The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has been made aware of a scam inviting members of the public to tender on its contracts. SANRAL asserts the invitation to tender is fraudulent and did not legitimately emanate from SANRAL
“The invitations to tender are made in the name of a Ms Constance Masedi, supposedly an employee of our supply chain management department. Our internal employee database confirms that we do not have Ms Masedi on our payroll,” says Vusi Mona, SANRAL general manager of communications.
The telephone and fax numbers, as well as the email address used are also incorrect, and are not SANRAL’s official contact details. SANRAL email addresses always include “NRA”, which is an abbreviation for “National Roads Agency”. The email address used in the invitation to tender is tenders@sanrall.co.za.
“We apologise for the inconvenience that this may have caused, and we assure members of the public that we are investigating this matter,” says Mona.
SANRAL Scam Campaign FAQ
FAQs
- Why do these fraudulent requests to tender supposedly emanate from SANRAL?
These requests are fraudulent and do not emanate from SANRAL. All SANRAL tenders are published on the SANRAL website. Individuals outside of SANRAL are attempting to defraud people by using SANRAL’s.
- How can we identify a fraudulent tender request?
The invitations to tender are generally made in the name of a Ms Constance Masedi, supposedly an employee of SANRAL’s supply chain management department. SANRAL’s does not employ an individual of that name.
Also, the telephone and fax numbers, as well as the email address used are incorrect, and are not SANRAL’s official contact details. SANRAL email addresses always include “NRA”, which is an abbreviation for “National Roads Agency”. The email address used in the invitation to tender is usually tenders@sanrall.co.za.
- What about when the invitation to tender is made via a phone call?
SANRAL will not at any time deal with payment certificates or account numbers verbally. These matters will always be dealt with by authorised staff, and in writing.
- What red flags should contractors or consultants generally be aware of when they get these calls?
Contractor or consultants will get a call from anonymous people who claim to be SANRAL employees. These individuals will ask for details relating to their invoices, payment certificates etc. Then the individual claims that SANRAL made an incorrect payment into the account number of the contractor/consultant and requests for a refund of the amount into an account number specified by the individual. The person will then request for details of all the ‘accounts’ (payment certificates) submitted to SANRAL.
- What about instances where an individual claiming to be a contractor or consultant’s employee informs SANRAL that the contractor or consultant banking details have changed?
SANRAL will not change any banking details without a letter from the bank confirming the contractor or consultant’s banking details. This confirmation must also be in writing, with the bank’s original letterhead before any changes will be made on the banking details.
- What about instances where contractors are demanded a payment or a deposit of funds for them to receive SANRAL’s tender documents?
SANRAL will never ask contractors to pay deposit for tender documents. SANRAL employees also cannot influence the awarding of tenders.
- Where can I report suspicions fraudulent activity?
You can contact SANRAL’s fraud hotline number on 0800 204 508 or email sanral@tip-offs.co.za. SANRAL also encourages people to lay charges at their local police stations.