Mother of scams : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Girls@gupshup

Mother of scams

The matriarch looked up from the paper and chuckled — a rather unusual occurrence this early in the morning, when she deigns, in impassive silence, and communicates solely with her tea and newspaper.

Mother of scams

Illustration: Sandeep Joshi



Aradhika  Sharma

The matriarch looked up from the paper and chuckled — a rather unusual occurrence this early in the morning, when she deigns, in impassive silence, and communicates solely with her tea and newspaper. Only a hardened masochist (the likes of who thrust their hands in a hornet’s nest for the sheer joy of it) will try a conversational gambit with her then. It was, thus, startling to hear the cheery chortle.

“She fell for it!” she exclaimed delightedly.

“Who? Fell for what?” I should have known from her untimely glee that some poor soul had ‘fallen’ from grace or fortune.

“The CM’s wife! She fell for the oldest trick in the world,” she grinned.

“It fills up my heart to see how you empathise with your fellow human, but do tell what happened.” 

“It says here in the paper that she fell prey to cyber fraud, losing Rs 23 lakh to a scamster who duped her through a mobile phone call, posing as a bank manager.” Declared the dowager: “I don’t know how she allowed herself to be tricked. She should read the news more carefully. These cases come out in the newspaper every single day.”

“I guess she didn’t imagine that anyone would dare to con her.”

“Arre! Why not? Elderly ladies are a prime target. I get calls every single day, but do I get taken in?” the materfamilias demanded imperiously.

“Do you? You should block those numbers.”

“Oh no! I have great fun with the callers as long as they call at an appropriate time and don’t disturb me when I’m watching TV or napping or playing cards.”

“I’m sure no chalu charlatan would dare be so impertinent as to disturb you at rest and play,” I responded drily.

“I’m pretty clever, waise,” she crowed. “One fellow called me to saying that he was the bank manager and my account was about to expire, so could I share my account number? I said to him; ‘Sure beta, I’ll do that immediately and while I’m about it, why don’t I give you my ATM card number and its PIN as well? I was just contemplating complete renunciation of worldly goods.’”

Inspired by the narration of her wit, she continued: “Another time, a girl called me claiming that there was an unclaimed FD in the bank worth Rs 10 lakh. She asked to speak with your father, explaining that he could retrieve the money by giving some account details. I trumped her by saying, “Of course, I can give you his address in heaven. And when you visit him, meri bhi baat karva dena.”

“Slicker than the slickster, eh?” I laughed.

She smiled smugly.

“But you fell for the guy who came to polish your gold and ended up making your bangles much lighter!” I reminded her.

The matron was miffed: “Achcha! And what about the time when you bought 25 kg ‘fresh’ honey, supposedly straight from the hive, but, turned out to be just sugar water? 

No one outwits the oldie! I’m almost empathetic with the phone scamsters!

Top News

Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in UP's Banda orders judicial inquiry into death of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari

UP court orders judicial probe into Mukhtar Ansari’s death

The CJM has sought the probe report within a month

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

Eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh are among the poorest regions...

Alka Rai, widow BJP MLA killed by Mukhtar Ansari, says 'justice has been served', visits Ram Mandir

Alka Rai, widow BJP MLA killed by Mukhtar Ansari, says 'justice has been served', visits Ram Mandir

Alka Rai is the wife of MLA Krishanand Rai, who was shot dea...

Cash-strapped Congress gets fresh IT notice of Rs 1,700 crore, say party insiders

Cash-strapped Congress gets fresh I-T notice of Rs 1,800 crore

Ajay Maken addresses a press conference

Special court convicts 7 people in BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case

Special court convicts 7 people in BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case

The proceedings against Atiq Ahmad, his brother and prime ac...


Cities

View All