Police urge public to be vigilant over donation requests

| 17/08/2015 | 18 Comments
Cayman News Service

Children begging in the George Town Harbour area

(CNS): Due to recent reports of children hustling tourists and residents for donations for what may have been a fundraising con, the police are urging people to be vigilant when giving money to charity. The police said they do not discourage donations to charities or school fundraisers but want the public to confirm the legitimacy of any donation request. Police said they had followed up reports about potentially illegitimate solicitations for donations by children on the waterfront and elsewhere in George Town but no arrests were made.

Given the potential for abuse, the police are advising the public when they are approached for a donation to ask the name of the school conducting the fundraiser, the name of the student and parent, and then call the school to confirm that a child by that name is in fact a student.

“Similarly, if asked in public for donations to a charity, it is advisable to obtain the name of the charity and confirm that it is listed on the Cayman Islands Registry,” an RCIPS spokesperson stated.

Charities are categorized as businesses on the registry, which can be searched at www.ciregistry.gov.ky

If it does appear that you may have been solicited to make a donation on false pretenses, please contact the RCIPS Financial Crime Unit at 649-8797.

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Category: Crime, Police

Comments (18)

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  1. Bear Baiter says:

    It is my understanding that Financial Crimes will only deal with matters involving $5,000 or more. I wonder how many of these beggers exceed that amount. Maybe quite a few – begging can be quite lucrative!

  2. Anonymous says:

    I was approached by these young children, a boy and a girl, approx. 6 to 9 years old, outside Kirk Home Centre. They were very aggressive in their solicitation attempts. The paper they had looked very suspicious, so I questioned them regarding the so called charity, and where their parents were. I just got some well rehersed double talk about helping poor children, and that the mother was ‘over there sitting down’, I did not see her over anywhere. It is dispicable that these children are being manipulated by this abusive parent. Social services needs to take these children away from this con artist, and charge her with fraud, assuming they are locals. If they are not, they need to escort them to the airport, and make sure they cannot ever blacken our doorstop again. Additionally businesses need to vet those they allow to ‘fund raise’ on their property. That goes for all the grocery and home centers that seem to be a magnet for this type of annoying behavior. If any of the big 3 grocers banned this begging they would have my business in a second.

  3. Knot S Smart says:

    I get ‘mugged’ by children every time I go in and come out of the supermarket…
    Always looking for a handout – for one excuse or the other…

  4. Anonymous says:

    If they aren’t offering to work for the money then they aren’t getting my money

  5. Anonymous says:

    Now, if you should ever witness me begging it will only be so that I can give money to the other beggars, as I have enough (currently) to live on but not to give them. If I give to them I will need to beg for real. So just cutting out the middle man. Hope you like my iron logic here.

  6. Anonymous says:

    It is frustrating to go to the supermarket and every single time someone is asking for money for something. I can barely afford to go to the supermarket as it is without always having to budget for something. I am Caymanian and if we want our kids to stop having this entitlement attitude then stop teaching them that begging for money is an option or that they have to depend on others to just give them money. I would support a bake sale, car wash and even crowd sourcing before I just hand over my money just because you asked for it. Teach them life skills, raising capital is not easy don’t have these kids out here thinking they can just ask for $ and get it.

  7. Anonymous says:

    I don’t think children should be allowed to raise money by begging in public places. I get approached at Fosters and Hurleys fairly regularly to give money to various causes including sports teams, overseas trips and other school activities. Some of these children are very young (I would say 5-6), you can barely hear them when they speak, they are clearly uncomfortable about being there and there is no adult nearby.

