|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Like Hindi cinema — which often copies Hollywood movies — fraudsters, I find, are always copying other tricksters in the trade. Either they are too lazy to come up with an idea of their own, or prefer the tried and tested methods of swindling people. Yet, people fall prey to their machinations. In the 1980s, for example, lakhs of people were swindled by what later came to be known as "blade companies" — the name signifying that those who came in contact with them invariably got injured. These companies would collect deposits promising unbelievably huge rates of interest and just disappear. There were a number of them following a similar modus operandi. In recent times, I have across a number of consumers who have been duped by companies offering home helpline services and road services. In both the cases, the technique is more or less the same. Since rectifying malfunctioning household gadgets, or a leaky taps, or tripping power lines, is always a time-consuming, bothersome task, people are only too happy to hand over the headache to a helpline that promises to attend to all such jobs within 24 hours. However, after collecting the money (an annual fee of Rs 600 to Rs 900) from a number of residents in a colony, the helpline vanishes into thin air. Road helplines have also taken clients for a ride. With tall promises of 24-hour helplines that attend to a distress call within just an hour, these companies collect an annual fee of Rs 1,200 to Rs 2000. It is only when they are stranded on the road with a vehicle breakdown that the consumers realise that they were victims of a fraud. The economic slowdown, the shrinking job markets and the escalating prices of essential goods have spurred another kind of a racket. They come in the form of "virtual call centres," "social contact clubs" and "medical prescription centres." The nomenclature may vary, but all of them have a common goal. To extract money from the customers by promising opportunities to enhance their incomes. A resident of Delhi, for example, was promised that he could earn through a "virtual call centre," sitting in the comfort of his home. All he had to do was to deposit a refundable amount of Rs 12,000. Sandeep not only deposited the money, but hired a personal computer and also got an Internet connection. But the call centre job never materialised. Nor was the refundable deposit returned. Another resident of south Delhi was promised that he could earn as much as Rs 10,000 per day if he became a member of a "social contact club" by depositing Rs 3000 as membership fee. Subsequently, he was also asked to deposit an additional sum towards consultation fee. Forget earning those extra bucks, he even lost the money that he deposited. A couple of years ago, the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police had busted a job racket run by Himalaya E-Com marketing Private Limited, following a complaint from 40 people who had lost Rs 5,500 each. The company offered an opportunity to earn through "Janata self- employment yojana." Anyone who wanted to be part of the yojana had to shell out Rs 5,500. He or she was not only promised Rs 10,000 over a period of 10 years, but also an additional Rs 30,000 for every new member he or she enrolled. But none got the money, and the company amassed crores of rupees. There are also companies that offer easy loans, collect money towards processing fees and disappear. So exercise utmost caution when someone approaches you with such offers. It would be in your
interest not to part with any money unless you are absolutely sure of
the antecedents of the agency.
|
|||
|
|
|||
