Funeral cost scam does the rounds

THERE is currently a scam afoot in the area, where the homeowner is phoned, usually on the weekend, and told their domestic worker or gardener has died and a family member is phoning for assistance with money to pay for funeral costs.

READ WHAT HAPPENED HERE: (Mar 11, 2015) Dead domestic scam fleeces couple out of R8,500

The calls initially start with the need for airtime to call relatives, followed shortly thereafter with the money request. There are also lots of tears and they will pass you on to a distraught relative who can barely speak. Before you pay one cent, check with your employee, you should have his or her number and also keep the number of another close relative in case you cannot get hold of them.

The scammer usually starts to phone your employee weeks in advance trying to get information from them, so be aware of phone calls requesting to speak to ‘the maid’. If they can’t give you information as to who she is and why they need to speak to her it should be a warning sign, anyone who knows the employee would most likely have their cell number anyway.

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