[coolmind]

This has spread to Hyderabad as well in recent times.
They request for Rs 200-300 mentioning they lost their wallet and want to feed their kid.
Better stay safe than regret.

[GTO]

Thanks to Tarun Sharma for sending this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

I was driving back home at ~6 pm and stopped at the traffic signal at Analog Devices on the Old Madras Road. I was the first at the signal when this man walked towards my car from the left side, and towards the driver seat.

I lowered the window and he said with a smile "Hi, I also work in "My Company Name". Can you drop me to Tim factory?" That is around 1 KM from that signal. Without me even replying to him, he walked towards the passenger side and tried to open the door.

I lowered the glass and asked for his company ID, to which he replied "I'm not carrying my office bag". I asked him to show me any ID card and that's when he started walking away in a haste.

It was this exact man.

I have never given a lift to any unknown person in my car, but had been doing it on my bike & after this incident, I have completely stopped doing it. Lesson learned.

[Funny]

Sorry for the long post in advance. TL;DR: I encountered a distraction scam on ORR while driving back from work.

Today I encountered a road scam/con incident while returning from work which has left me a little disturbed. Fortunately I have this incident recorded on my dashcam and I have uploaded the same on YouTube for public awareness. Here is the video:

Scammers on Outer Ring Road - Bangalore

And here goes the detailed description of the same:

I left from work in my car at around 7.30 PM on my usual route which is a very busy stretch of Bangalore (Outer Ring Road). I had my laptop bag and phone kept on the passenger side seat as usual and as I approach the road merge near the end of the flyover (from EcoSpace towards Marathahalli) there was traffic pile up as usual but something which was not usual was that 2 people were in the middle of the road, mostly pretending to cross the road at a place where it is impossible to cross due to huge barricades (to prevent crossing of road). There is an actual point of crossing just 100 meters ahead where all the people cross the road to reach the bus stop on either sides of the road, but these two strange looking men are in the middle of the road at a point where it makes no sense at all. (Hint #1)

There is an XUV5OO ahead of me and one of those two men cross the road to reach towards the median of the road while the other man who was on the left of the car is seen brushing against the XUV and peeking inside that car very unusually. Assuming he wanted to cross the road, why would he try to peek inside the XUV? (Hint #2)

Now the traffic ahead of XUV becomes clear and it starts to move ahead and the person who was peeking inside the XUV has now turned towards me and starts walking swiftly towards the left of my car while trying to peek inside my car on the passenger side. Meanwhile the other person who was on the right also looks towards my car and starts walking towards my right. (Hint #3)

And since I was noticing the strange behavior of these men and the road ahead of me became clear, I started to move ahead slowly. Now this is when I hear LOUD banging on my rear left-door (Hint #4) and immediately I knew it was the same man who passed by my left side and without stopping or looking elsewhere I moved ahead swiftly since the road had become relatively free. After I moved about 50 meters ahead, I look into the rear-view mirror but I am unable to see anyone since there was lot of traffic behind me and those men where nowhere to be seen in my rear-view mirrors.

I was infuriated by the actions of that man who banged on my car door so hard without any reason. I knew that I was not at fault in anyway since I was driving cautiously after seeing their actions ahead of me. I drove ahead for about 1 km and then I looked in my rear-view mirror to make sure no one was following me and got down from the car and went and checked if there was any damage to the car. Fortunately it looked like there was no damage to the car but I will need to re-confirm this in the day time tomorrow.

Since I had read about such incidents in News/Team-BHP, I was aware about the possibility of such scam/con jobs on our roads. That along with the 4 Hints that I gathered helped me to make a proper decision at that time (of not stopping). If I was less attentive about the road ahead of me (by using phone or being distracted by music etc) or if I had stopped my car without realizing what could be happening, things could've been much different for me today.

Anyway the theory according to me is that those men were from a scam/con gang who were playing the distraction game. The person on my left wanted to raise a fake incident of "running over his feet" which is why he would bang so hard on my car and when I stop the car, he would come front towards my passenger side door and I would roll down the window to ask him why he banged on my door. He would then whine about his cooked up crap and then the person on my right (who is his partner in crime) would come towards the driver side door and would try to talk to me (mostly in support of him). And as I turn towards the right and roll down the window to speak to this 2nd guy (#Distraction), the first guy would quickly grab my bag/phone and disappear into the traffic/crowd. And when I turn towards my left to realize what happened, the guy on the right would also disappear in the same way. And I am left with a stationary car on the middle of a busy junction and I simply cannot get down and try to chase the culprit while leaving my car on the road (Other road users will be honking the nuts out anyway), so I am forced to move my car to the side of the road and by that time the culprits will be long gone.

