Chinese scam aimed at SA production companies

A South African producer, Cindy Maciver of the Picture House, has uncovered a scam aimed at production houses in South Africa, coming out of China. Reminiscent of Nigerian frauds, the producers are asked to come to China to sign contracts to produce TV episodes on South Africa. The two unfortunate companies that have gone there, paid over a public notary 'fee' of US $5 000, at which point, the 'production company' vanishes. The enquiry appears to come through Kemps and uses the name of a Chinese man, Zhao, who is a well-known TV anchor in China. Maciver says that they have not pursued the contract to China, but have lost four days in producing the proposal. She has all the details and can be emailed on for further details.