· Reject cold calls - if you’ve been cold-called with an offer to buy or sell shares, chances are it’s a high-risk investment or a scam.
· The only way to invest on the JSE or LSE is via an authorised stockbroker. A list of accredited stockbrokers can be found on www.jse.co.za or www.londonstockexchange.com.
· Get impartial advice – before depositing money or making payment, seek advice from someone unconnected to the firm that has approached you.
· Don’t use unauthorised firms to buy or sell shares or investments.
· Keep your Shareholder Reference Number and Investor Centre username and password secure, similar to how you would for your bank account details and PIN.
· Never share your personal shareholder details with anyone.
Thungela has recently become the focus of phishing and procurement related scams in which fraudsters try to extract personal information, goods or money by pretending to be Thungela. These typically take the form of requests for quotations (RFQs) or similar purchase requests.
The email and documentation may look convincing but, you’ll know it’s fraudulent if:
- The email address is different to this format: name.surname@thungela.com
- It’s asking for upfront deposits, security deposits or fees for accessing tender documentation. We’d never do this.
- It’s asking for your bank details – remember that as a supplier, we capture and verify your banking details during your registration phase. When we require any updates to your details – we will not do this on an RFQ.
- It’s asking for samples upfront.
- It’s out of the blue: you receive a quotation request even if you did not do any work with Thungela in the past. Our standard process is to contact prospective suppliers to let them
know about an opportunity and typically conduct a site briefing to discuss our requirements.
Thungela would never ask you for money in exchange for a job interview. We have a formal online recruitment process to advertise vacancies, which provides a unique job reference ID number for tracking purposes.
How to spot a fraudulent request which could be via email, text or telephone or verbally made.
The request (email, telephone, social media [Whatsapp, Facebook etc], pamphlets or verbal) may look convincing. But, you’ll know it’s fraudulent if:
- It’s asking for money. We’d never do this. · It’s asking for personal information such as passport and bank account details, often at an early stage.
- It’s asking for bank details before we’ve made you a job offer. We don’t do this either.
- The email address is different to this format: name.lastname@thungela.com. The emails are from free web-based email accounts such as Yahoo, Gmail or Live.com.
- They use mobile (cell) phone numbers, rather than office telephone numbers.
- There’s a guarantee of a job placement.
- It’s out of the blue: we only offer jobs following a formal application and selection process though approved e mail and telephonic communications, including face-to-face interviews.
- They insist on urgency from the start.
- Any documentation is poorly formatted with spelling and grammatical errors.
- Documents contain outdated branding logos.
If you receive a suspicious email, or want to find out more, you can help us by contacting us at thungela@tip-offs.com.
We recommend that you do not respond to unsolicited offers of employment or those seeking information from people claiming to work for or are associated with Thungela.
Do not...
- Respond to unsolicited business propositions and/or offers of employment from people with whom you are unfamiliar.
- Disclose your personal or financial details.
Send any money. Thungela would not ask for money transfers or payments from applicants to secure a job or a visa either as an employee or as a contractor. - Engage in further communication.
- Share your online applicant profile passwords.
Do...
- Contact Thungela. We have setup an e-mail address Thungela@tip-offs.com where we ask people both internally and externally to report any fraudulent recruitment activity or verify whether communication they have received is legitimate · Contact your local police and provide them with information.
- Save messages from the perpetrator for further investigation and send them to us on thungela@tip-offs.com
- We encourage all applicants to look for current opportunities and register for job alerts online via our careers portals. It would be helpful to pass on this advice to your family and friends who might be considering seeking employment with Thungela.