Unfortunately, fraudulent tenders, Requests for Quotations (RFQs), purchase orders and appointment letters are regularly circulated to South African businesses.
These scams can look very convincing. Fraudsters may use government logos, official-looking letterheads, genuine tender numbers and even the names of real employees to make an email or document appear legitimate.
Can Tender Bulletins verify a tender for me?
No. TenderBulletins.co.za cannot verify whether a tender, RFQ, purchase order, appointment letter or email you have received is genuine.
Tender Bulletins does not issue or administer government tenders. We publish tender information to help businesses find procurement opportunities, but the tender itself is issued and managed by the relevant government department, municipality, public entity or other organisation.
Because we are not the issuing authority, we cannot confirm whether an email, document, purchase order or person claiming to represent that organisation is genuine.
If you are unsure, you should always verify the opportunity directly with the organisation that supposedly issued it.
How should I verify a tender or RFQ?
Before quoting, purchasing goods or paying any money, take the following steps:
1. Find the organisation’s official website
Do not use the telephone number, email address or website link contained only in the suspicious email.
Search independently for the official website of the department, municipality or public entity.
2. Check whether the tender is officially advertised
Search the organisation’s procurement or tender section and, where applicable, check the National Treasury eTender Publication Portal.
Remember that smaller RFQs may not always be publicly advertised in the same way as formal tenders, so the absence of an RFQ online does not automatically mean it is fraudulent.
3. Contact the Supply Chain Management department
Use contact information obtained independently from the organisation’s official website. Search for the name of the organisation in Google.
Ask the Supply Chain Management (SCM) or procurement department to confirm:
- The tender or RFQ reference number
- Whether the RFQ was issued by them
- The name of the official responsible for it
- The closing date
- Whether a purchase order or appointment letter is genuine
Do not just phone the number provided on the document you are trying to verify because the number might be used by a criminal just waiting for you to call so they can assure you the tender is above water. Therefore always find the numbers or websites or emails through something like Google or another search engine.
Common warning signs of a fraudulent tender or RFQ
Be particularly cautious if you notice any of the following:
- The RFQ arrives unexpectedly by email.
- You are told the quotation is extremely urgent.
- The sender puts pressure on you to act immediately.
- The email address does not match the organisation’s normal official domain.
- The email is sent from Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or another free email account while claiming to represent a government department.
- There are spelling mistakes, unusual wording or inconsistent contact details.
- The document contains government logos and official names but the email address or telephone numbers look suspicious.
- You are asked to pay an upfront fee to secure a tender, order or appointment.
- Someone asks for money to ensure that your company is awarded the tender.
- You receive an appointment letter or purchase order unusually quickly after submitting a quotation.
- You are instructed to deliver goods to an unusual location instead of an official government facility.
- The supposed government official communicates mainly through WhatsApp or a cellphone number and avoids official channels.
Remember that the use of a real person’s name, government logo or official-looking document does not prove that the communication is genuine.
Be especially careful of the “special supplier” scam
One of the most dangerous tender scams involves an RFQ for unusual, specialised or difficult-to-find products.
You may receive an urgent request from what appears to be a government department asking you to quote on a specific product.
When you search for the product, you conveniently find a supplier that claims to have exactly what you need.
After submitting your quotation, you may quickly be told that you have received the order.
You are then expected to purchase the goods from the recommended or easily found supplier before government pays you.
The supposed supplier and the fake government officials may actually be working together.
Once you pay the “supplier”, the money disappears and you discover that the RFQ or purchase order was fraudulent.
Never spend a large amount of money fulfilling a government order until you have independently verified the purchase order with the issuing organisation.
Be suspicious of requests for payments
A major warning sign is being asked to pay money in order to:
- Be awarded a tender
- Secure an appointment
- Release a purchase order
- Influence an evaluation committee
- Guarantee that your quotation will be successful
An official claiming that they can guarantee you a government contract in return for payment should immediately raise concern.
Check email addresses carefully
Fraudsters often register domains that look similar to genuine government domains.
For example, one letter may be changed, added or removed from the real domain name.
Do not only look at the sender’s displayed name. Check the actual email address and domain.
Also remember that not every legitimate public entity necessarily uses a gov.za email address. Municipalities, state-owned companies and other public entities may use their own domains. The important step is to compare the address with the contact information published on the organisation’s official website.
What if the tender appears on Tender Bulletins?
Finding a tender on TenderBulletins.co.za can help you locate the opportunity and its associated information, but you must still use the official tender documentation and issuing organisation as the final authority.
Tender Bulletins cannot verify subsequent emails, quotations, purchase orders, appointment letters or payment instructions that you may receive from people claiming to represent the issuing organisation.
If you suspect fraud
Do not make any payments or purchase goods until you have verified the request.
Contact the issuing organisation directly using independently obtained contact details and report suspicious activity where appropriate.
If you believe that you have been the victim of fraud, preserve all emails, documents, invoices, banking details, telephone numbers and WhatsApp messages and report the matter to the appropriate authorities.
The safest rule
Before committing money to any tender or government purchase order, ask yourself:
“Have I independently confirmed this order with the actual government department or public entity?”
If the answer is no, verify it first.
A few minutes spent independently checking an RFQ or purchase order can prevent your business from losing thousands of rands to a tender scam.