Sharjah: Police are warning residents against responding to people knocking on doors to collect money or other items for charity organisations.
The warning comes after Sharjah residents complained about a group of people claiming to work for a church located in Al Nahda and collecting donations in order to help people affected by disasters.
This group, which comprised men and women, has approached residents in Al Nahda at least twice so far this year.
“Each time, they made up a different excuse to ask for money,” a resident told Gulf News.
Another resident from Al Nahda, Ahmad Mustafa, said he paid them just to “make them go away”.
The men and women were well dressed, said Mustafa, and they came armed with envelopes which they gave out saying people were free to put whatever amount of money they wished in them. They claimed they were helping affected communities overseas.
Gulf News obtained a copy of the flyers they were distributing and contacted them several times, but the owner of the mobile number declined to speak and switched off his phone. Another time, he claimed it was a wrong number.
Colonel Sultan Al Khayal, Director of Media and Public Relations Department at Sharjah Police, told Gulf News that Sharjah Police have launched a programme titled ‘Wiqayah’, which means ‘Prevention’ to curb crime in all its forms. Most beggars and charity collectors exploit people’s religious and charitable sentiments to make easy money, he said.
Col Al Khayal stressed that charity organisations do not send individuals to people’s homes to collect money. All charity organisations in the country, he said, have their own headquarters and people can approach them to donate.
Anyone indulging in this kind of activity is committing fraud and this is punishable by law. He urged the public to immediately report such matters to the police because not only do charity collectors and beggars bother people and distort the country’s image, many of them are also involved in illegal activities. “We take the matter seriously as it ruins the reputation of the country and it affects the security of the place,” he said.
Col Al Khayal added that such individuals can also be dangerous and may injure and steal from people’s homes. They often stand outside residential buildings the whole day, watching and gathering information about residents’ movements and activities.
