Bantwal: Conmen employ different methods to cheat the unsuspecting public. In spite of regular reports appearing in the media, many fall for traps like email messages announcing millions of dollars and other prizes.
In a different kind of cheating game, an autorickshaw driver hailing from Kepu has lost a good amount of his hard-earned savings. A gang from Jharkhand had announced a Tata Safari car or Rs 1.6 lakh as prize for correctly identifying two Bollywood stars whose half faces were flashed on a Hindi TV channel.
The driver made a call to the mobile numbers given in the TV ad and gave the answers. A few days later, he received a call from an unknown person informing him that he had won the prize. But there was a proviso that he had to transfer Rs 22,250 to two bank accounts held in the names of Prashant Kadam and Patenjari Shastri, residents of Water Works Road in Jamshipur in Jharkhand.
As suggested, the Kepu man remitted the money. Even after many days had elapsed, there was no sign of the Safari vehicle nor any refund. When he contacted the persons concerned again, he was asked to send another Rs 18,000 if he wanted to get the prize.
It was at this stage that he realized that he had been taken for a ‘Safari’ – a Swahili word for a ride or a picnic. It is not known if he has submitted a complaint to the police. But he has requested the media to warn the public not to get cheated the way he was.
Caution!
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