Common scams in India:15 scams exposed
India is a country full of diversity, here you will find a lot of good people but at the same time there are some person who try to scam people due to insufficient knowledge in particular field. India is known for its culture and vibrancy , it attracts millions of tourists every year, however in to to get positive experience it is important to be aware of common scams that exists here. In this blog we will try to highlight common scams and provide valuable information on how to protect yourself from falling in their trap.
There are various types of scams in India like tourist scams ,everyday scams ,travel scams , door to door scams etc.
scams in India
1. Tourist scams
• auto/taxi scam
(I)In India, this is very common that taxi owners will ask for extra fare from foreigners , as they are new to this place ,they don’t know much about the place so they are forced to pay more kike 3x 4x times . On YouTube you can see many videos that for a particular destination the price is suppose 100 but they will say 700-800. This generally happens near airports.
(II)When you will ask them to drop to your hotel location, they will say this hotel is not good, their service is bad, it is at bad locality and even they say that this hotel is many km apart and at the end they will drop you at their cousin’s hotel and gey commission.
(III) during the ride the will ask if you are hungry , he will try to convince you this food is best and drops you anywhere and gets commission.
(IV) he will try to convince you to travel some popular location and rakes you to travel agents , who will take much more price from you and gives him a part as commission.
(IV)at the beginning he will say low fare but at the time of leaving he will ask for extra money and give reasons like road was closed I have to travel more.
Solution: you can taxi from prepaid taxi counter near airport, they will charge a genuine fare or you can book from Ola, Uber.
• Hotel scams
Some people have reported that when they booked their hotel online the price was something else, but when they reach hotel for check in they are asked for extra money and give many excuses like the hotel is full, your booking was not confirmed.
Solution:you don’t have to pay any extra amount , just call customer care no. From the app which you have used to book room and inform them about this and after that your problem will be solved.
• Religious scams
This is also one kind of scam , especially on holy places. A man will come to you and put Tilak on your forehead without asking you and then he/she will ask money from you .if you deny paying them they will follow you to a great distance.
Solution: stay away from these people,or deny payment before pitting all these stuffs.
• Pashmina shawl scams
tourists know about pashmina shawl as It is one of the greatest shawl of world it has brilliant quality. Generally most of the shops are fake who are offering you this shawl . There are some standard to confirm the authenticity whether it is real or not. Some are mentioned below:-
(i) Irregular weave- pure pashmina shawl is woven on handloom. Therefore the weave is irregular.
(ii) Rubbing test-rub the part of shawl with each other. If it develops charge then it’s not a pashmina.
(iii) Glue test-a pure pashmina can’t hold glue for long time. if there is a tag it means it is fake.
(iv) Fake one have high sheen while pure have low sheen.
Solution: always buy this from govt. Verified stores and check the measures to confirm it’s authenticity.
• Fake antiques scam
Fake products are shown to you by posing them as antiques. Stay away from these fraudsters their aim is just to get as much money they can get from you.
2. Travel scams
Travel scams
• Train pantry scam
Whenever we travel in train for long duration like 20 hours , we need food . many people are afraid to come out of train and purchase something from station, so for those train pantry is the best source to get fresh food. As soon as you ask the price the scam starts .
(i)he will tell you high price for that . In every train the same thing happens the official price of veg meal is 80 but the charge 120-150 or even more and won’t provide you curd and later on these curds are sold in secondary market.
(ii) if you will ask then for bill they say machine is not working and gives you rough bill on paper. And on that even the license no. Is wrong. Price non vegetarian meal is 150 but they will give you veg meal + chicken curry which inflates it’s price to 200.
(iii) same thing happens with water bottle, they charge 20 for non approved water bottles because they get high commission on that. In trains only railneer is allowed nut they sell local brands and for railneer also they charge 20 but the actual cost is 15.
• Fake gems scam
These scammer offers you gems and say its real we have dig out from ocean but in reality most of them are fake and of you will buy that ,you will end up losing huge sum of money.
• Ear cleaning scam
They will offer you free ear cleaning, n between cleaning process they put some stones in your ear and take it out and shows it to you. Then they will tell you to buy some oil.
• Beggar scam
These people will ask you money to feed some milk to their children then in sympathy you will buy some milk for them. After that they will return this milk to shopkeeper and gets money. The same happens with food grains. Some acts like blind, earns sympathy and ask money for operation.
3. Everyday life scam
• Donation scam
In the name of ashram or charity, these people visits your home and ask for donation they also show receipts to you. Don’t fall into their trap.
• Gas cylinder scam
In , India people who deliver gas cylinder ask for extra 50 rupees more that that which is printed on bill by saying delivery charge . But they are paid transportation cost by dealers so don’t give them a single rupee. The second case, gas cylinder will be delivered via motorcycle, this man takes out 2-3 kg fuel and them gives it to you.
• Fake coupons scam
coupons will be offered to you by saying it as free , after filling it you will not get any gift and your details will be misused. You will get fraud calls from here and there.
• Train ticket scam
If you have wait listed ticket ,you will surely try to clear it anyhow . On platforms there are many fraudsters who will say they will give you a confirm ticket but , but at some extra cost they take you ticket and just write a seat no. On it and says it will be cleared and some people gets fooled and pay some extra money . But at the end they gets nothing. You can confirm your ticket using makemytrip.
• ATM card skimming
Criminals tempers the atm machine and install hidden cameras it the slot to record PIN numbers,enabling them to make clone cards.
Solution is to cover the keypad while filling PIN, use ATMs situated in secure areas.
4. Online scams
• Fake message Kbc scam
This the most common scam, maybe you have also received this kind of text on WhatsApp. These people asks for you adhaar, pan card and bank details to transfer a sum of 25 lakhs by saying you have won online lucky sim competition. But to transfer money you have to pay some processing fees. Now here the scam begins they will force you to pay the amount to get the money, but once you paid they will again say you to pay . Once you will neglect they will block your phone number and you will end up losing all your money.
• Online app download scam
This incident just happened in my locality, my neighbour has just applied to take another line supply from electricity department. He receives a call from fraudsters, they pose themselves as govt. Officials and told him to download one application to check status of application.
As soon as he installed it his phone goy hacked , his screen was automatically running and he loose over 2 lakhs from his bank account.
• Dialing a phone call Scam
Scammer calls you to check your parcel location, of you will dial that no. Then your call , messages will be forwarded to them automatically.
India offers wonderful experience and warm hospitality to its people, but it’s our duty to beware of common scams to save us from loosing money. For more visit money inspires