Johannesburg – The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) advised businesses on Wednesday to be on the lookout for criminal elements using fraudulent NPA requests for quotations and government orders.

“We have been able to establish that these criminals send a request for a quotation and thereafter issue a fraudulent government order to convince businesses to process the order,” NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke said in a statement.

The people would then call businesses persistently with the view to pressure them into immediate delivery.

Makeke advised businesses to pay attention to the orders they received.

Possible signs of a fraudulent order included receiving and sending e-mails from/to a gmail address and phone calls from a cellphone.

“All legitimate requests for the NPA should come from an e-mail address ending @npa.gov.za. Where faxes are used, they will generally originate from the NPA official numbers.”

She encouraged businesses to verify quotations by calling the NPA supply chain management office at 012 845 6000.

– SAPA