Three ways to avoid getting scammed in Harare

Avoid standing on street corners – There are boys waiting to pounce on your shoes each time you walk on the pavements and take a pause. Well they basically polish/dye one shoe without your request and ask for money for services rendered. If you refuse they make a scene or leave the shoes as they are. Now you wouldn’t want to walk around with one shining shoe and the other dull so you pay up.

Turn a blind eye to: “Untrained till operators/Guards wanted” – It’s a concrete jungle. Every other individual is seeking employment and will go the extra mile to get what they want. These jobs once became the envy of many and had high wages at once. With limited requirements anyone can get this job and scammers like to take advantage of that fact. But who pays to get a job? Or in-job training? That’s a scam. 90% of people sign up for these jobs and pay $50 to march up and down the quarry sites and never get the job. Some get trained as till operators but with the shrinking economy there’s no guarantee of a permanent job. The best way to avoid getting scammed: don’t pay to get trained.

Avoid street music – There are many self-employed people on the streets of Harare selling various accessories. Some are software vendors and others sell music. I was puzzled one day to learn that a senior citizen from my neighbourhood had been scammed. Apparently he fell for the "we sell music" scam. He was told there were 2 gigabyte memory cards on sale and music could be placed on them for $20. Sadly when the old so-and-so got home that wasn’t the case. – Third World Citizen @KalabashMedia