Two nasty scams return to Durban

Fortunately, the family concerned suspected it was a con when a man, claiming to be their domestic worker's son called to say she had died overnight. They know the son's voice, and it clearly was not him. It's still a very distressing scam - please familiarise yourself with how it works and spread the word so that you're not taken unawares. We know of some listeners who've paid R7000 for a funeral for a woman who had not died. The request for money to assist with the funeral is always to do it via Money Market, or to give airtime. And always, either the day before that call comes through or a few days prior, the domestic worker receives a call from someone claiming to be a Labour department official checking up on her working hours and employer. We've got loads more on this scam on this website - just head to the homepage and search for 'dead domestic scam'.

Car for Sale scam returns

Another scam that's back is the 'car for sale' scam on a free classifieds site. It could be any of the sites, the scam though is that there's usually a really good value second hand car for sale; the seller is out of the country. In the case we saw he claimed his brother had recently died and it belonged to him, and he needs to sell it. In the latest case the buyer said: 'The car is priced for a fast sale, so it would be better if you don't need financing.' He says the sale would be made through eBay Vehicle Purchase Program 'to make sure we are handling this safely'. He claims: eBay send you the invoice. You make the payment. They are holding the funds in their account until you receive and inspect the car and its papers." You can see where this is going. Bye bye R55 000 in this case. Be very careful when transacting online.