‘Hang them all’: India’s scammers profit from coronavirus misery
- India has a long history of audacious swindles ripping off ordinary people and the pandemic has been lucrative for its ever-inventive army of scammers
- New Delhi police have launched at least 600 investigations in recent weeks as people desperately search for oxygen, hospital beds and drugs
Komal Taneja’s husband Chandrakant died gasping for breath at his New Delhi home last month after the oxygen canister that they paid US$200 for on the internet never arrived.
“We desperately tried to find a hospital bed for a week … Two private hospitals asked us for a million rupees (US$13,800) in advance,” said Komal, her voice cracking on the phone.
“Then we came across a contact online promising an oxygen cylinder delivery within an hour of making the 15,000 rupees payment. When we did, they asked for more money, and then stopped responding.”
Chandrakant, 36, who worked at the stock market, died on May 1, leaving his homemaker wife looking for a job to help look after his ailing parents.
India has a long history of audacious scams ripping off ordinary people, including beyond its borders.