CrimeNews

‘Dead domestic’ scammers hit again

Before calling the employer, the fraudsters will contact the domestic worker and tell them to switch their cellphone off for several hours.

THE ‘dead’ domestic worker scam has resurfaced and SACAN has warned people of how this scam could be avoided.

This is a scam where an employer receive a call from a person who claims to be a relative of their domestic worker.

The scammer will inform them that their domestic worker has died and they need money for the funeral.

The fraudster will then provide the employer with an account into which the money must be deposited. Once the employer have done so, the fraudster will simply disappear with the money.

During this time, it is difficult to get hold of the domestic worker as the cellphone is sometimes their only source of communication.

Lachlan Nicholson, community communications manager at SACAN, said the con artists target domestic workers and will either seek to befriend them or eavesdrop on their conversations in taxis and shebeens. (These are just two of many underhanded methods.)

“They try to discover your name and contact information, the more details they can get, the more convincing the lie.

Lachlan advised employees to instruct their staff not to discuss this information in public or among friends.

“Before calling the employer, the fraudsters will contact the domestic worker and tell them to switch their cellphone off for several hours – usually under the pretence that the network will be down for upgrades or maintenance, thereby making it impossible for employee to contact them during that time.

He said there should be multiple points of contact.

“Finally, a person should never believe anything a stranger says over the phone unless they can provide you with some kind of proof, especially when death is concerned.

“In the vast majority of cases, after the scam is complete, the domestic will be found in perfect health and unaware of what has transpired.”

He added that several people have received these calls in the last few weeks.

Lt Bongumusa Manqele, Pinetown SAPS communications officer, said they received a complaint recently from a Cowies Hill resident.

“The scammer usually calls when the domestic worker is off duty on that day. Employers should not deposit the money unless they are certain.”

“If employers do become victims, they should report the case to their nearest police station,” he said.

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