraud a member of the public.
Thieves, who pose as authentic departmental employees, order goods from unsuspecting suppliers. This is done through bogus letterheads with the departmental logo downloaded from the internet, only for them to disappear with the goods and with no payment forthcoming.
An entrepreneur came to deliver a batch of computer equipment worth R63 000 to an alleged employee of the Department of Public Works. However, the entrepreneur realised that it was a scam when the person who was coming to accept the goods was not the same as the one mentioned on the invoice.
"In fact, the invoice was issued under the name of a former Director-General of the Department who left more than three years ago. The entrepreneur then alerted the departmental security, who took the goods whilst the fraudster vanished," said Mchunu.
This incident, said Mchunu, is the latest in a string of incidents that the department has had to deal with, adding that the department was in the process of launching an awareness campaign to inform and sensitise the public.
The department urged the public not to be trusting of anyone who promised a good business deal, especially if a supplier has never applied for any business deal with the department. Service providers are also urged to never agree to deliver goods out in the street or in private houses.
