The City of Tshwane is warning the public about a fake tender invitation for the appointment of a service provider to supply and deliver drilling equipment. 

The invitation, circulating on social media and various other platforms, requests companies to submit quotations for “API Three Cones Bits 298”, a drilling tool commonly used in mining or digging.

“We would like to urge companies to ignore the invitation, as it is a scam. The objective of this scam is to swindle or fleece potential service providers of their hard-earned monies,” city spokesperson Selby Bokaba said in a statement on Sunday.

The city said the false request, purporting to be an official invitation from the city’s supply chain management offices, invites potential service providers to submit their quotations to the false email address: tenders@tshwane-gov.org.

“Furthermore, it provides a false contact number for further enquiries, which is 012 516 0010/0030.”

The city said all its landline numbers start with 358 after the area code.

It warned that those peddling these false notices would be arrested, charged and prosecuted.

TimesLIVE