Beware of online scammers
LAW EXPERT Andre Visser has warned of the difficulty faced by both employers and employees to properly address the prevalence of Covid-19 within the workplace.
Visser was commenting on the case of a butcher at processed meat manufacturer Eskort, who went to work after testing positive for Covid-19 and even hugged a colleague who suffered from comorbidities.
The worker was eventually dismissed and the decision confirmed by the Labour Court
“I believe that the conclusion reached by the court in this instance was correct and justified, but each matter must be considered on its own merits, before a conclusion is reached,” said Visser, a partner at law firm DLA Pipe.
Visser said under the current Covid-19 era, employers had a high level of responsibility to ensure that employees were properly informed of what they may and may not do, when feeling sick.
He said it was important to have specific protocols in place.
These included questionnaires completed by employees as they arrived at the workplace or other similar measures to properly screen for individuals that may have symptoms, even though they had not tested positive.
The case between Mogotsi and Eskort raised the topical issue surrounding the fairness of the dismissal of an employee on account of gross misconduct and related negligence, related to his failure to observe Covid-19-related health and safety protocols put in place at the workplace.
Labour Court judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje, in the opening to his judgment, remarked: “The facts of this case are indeed extraordinary.
“They are indicative of the need for more to be done at both the workplace and in communities, in ensuring that employers, employees, and the general populace are sensitised to the realities of this pandemic, and to further reinforce the obligations of employers and employees in the face of an exposure to Covid-19.”
Mogotsi was found guilty of gross misconduct by his employer as he did not tell them he took a Covid-19 test and was waiting for his results.
He was also convicted and fired because after testing positive, he continued working and placed the lives of his colleagues at risk.
Mogotsi used to travel to and from work daily with a colleague, who tested positive for Covid-19 and was eventually admitted to hospital.
A few days later Mogotsi started to feel ill and his wife, a traditional healer, booked him off for a few days.
He then returned to work, although management told him to stay home. While waiting for his test results and even thereafter, he continued to work.
The employer said they had policies, procedures, rules and protocols in place, and all employees had been constantly reminded of these through various communications posted at points of entry, and also through emails.
It had emerged that Mogotsi was a member of the in-house coronavirus site committee and was responsible for advising others on how to follow the protocols.
A day after he received his results, he was observed on video footage at the workplace hugging a fellow employee, who happened to have had a heart operation and who had experienced post-surgery complications. The footage also showed Mogotsi walking around the workshop without a mask.
Upon Mogotsi’s test results being known days later, those who were in contact with him were sent home to self-isolate.
Mogotsi told the court that he knew of his colleague’s positive status and that he told management he had been in contact with him. He alleged that he was not given any clear directive as to what to do.
Despite having seen a traditional healer and being booked off due to headaches, chest pains and coughs, Mogotsi said he had no noticeable symptoms. He said that after testing positive, he did not know that he needed to self-isolate.
He conceded having hugged a co-worker and having walked on the shop floor without a mask.
The judge said Mogotsi had been aware that he had been in contact with someone with the symptoms and that he had later tested positive. He had thus recklessly endangered the lives of his co-workers.
SINCE the pandemic began, social media has become a common platform on which we keep in touch while adhering to social distance regulations. However, scammers have become craftier at defrauding people in their most vulnerable state.
Private investigator Willem van Romburgh said scammers have developed new skillsets to reel people in. Ranging from algorithm spyware on computers to preying on ordinary people, online Facebook scams have become frequent.
During lockdown, Didi Divine started a small business in which she stocks eggs in bulk and then sells them. Due to financial constraints, her husband could not travel to get the eggs so she resorted to other avenues, and that is when she came across Maphanda Poultry.
“I saw their advert on Facebook selling 12 crates of eggs, with 30 eggs each. I took their Whatsapp number, added them and spoke to them. I even asked questions, and they answered accordingly. Just to be sure, I even asked if they were not a scam as I’m going send R1560 to people I don’t know, so they said if I don’t trust them then I should not buy. Nevertheless I went ahead with the purchase, they sent me an invoice and from there I thought they were legitimate.
“After I sent my proof of payment they asked for an additional cost of insurance for my purchase at the cost of R900, that’s when I asked for my money back. But it was too late, they blocked me from all social media platforms, never answered or returned my calls.
“I was so heartbroken as I took our last money to get stock, hoping I’ll save even more because I’m not going to struggle anymore as they will deliver to my doorstep. Even the banks couldn’t help trace the payments, no result came from that ordeal and I just wish these people are found and are brought to book,” said Divine.
Maphanda Poultry did not comment by the time of going to print.
Catherine Rodgers runs an online business and has a team of resellers who sell products for her. After getting into contact with a seller, Rodgers found her products to be legitimate, so she carried on with the transactions.
Rodgers said the seller had an import business and had approached her by saying she can get the Playstation 5 combos online from the US. The seller seemed legitimate, but once she started to check up on the business name and looking for the company registration, she found the company had been liquidated in 2010.
“The last signatory member did not match the person signing the documents that were sent to her. I then received a tracking number that was linked to a website but it turns out the website was not clean or neatly rounded off. When I tried to track them, the contact info and address said it was based in the UK but she was getting stock from the USA.
“After this, I was in distress. When I checked the address on the invoice, it linked to an Apple store in a mall in California. I paid over R14000 worth of stock and all this misleading information made me uneasy. When I asked for a refund it was and still is a mission to get ahold of her and get back my money.
“I’m sitting with a huge loss and no stock. I need to pay that back. I’m terrified. Clients think I stole from them, but I didn’t. I don’t even make that much money in a month. Now my name and my business are on the line and she doesn't care,” said Rodgers.
Van Romburgh said there was no perfect plan to avoid becoming the victim of scammers. Scamming has changed from the way scams were done, where you were offered an investment opportunity in a scheme that was too good to be true.
“During our involvement in several high- and low-profile fraud investigations we have seen that their ’work day’ literally consists of searching for opportunities to scam people. They often jump onto the bandwagon of matters of the day. For example, when it is a World Cup soccer, people start winning World Cup soccer lotteries.
“Basic checks to see if it is a scam, is to google the e-mail address and cellphone numbers together with the words scam, complaints, and fraud. There should be no gaps between the numbers, otherwise you are going to get millions of hits. Google the seller’s addresses provided on invoices or anything else. Google again with the words scam, complaints, and fraud.
“Text messages from the banks informing you of a payment made to you must contain a unique transaction number. Use that number to check the transaction with the bank. Call and make sure. When getting an email hover your mouse cursor over the sender’s e-mail address. It will reveal a little block, which you can click on to reveal the actual email address of the sender. The address you see in the email is what the sender wants you to see,’’ said Van Romburgh.
A Facebook spokesperson said they did not want the social media platform to be used to scam people.
“To fight scammers we have strict policies to prevent and disrupt scams and fraudulent activity. When content violates these rules we take it down. We also remove repeat offenders from our service and co-operate with law enforcement when they make valid requests for information related to scams. We use a combination of technology, human review and user reports to find and remove violating content and we encourage people to report suspicious content when they see it, so we can investigate.”