Scam E-Mail Involving Government Tender Reported

According to Limpopo Treasury on August 14, 2011, a police investigation was being conducted into a tender fraud, which duped Internet-users into crediting cash to a bank account because they supposedly were approved for one government tender. IoLnews reported this on August 15, 2011.

Using David Masondo's name who's MEC of Limpopo Finance for registering the tender, the tender in fact was dubious.

The scammer, whom the officials in the police department's crime-fighting division know, apparently set up one bogus e-mail account utilizing the particulars of Masondo.

But department spokesperson Kevin Ramdharie said that there wasn't any tender approved in the way the fake electronic mail claimed. He confirmed that the MEC didn't approve tenders because there were relevant committees to handle that, corresponding to the management prescripts of the supply chain. IoLnews published this.

And though it isn't clear as to what number of individuals have been conned into depositing money in the current scam, one apparent victim got in touch with the MEC. Ramdharie stated that the person e-mailed to MEC desiring to be given R300,000 in payment.

Ramdharie further stated that a letter would come to successful service vendors wherein the department would promise for advertising their particulars within the tentative official statement of the tender.

Understandably the alleged victim was cheated into crediting an amount to the scammers' savings account when an e-mail reached him telling that MEC David Masondo had approved a tender valuing R3.8m to the scammer for printing and giving away Lupfomo a department newsletter.

Also understandably, the man would be refunded the sum along with interest after Masondo's office had cleared with paying the scammer. However, according to Masondo and his department they never awarded any tender of the kind.

The department said that both the scammer and victim belonged to South Africa's Gauteng province and that the scam e-mail used a fake sender's address dmasondo@fastmail.co.uk to make the message appear real.

Meanwhile, a likewise e-mail scam targeted SA during January 2009, when FIFA (International Federation of Football Association) warned everybody of fake e-mails notifying recipients about lotteries they won under the 2010 FIFA World Cup Sweepstakes.

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» SPAMfighter News - 8/24/2011