Capetonians are urged not to part with their money, amid reports of a bogus collector again doing the rounds on parts of the Cape Flats. VOC has been alerted of a scam artist claiming to be collecting money for the burial of her husband, her children or an orphaned child in Macassar. The alleged scammer, who goes by the name of ‘Faghmiedah’ targeted another vulnerable family in Wynberg last week after hearing the news of a relative passing. ‘Faghmiedah’ claims the deceased promised to financially cover the burial of an orphan in Maccassar and is still waiting for payment. Upon further investigation by a suspicious family member, it was found that the whole story had in fact been false.

Two weeks ago, the station was informed of a bogus collector by the name of ‘Qadirah Hendricks’ also collecting donations supposedly for the burial of her husband, a certain Moulana Yusuf Hendricks who was shot and killed, as well as the orphanage that she says she is running. She claimed to be from the Faure Karamat and was seen collecting in the Belhar area.

Moulana Mogamad Peters, the imam at the Faure Karamat in Sandvlei told  VOC News he had received a few complaints from residents and was concerned at people were falling for the scam.

The Muslim Judicial Council’s Moulana Abdul Khaliq Allie has confirmed that the ulema body is aware of the scam and has warned the public to be cautious of this individual whose lie often includes the request for financial assistance for a burial of a family member or an orphaned child.

“We received a call from people in Johannesburg about a Cape Town woman who requested a donation for the burial of her husband in Macassar. Upon our investigation with Ulema in the respective area we discovered that this story has been circulating. We can confirm that the woman is operating under false pretences. While we have a spirit of helping others in our community, people need to engage with us first to verify whether or not anyone asking for donation for a burial is in fact legit,” Khaliq explained.

Anyone with information on this woman or has fallen victim to the scam contact our Newsroom on 021 442 3523. VOC has obtained personal details of the alleged scammer and is furthering its investigation into the matter. VOC (Ra’eesah Isaacs)