The Department of Human Settlements would, once again like to warn South Africans against persistant scams that use the Department’s name and its symbols to defraud unsuspecting people.

In most of the illicit acts that have been brought to the attention of the Department, the fraudsters use what appears to be the the Department’s official logo or the South African Government’s Coat of Arms.

In a bid to entice unsuspecting citizens to partake in the scam, the con artists call people or send them letters or emails requesting them to apply for contracts or tenders to supply goods and services that are allegedly needed by the Department.

The Department of Human Settlements does not run its business through underhanded requests to make bids or applications for contracts. All our suppliers of goods and services are selected from a public data base through judicious and rigorous processes that always aim to ensure the processes are fair, equitable and totally transparent.

There is no person or company that can be allowed to do business with the Department if that person or company is not registered in the data base of services providers registered with the Department.

Recipients of these hoax correspondences and requests are fooled into paying money into the accounts of shaddy companies that claim they have business relations or connections to the Department. Members of the public are warned that this is just another act of fraud and deceit by organised criminals.

The Department of Human Settlements urges people to be wary of such scams as these are often used to trick people into believing they will either win large sums of money or get quick and easy contracts whereas the actual intention is to fleece unsuspecting people off their hard earned money.

In all the cases, the fraudsters are not employees of the Department.

South Africans are also urged to be cautious by protecting their personal information such as company, banking, contacts and identity details.

Giving out such details to strangers is not advisable as it may compromise your security especially when it comes to the protection of personal finances and citizenship status. It is also not advisable to paying out money to unknown people.

For more information
Please call Xolani Xundu at 083 788 5747