Have you ever wondered if a business deal is real or a scam?

Sometimes, it can be hard to tell the difference....! It was almost like a miracle phone call in the late afternoon of July 04 2016 when "Mr Collen Khoza" called asking for catering services from our family business "Corner Phezulu," but like the english proverb says “ if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

The man said he was from "FEAR FREE LIFE ORGANIZATION" and he wanted us to render catering services for his 40 guests on Saturday the 09th of July, we agreed on qouting him for his request. I sent him an email qouting that his 40 guests will be the amount of R100 per head, which makes the overall payment of R4000 we agreed and he said he would pay 50% of the money to secure our agreement. I then gave him my banking details.

Collen Khoza would call everyday asking if we had received the payment, which he knew very well that we didnt. It wasn't until in the late afternoon of Friday the 08th of July that I recieved a messege from the bank that a cheque of R14,500 was deposited in my account, I couldn't understand this and didn't even think it would be from FEAR FREE LIFE ORGANISATION because I was only expecting R2000 from them. In the midst of my confusion I get a call from a different number, to my suprise it was Collen Khoza, he said he was mugged the previous night but he called to ask if I received the payment, after confirmed that I have received it; I asked him why the amount escalated to R14;500 he said it was a mistake made by the "lady from finance." I explained that the cheque would only clear after 10 days and that we couldn't continue with the business deal and we had to cancel. I called the bank and they said the might bounce. I called a friend of mine who's an analyst and he confirmed the whole ordeal to be a scam and I was going to be indebted to the organization and he suggested that he will deal with him personally. The man never called me again, people should beware of such vultures who take advantage of small businesses and rip them off. Watch out and be sensitive to random phone calls offering opportunities that you didn't even pitch for. Ask them for references and company records just to be on the safe side. This taught me a lifetime lesson and next time I get such calls I will know what to do.