Woman takes autorickshaw driver for Rs 23,500 ride

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A new form of fraud surfaced in the city after which it is recommended that people be mindful of strangers while talking on their phone.

Because not everyone has good intentions! A specially-abled autorickshaw driver fell victim to this fraud and lost Rs 23,400.

The victim, Shivakumar VH, 58, lost his right leg to gangrene during the pandemic. After recovering, he continued to drive an autorickshaw here to earn livelihood.

Speaking to News Trail, Shivakumar said that the incident took place on August 4 when he was waiting for customers near Chandra Layout.

"I was in desperate need of money and was constantly asking a friend, who owed my money, to return it," he said.

Shivakumar's friend agreed to pay him part of the amount after which Shivakumar asked him to meet him near PESIT College in Hanumantha Nagar and handover the cash.

"I told my friend that I do not know how to use UPI apps, hence it was decided that he would pay Rs 23,400 in cash to me," Shivakumar said.

During the call with his friend, a woman passenger in her 20s boarded Shivakumar’s auto. She asked him to drop her near PESIT College.

"As I was going in the same area, I agreed to drop her at the location. It was around 9.30 am," he said.

During the ride, Shivakumar was conversing with his friend over the phone on the money-related matter. Unknown to him, the woman was taking note of Shivakumar's entire conversation.

"She asked for my contact number twice during the ride. I thought she would be making an online payment. However she did not," Shivakumar said.

As they reached the location, Shivakumar's friend met him and handed over the cash to him while the woman was pretending to make an online payment through her phone.

"She asked me if I needed the cash," Shivakumar said.

"She said she wanted to pay her college fees but forgot to bring her ATM card. She requested me to give her the cash and in exchange she would credit the same amount into my bank account through PhonePe," he added.

When the woman alleged that the college was not accepting online payments, Shivakumar agreed to help but asked her to transfer the money to his account first.

The woman showed a screenshot of a money transfer of Rs 23,500 on her phone after which the unsuspecting driver handed over the cash to the woman.

"She showed me a transaction message of Rs 23,500 on her phone, which included the ride fare. When I didn't get the confirmation message on my phone, I asked her. She gave her number asking me to call her if there was any issue. I, however, took a photograph of her and then she quickly disappeared inside the college premises. Due to my disability, I couldn't even follow her into the campus," Shivakumar revealed.

Shivakumar kept checking his bank account but there was no money credited. Soon he realised that he had been conned by the woman.

A case has been registered at the Girinagar Police Station and efforts are on to trace the woman.