Sunday, March 15, 2015
FUNERAL scamming may not be as pronounced as lotto scamming, but some community folks are becoming increasingly aware of crooks who go around and fleece grieving friends of the deceased, of thousands of dollars.
Among the sly ways of scraping money from victims is one that was used up to two weeks ago in St Mary, which raised over $20,000 for the conmen.
It sees so-called friends of a deceased person going around soliciting money to do various things in preparation for the burial, all the while giving the impression that they are assisting the bereaved family.
What seems to be the main area of emphasis is for the scammers to make their move collecting money to clear barrels purportedly shipped by friends and relatives of the deceased to help out with items for the wake and the repast, the Jamaica Observer was told by one of those who was tricked.
“A friend of ours from Islington (Central St Mary) died and a couple men whom we know were going around collecting money from her friends, telling them that two barrels were shipped from America and the family needed money to clear them at the wharf,” one member of the community told the Sunday Observer.
Based upon an informal head count of those who were asked to contribute to the wharf fund and did, it appears that approximately $23,000 was collected to supposedly clear the two barrels.
And the matter is not a one-off issue. Since that incident was brought to the attention of the Sunday Observer, others who have been deceived have confirmed that they, too, were taken for a ride. more
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