From time to time we carry warnings to our readers of the latest scams around town. This month we have four which have been reported by our readers in the last few weeks.

The first is an old one at the fuel station where the attendant, whilst making small talk with you, puts in about K40,000 worth of fuel. He then draws your attention to the fact that the pump has stopped and that he needs to start it again. But what he doesn’t do is zero the pump again. He continues filling and once your tank is full, he tries to add the K 40,000 onto the amount of money to be paid. Keep an eye out on these fuel attendants as this is a common scam.

The second scam occurs when you have driven into a parking area at one of the many shopping centres. The report we received happened at Crossroads. As you get out of your car you are approached by someone claiming that you have drove over their foot whilst you were making your way through the cars to a parking space. This is reinforced by a friend who joins the original scammer claiming he saw it happen. We suggest that should this happen to you, you tell the scammer that you are reporting this to the police and that you will meet them at the police station. Under no circumstances should you take them in your vehicle, but you should make a report to the police and once done, keep a record of the OB (Occurrence Book) reference where your report is entered. You should also not give the scammers the ‘compensation’ they are claiming.

The third scam is a turbaned gentleman of Asian origin who has been around Lusaka for years. He comes to your office claiming that he can see the future. After some talking he then asks you for money. He is very polite and plays on your good manners and politeness, which results in you parting with your hard earned money. Don’t! Chase him out, as I did recently, before he gets past the first sentence of his oft repeated speech.

The fourth one is a completely new one to me, although it may be old hat to some of our readers; the employee who claims that he suffered an injury at work when in fact it happened the day before whilst he was watching a football match. In this case it was a nasty ‘L’ shaped gash a few inches long which he claimed was done by a piece of barbed wire whilst he was slashing grass. The lack of blood and the dried edges around the wound alerted his employers to the fact that this was probably a scam. A good inspection of the scene of the supposed incident and the said piece of barbed wire where there was not even a drop of blood as well as the testimony of his work mates that he was limping when he arrived at work further enforced the belief that this was a scam

Having dropped said worker at the clinic to have the gash cleaned up and treated, his employer made a trip to the police station and took two officers to also inspect the scene. They confirmed that there was no blood or evidence of any mishap involving the falsely accused piece of barbed wire. An interview with the employee’s wife confirmed that the injury had been sustained the previous day closed the case.

Clearly this employee thought he was going to get more money in his pocket by whatever means!