Criminal Surcharge Schemes

There is a new ruse in South Africa -- at least, new for me. Twice this year, companies asked me for surcharges for goods before they could release these goods from depots. What this actually was, was goods being intercepted by people who were running criminal operations within, or close to, these companies. The two companies concerned were RS Components, and the SA Post Office. In the case of RS Components, I paid the surcharge, but was able to reverse it. In the case of the SA Post Office, the transaction was stopped before the end of the payment process. Neither RS components nor the SA Post Office gave me any feedback on what had happened, except that RS warned me not to pay any charges beyond those originally quoted. I now have the goods from RS, and yesterday received an invoice for a surcharge from the Post Office, presumably the real thing. I need to pay it in person at an office ten miles from here.