    I used to give money many years ago but now it’s become too much. I sympathize though that some public schools are financially stretched thin and that extra curricular activities are good for kids so now I donate to specific programs in schools directly through PTAs

  8. Anonymous says:

    This always happen in our area at Fairbanks Road. Often, a lady on her late 30s I guess knocks on our door and ask for money, food or clothing. Her reasons always change everytime she comes. One time our neighboor came and asked me if this lady came to us too. Like every once a month. She has given her money and food too. I don’t know the truth behind why she’s begging. She look like she’s eaten well enough as what I’ve seen on her body type, she seems like a local. She just said she’s homeless and sick. It made me scared to open the door for her again coz the last time she asked for money to buy food at BK but my husband just gave her some biscuits and banana as she said she’s hungry. And her face changed like she’s upset coz we didn’t gave her any money.

  9. Anonymous says:

    To Fosters Food Fair, Country Side. On Friday 14th August 2015, I went to your store to do my grocery shopping. In front of your door way was a table with baked goods, a woman probably in her 40’s, with a two year old in tow. She was Jamaican. Going into the store, she basically was following me to ask if I wanted to purchase her goods. I told her no thank you. This went on for a while. The two year old is underneath laying on the carts. If you didn’t notice it and pulled a cart out, the child could get seriously hurt. One of the gentleman that put the carts in had to tell her repeatedly . I don’t go shopping TO BE PANHANDLED!!!! I am sorely disappointed in this. I don’t see this at Kirks Supermarket, which I am honestly thinking about using more often. It becomes uncomfortable when you are going into the door and people are constantly asking to purchase raffle tickets, baked goods, etc. This also includes Fosters Airport . Not sure the Strand, I don’t venture that far. I attempted to call management at Airport and Country Side just to give them a heads up and couldn’t get hold of one for over two hours. I typed this for it wasn’t a child, it was a grown adult!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      It should be the responsibility of FFF to make sure that anyone looking for donations on their property is legitimate.

    • Anonymous says:

      I’ve seen collections, raffle, or bake sales at Kirk, Foster’s Strand, AL Thompson and Cost-U-Less. Seems to be a problem all over.

  10. Anonymous says:

    How about the police arrest any fraudster. Then it would stop, and I could make donations confident they were going to the right place.

  11. Anonymous says:

    A few weeks ago I was exiting a supermarket and I was approached by a little boy no older than 6 years old, asking for me to sponsor him.

    I questioned him about the school he was in and what was the purpose for collecting the money. All of a sudden a woman, who must have been sitting in a car, came up and asked me if there was a problem.

    I then asked her what was the purpose for collecting the money, assuming that she would have given me some sort of explanation.

    Instead, all I got was her being verbally abusive and acting like an animal. Cussing and saying that “I was only asking stupid questions because the child not Caymanian”.

    I told her that I myself am not Caymanian and that had nothing to do with it. Not to be foiled, she grabbed up the boy and jumped in her car and took off.

    • Anonymous says:

      If they can afford to have their children here then they shouldn’t be here. Immigration needs to better monitor what is going on with ex-pats and their children. I know of a girl whose is a ex-pat’s child. She is 5 years old and stays at home all day by herself while her parents are at work because they don’t want to pay for a helper or send the girl to pre-school why…………….. THEY RATHER SEND THE MONEY HOME.

      • Anonymous says:

        Anon 8:33 – If you know of a child being endangered in such a fashion and take no action to fix the situation, you are just as responsible. If you don’t want to approach them directly, then report them to the proper authority so the child can be safe.

        • Anonymous says:

          I have taken action with the appropriate agency in Cayman but thank you for your concern. this is only one instance I am aware of. I can only imagine how many other similar circumstances there are.

          And no I am not responsible. I happen to live on the same street maybe the woman who they rent the side apartment from should also take action but I trust she rather collect her rent money then kick them out

      • MM says:

        Exactly! And the Immigration Law clearly states:

        The Caymanian Status & Permanent Residency Board or Chief Immigration Officer may declare that any person who has been granted permission to remain permanently in the Islands has ceased to enjoy such permission where:

        he fails to maintain the level of financial investment stated in his application for permission to remain permanently in the Islands;

        Our social service department is overwhelmed and more than half of the recipients are on PR or status grants!

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