Conmen have come up with a new wave of crime targeting Kampala pharmaceutical companies duping the owners to give them expensive medical supplies using names of known general hospitals.
This has since seen three different companies lose more than Shs88million in less than a week. Goodwill laboratory supplies Ltd first complained that people having Kisubi Hospital quotations and identity cards went to their offices in need of laboratory supplies worth Shs6million.
The conmen offered them fake Kisubi Hospital cheques and after they bounced, they complained to Dr Robert Asaba the Medical Director Our Lady of Consolata Kisubi Hospital.
Dr Robert Asaba said that after receiving another complaint from Yogi Ltd that they had been conned of Shs60million in medical supplies to Kisubi Hospital, it prompted them to run an advert in the media warning people against conmen using Kisubi Missionary Hospital name to rob their money.
Dr Asaba added that, on the day the advert ran, they received another complaint from Hass Scientific Medical Supplies Ltd that they too had been conned of Shs32million from people with quotations and fake cheques from Kisubi Hospital. He added that the public should be wary of this new wave of crime now under investigations by police at Jinja Road Police station where the case was reported.
Sr Elizabeth Nalumansi, the Administrator Our Lady of Consolata Kisubi Hospital, said that the conmen usually use the name of Sr Magdelena Nakkazi because the hospital is a mission hospital.
What to learn
With such kind of theft, businesses have to be a little more vigilant and focused on issues of transactions. How can you issue out goods to people you are not used to doing business with? I mean, you may be having a company that is your usual customer and in that company, you must be having a contact person with whom, you transact. I think naturally out of curiosity, every time a new person from that company comes to you for a similar transaction, it does not cause any harm to ask why there is change in persons or simply call to find out, in the friendliest way possible to know what happen to your person; to be sure the other person is a where of the changes.
Sometimes it takes the simplest efforts to be safe. Why be shrewd in looking for business and then lose everything because of very simple mistakes. Don’t be very excited that a customer has come to buy from you, and rush to sign papers to seal the deal. Maintain constant scrutiny of both the documents and the persons you are dealing with.
Like in the case of the drug firms, non of them thought of calling Kisubi Hospital to confirm whether these people were actually from there, may be because they ask for small equipment or they favoured the argent nature of the transaction to their values. In my opinion, whether large or small transaction, please take all initiatives to make sure your business is 100% secure for if you don’t, no one will do it for you and of course you will be inviting loses.
