City of Ekurhuleni warns public against tender scammers targeting unsuspecting businessmen

JOHANNESBURG - The City of Ekurhuleni is warning the public against tender scammers targeting unsuspecting businessmen.

The municipality said there has been a recent rise of fraudulent activity where scammers deceive potential bidders into sending them money.

In the latest incident, a service provider received a phone call from an individual pretending to be a city official informing them that they are being considered for a major tender.

The City of Ekurhuleni has announced that it has become aware of scammers impersonating city officials to trick individuals into providing personal information and soliciting payments.

These scammers typically instruct tender bidders to send money in order to secure a contract or request payment as a "thank you" for being awarded the tender.

Last week, EWN reported that the secretary in the office of the Ekurhuleni council speaker, Salome Lekalakala, was arrested for a similar incident. 

She admitted to deceiving service providers into transferring payments to her personal bank accounts in exchange for securing city contracts.

The City of Ekurhuleni has urged the public to verify any communications claiming to be from the metro.