Durban North resident loses R9 000 in domestic worker death scam
The scam involves a suspect claiming to be a relative of a ‘deceased’ domestic worker who is asking for monetary assistance from the employer.
DURBAN North SAPS has warned residents to be wary of the ‘Your domestic worker has died’ scam. This comes after a case of fraud was opened at the station.
According Captain Raymond Deokaran, spokesperson for the station, a local resident was defrauded out of R9 000.
The scam involves a suspect claiming to be a relative of a ‘deceased’ domestic worker who is asking for monetary assistance from the employer.
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“The suspect, acting under the alias of Paul, claimed to be the brother of the domestic worker. He contacted her employer in Durban North saying she’d died in an accident and the family needed financial assistance. The resident unfortunately transferred R9 000 to the suspect’s account only to discover the next day that he had been scammed when his domestic worker arrived at his residence. A case of fraud has been opened
Deokaran urged residents to have at least two numbers of family members of their domestic worker in order to verify news.
“This scam is used nearly every year but is most used during the festive season as most domestic workers return to their homes. Earlier this year we tried to trace a suspect who attempted to defraud three residents who employed the same modus operandi to try and defraud them. In that case a Sunningdale resident was wise to the scam and didn’t pay any money,” he said.
He also urged victims to report incidents of the scam to their nearest police station.
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