The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has noted with concern the latest tender scam on WhatsApp where an individual pretending to be the GDoH’s Head of Department is asking recipients of the message to make contact regarding a particular tender.
The public should note that Heads of Departments are not involved in tender administration or directly contacting bidders. GDoH officials are not allowed to contact any person or company outside the tender processes, especially on WhatsApp or using private domains instead of Gauteng Provincial Government’s official domain (Name.Surname@gauteng.gov.za). It is important for the public to remain vigilant and not fall for such scams as they are meant to defraud participants of their money.
The modus operandi of these kind of schemes is that they thrive on giving false hope and on the promise of easy money. Usually the scammers are counting on the public especially emerging businesses not being able to pick up simple red flags such as, a wrong date, the usage of wrong government logos, false contact details, links to fake websites etc.
Should any individual or company receive any Email, SMS or WhatsApp message pertaining to GDoH related tenders outside the tender process they are advised to make an enquiry with on HealthSCMqueries@gauteng.gov.za before being swindled.
