Domestic worker is dead scam soars in Durban North

A CALLOUS new scam is rocking Durban North. I call it callous because not only because are the fraudsters targeting the elderly of the community, but because their their modus operandi is frightening.

This week, journalist Shiraz Habbib writes about how the scamsters dupe employees into believing that heir domestic worker has died. The domestic workers family, the employers are told, cannot pay for the funeral so the employee must foot the bill.

While its a crude method, the scariest part is that in many cases the employer is devastated. Domestic workers, to many a employer are not simply employees, they become part of the family.

So imagine hearing that a member of your family has died and is somewhere that you cannot get to.

What’s more you have no way of contacting anyone connected with that person because often times the employer will only have the domestic worker’s contact number.

Police have advised residents to ensure that they have at least two numbers of their domestic worker’s relatives so that they can verify the information.

In one instance this year, an elderly couple were told that their domestic had died, they forked out money to an unknown man and were shocked when the domestic worker pitched up for work on the Monday.

Check out the story here: (https://bit.ly/1fkqEyA)