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Cape Town - Many CEOs have fallen victim to sophisticated new scams doing the rounds of big business, reports website IOL.
Fraudsters operating under the guise of being legitimate businesses are putting up a convincing front, with creative schemes that have dented quite a few company coffers.
Speaking at the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Milpark, security expert Paul O’Sullivan described three types of scams.
The tender deposit scam
According to O’Sullivan, conmen invite tenders from dozens of companies, waiting a few weeks before congratulating each company on having won the tender.
They then request a deposit and after the duped company has duly paid the amount - often hundreds of thousands of rands - simply vanish into thin air.
O’Sullivan warns that fake websites can be put up in hours. Above-board information is posted on these very authentic-looking sites, copied straight from similar, legitimate firms with just a few tweaks to details such as contact numbers and emails, names and product ranges.
The bogus conference scam
This scheme targets CEOS and chief financial officers by offering them brochures with specially tailored business courses, offering a tempting discount for early bookings.
O’Sullivan said this scam is successful because scammed executives are simply too embarrassed to prosecute the perpetrators. Be warned: a brochure about a bogus conference next month is currently doing the rounds.
The deliver-and-disappear scam
Wholesalers of building equipment in Johannesburg need to be on the look-out for this type of scheme, as they are the targets.
This is how it works: a company is sent an authentic-looking letter of inquiry to supply goods to the 'department of public works', receives tender documents and is told after a few weeks that its bid has been successful.
The company is asked to deliver, usually to a police station to make the operation seem legitimate. Vehicles - carefully labelled with the department's logo - make off with the goods, only to vanish from the face of the earth.
Fraudsters operating under the guise of being legitimate businesses are putting up a convincing front, with creative schemes that have dented quite a few company coffers.
Speaking at the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Milpark, security expert Paul O’Sullivan described three types of scams.
The tender deposit scam
According to O’Sullivan, conmen invite tenders from dozens of companies, waiting a few weeks before congratulating each company on having won the tender.
They then request a deposit and after the duped company has duly paid the amount - often hundreds of thousands of rands - simply vanish into thin air.
O’Sullivan warns that fake websites can be put up in hours. Above-board information is posted on these very authentic-looking sites, copied straight from similar, legitimate firms with just a few tweaks to details such as contact numbers and emails, names and product ranges.
The bogus conference scam
This scheme targets CEOS and chief financial officers by offering them brochures with specially tailored business courses, offering a tempting discount for early bookings.
O’Sullivan said this scam is successful because scammed executives are simply too embarrassed to prosecute the perpetrators. Be warned: a brochure about a bogus conference next month is currently doing the rounds.
The deliver-and-disappear scam
Wholesalers of building equipment in Johannesburg need to be on the look-out for this type of scheme, as they are the targets.
This is how it works: a company is sent an authentic-looking letter of inquiry to supply goods to the 'department of public works', receives tender documents and is told after a few weeks that its bid has been successful.
The company is asked to deliver, usually to a police station to make the operation seem legitimate. Vehicles - carefully labelled with the department's logo - make off with the goods, only to vanish from the face of the earth.
