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The job seemed too good to be true: money a lot of money to get a woman pregnant
Item information
- Author: Geeta Pandey
- Scrolling, from BBC News in Delhi
2 hours ago
Among the many scams on the Internet, this one is a bit strange.
In early December, Indian man Mangesh Kumar (not his real name) was on Facebook when he came across a video from the Professional Indian Pregnancy Service and decided to see what it was about.
The job seemed too good to be true: money a lot of money to get a woman pregnant.
Of course, the ad was just that: too good to be true.
Kumar is 33 years old and lives in the state of Bihar in northern India. He earns 15,000 Indian rupees ($180) a month at a wedding decoration company. And so far he has lost just over a month's salary 16,000 rupees (US$192, about R$939) to the criminals who continue to contact him asking for more money.
Kumar is not the only one to fall for this scam.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Kalyan Anand, head of the cybercrime team in Nawada district of Bihar, told the BBC that there were hundreds of victims of this elaborate scam. Gullible men were tricked into handing over money by the promise of a large payout and a night in a hotel with a childless woman.
Anand's team has already arrested eight men, seized nine mobile phones and a printer and is still searching for 18 more suspects.
But the search for the victims seems to be more complicated.
“The gang has been active for a year and we assume that they have defrauded hundreds of people,” says the police officer, “but so far no one has filed a complaint, possibly out of shame.”
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In a pregnancy scam, men were tricked into sending money to criminals
How the scam works
The BBC was able to speak to two of the victims. One of them said she lost 799 rupees (about US$9.60 or R$46.90), but did not want to elaborate.
Mangesh Kumar was much more receptive. In several telephone conversations he revealed how he became prey to fraudsters.
“Ten minutes after I clicked on the video, my phone rang. The man asked me to pay Rs 799 if I wanted to sign up for the service,” he says.
Kumar calls the caller Sandeep. He said Kumar was working for a company in the Indian city of Mumbai and, after being hired, learned details about the woman he would have to impregnate.
The offer was half a million rupees (around US$6,000 or R$29,300, almost three years' salary for Kumar). This amount would be paid just for having sex with the woman, in addition to the promise of a bonus of another 800,000 rupees (about US$9,600 or R$46,900) if she became pregnant.
“I am a poor man, I desperately need money and that is why I believed them,” said Kumar, who is married with two boys.
Over the next two weeks, Kumar received new requests for money Rs 2,550 for legal documents, Rs 4,500 as security deposit and Rs 7,998 as goods and services tax on the money he had not yet received.
In total, he paid more than 16,000 rupees (US$192, about R$939), according to the receipts and (false) documents provided to the BBC by the fraudsters.
The document sent by the criminals looked legal. It contains your name and photo, as well as a picture of a man in a police uniform. At the top in bold letters is the inscription: “Baby Birth Contract.”
Below that, in smaller letters, it says “Pregnancy Proof Form.”
And the signature on the document is reminiscent of that of the American television presenter Oprah Winfrey.
To keep Kumar interested in the proposal, the scammers sent photos of “seven to eight women” and asked him to choose the one he wanted to impregnate.
“They said they would book a hotel room in the city where I live and I would meet the woman there,” he says.
When Kumar demanded the promised money, the criminals sent a receipt showing that they had transferred a credit of 512,400 rupees (approximately US$6,150 or R$30,100) to his bank account.
However, according to them, this amount would be withheld until Kumar paid the relevant income tax of 12,600 rupees (approximately US$151 or R$739).
Kumar says he had already lost an entire month's salary at that point. He informed the fraudsters that he could no longer make payments and demanded a refund of the amounts paid.
“But Sandeep refused,” he says, “and when I was angry, he said that the tax authorities would search my house and arrest me as there was a balance of Rs 500,000 in my bank account.”
“I am a poor worker, I lost a month's wages and I didn't want to get involved in a criminal case,” Kumar continues. “I was so scared that I turned off my phone for ten days. I just recalled it a few days ago.”
He says he initially thought that the BBC reporter herself was part of the criminal gang.
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Police have already arrested eight men involved in pregnancy scams in India; 18 are on the run
“Golden Age of Cybercrime”
Kalyan Anand claims that those responsible for the scam are welleducated men, some even with university degrees. They know how to use cell phones, laptops and printers.
But the victims come from all parts of India and most have little formal education.
Kumar says he didn't know it could be a scam because “Sandeep” sent copies of his identification documents, including one in which he identified himself as a soldier in the Indian Army.
He also believed that the profile photo on WhatsApp was real an attractive foreign woman with a newborn in her arms.
“Tell me, how can I not believe this photo?” he asks.
Cybercrime expert Pavan Duggal explains that the problem is that in India, “people are largely very gullible and rarely independently verify information on the Internet.” And this situation is compounded by overconfidence in their security.
But the methodology of the coup in Nawada was “very innovative”.
“Criminals lure them with the promise of easy money and free sex, which is a deadly combination,” Duggal explains. “In such situations, prudence takes a back seat.”
The Covid19 pandemic has made internet and mobile phone banking services standard. Duggal claims that this marked the beginning of “the golden age of cybercrime.” He warns that this era “will last for decades.”
The expert stresses that India needs to do more to prevent people like Kumar from falling victim to fraudsters as cybercriminals develop new, increasingly innovative and personalized offerings.
For him, “the government needs to do much more to raise awareness, with radio and television programs, as people trust the government more.”
But the Indian government alone cannot reach all of the country's 1.4 billion people.
“The numbers are frightening,” he continues. “Relying solely on the government will take a long time and the Indian economy will continue to suffer. Therefore, incentives must be created for the private sector to start collaborating.”
Constant insistence
Meanwhile, the fraudsters continue to insist on Kumar.
During a telephone conversation with the BBC last week, he hung up and said “the lady” was calling. Kumar later explained that this was the woman he had been promised a date with.
On Sunday evening, he told the reporter that he had spoken to her almost every day.
Now she says that “Sandeep” is the real fraudster who stole most of the promised 500,000 rupees but he can still earn 90,000 rupees (about US$1,080 or R$5,280) if he pays 3,000 in input taxes.
“I told her I was broke,” he says. “I asked her to return my money but she said it wasn't possible. I want her to return at least 10,000 rupees.”
I asked if he still trusts criminals.
“I really don’t know what to do now,” Kumar replied. “I lost an entire month’s wages and couldn’t send money to my family in Bihar. My wife is very angry and doesn’t talk to me anymore.”
And he is angry because “Sandeep” has stopped answering his calls.
“Those who cheated me must receive the maximum punishment. I just worked all day to earn 500 rupees (R$29).”
“I know I made a big mistake. But what they did to me is very wrong,” concludes Kumar.