As I said earlier, this incident has left me a little disturbed although nothing bad has really happened due to my presence of mind. All through the rest of my journey to home, I wondered how could this happen on a busy junction where there are multiple motorists around me and these men had the courage to pull this off in the middle of a busy junction where many people could be watching their actions. This is the first time I have encountered such incident in Bangalore whereas I have driven thousands of kilometers within the city even at odd times without any issues. I felt like going to the police station, but I did not have a strong case to present to them and I also wanted to reach home fast since in the back of my mind I was wondering what if they were following me or something. So I decided to head home and parked my beloved car and came and narrated the incident to my parents after which I feel a bit relieved. I just wish these scam/con artists rot in hell for being a burden on humanity

Now the key takeaways:
1. Always try to drive with windows rolled up, at-least in slow moving traffic or at traffic junctions or when you suspect any strange behavior of any motorist around you while driving. Needless to say, keep your doors locked at all times.
2. Do not keep your valuables at a place where it can be easily spotted from outside like on the seats in my case. Always try to keep them hidden from prying eyes around you even if you feel like you are in a safe-zone, because in this world no zone is really a safe-zone.
3. Be aware of such incidents because they are very much real and you can read about a lot of similar incident happening all over our country on a daily basis. You do not want to be in a situation where you do not realize that you are being conned/scammed on the road.
4. No vehicle is safe, I have reduced riding on 2-wheels mostly because of dust/pollution and unfavorable climatic conditions. And I used to think that one can be very safe from the bad elements while driving around in the car until today. You can never be safe on the road, you have to be a little cautiously all the time.
5. Lastly, be attentive on the road while driving or riding. Always keep looking for any strange behaviors around your vehicle. Focus more keenly when you have a lot of people/vehicles around you. But that does not mean you look at every other person on the road like he/she is a criminal . Just be attentive, cautions and prepared for anything that could happen on the road like accidents/scams etc.

~Drive Safe

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by Funny

Sorry for the long post in advance. TL;DR: I encountered a distraction scam on ORR while driving back from work.

~Drive Safe

From the cam footage, it is very clear that the guys were up-to some mischief. They had to abort the plan since both SUV and you got clear stretch to move on. Can this be posted on twitter tagging the traffic and other cops in that area

[Funny]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

From the cam footage, it is very clear that the guys were up-to some mischief. They had to abort the plan since both SUV and you got clear stretch to move on. Can this be posted on twitter tagging the traffic and other cops in that area

Yes, the clearing of traffic ahead helped us get away from that spot. But I am sure they would've made at-least one scene there (after I escaped) before scooting off.
I do not have an active twitter handle. Maybe some other member can post this on Twitter and tag the officials. Please feel free to use the post/video whichever way it helps.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by Funny

I had my laptop bag and phone kept on the passenger side seat as usual

I always keep my laptop bag ( If I am carrying it and alone ) in front passenger footwell, also i never keep my phone in such a way that its visible from outside ( Either in door pocket / deeply tucked below console / or at times even in glovebox / laptop bag ).

Out of sight ( devices ) is the safest way to not be a potential victim.

[landcruiser123]

People are getting inventive about thefts. Is this India or South Africa?
I've only heard of firsthand experiences of this kind (and more violent ones) in African countries.

Such a sad sight to see people in India go to new lows. :(

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by Funny

Sorry for the long post in advance. TL;DR: I encountered a distraction scam on ORR while driving back from work.

~Drive Safe

Thanks for highlighting this; i take the ORR every single day (work for a large corporate on Sarjapur road and live in Whitefield) and pass thru this stretch either on the flyover or the service lane. Will keep eyes open for such miscreants. I always keep the laptop bag in the boot of my car so that it is not easily visible. Cant do much about phone as G-maps is always on and the phone is visibly mounted on the dash :(

[Funny]

Originally Posted by aroonanand

Thanks for highlighting this; i take the ORR every single day (work for a large corporate on Sarjapur road and live in Whitefield) and pass thru this stretch either on the flyover or the service lane. Will keep eyes open for such miscreants. I always keep the laptop bag in the boot of my car so that it is not easily visible. Cant do much about phone as G-maps is always on and the phone is visibly mounted on the dash :(

I don't think you would see them in the same area anytime soon. They must be rotating within the city to avoid being caught. They are mostly targeting easy to reach options, phone being mounted on holder maybe difficult for them to grab and can definitely be seen by the driver since it will be mostly in the peripheral view. Valuable things kept on dashboard or seats away from driver will be the preferred target for them.

[DriverR]

Originally Posted by tud

Why would that driver wait for the signal to turn green and move the car away from the woman before he can tell you the truth? If he is genuine he could have told it while the woman was still talking to you.

Just a guess, but maybe as you say, he knew those folks and they in turn know him. So he knew if he said anything against their scam in front of them, they would get back at him later.

Edit: I typed this reply before reading the rest of the post. I see that another member has suggested this possibility.

[palsaumik]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

This is an incident that happened to me this Monday.

I was on my way to a client meeting. I stopped at the traffic signal at Sony World Junction in Koramangala.
A stranger approached the driver side window and asked "Do I stay in <apartment complex>?"
I said Yes. He mentioned he also stays there, he had hit a car at the signal and the cops have impounded it and asked for a drop till the Koramangala Police station. I had never seen this person before.
Since I was turning right at the signal, I mentioned I am taking a right at the signal.

Hey speedmiester, I came across the same person (exact same face, figure and shirt) today at the Silk Board signal. I was on my way to JP Nagar and was alone in the car. I saw this guy walk across my car from left to right, and the moment he was walking across, I immediately rolled my eyes to confirm if my doors are locked and windows up. Within the next few seconds, he came to the drive side, knocked my window and asked in English if I was going the same way as he is. I waved my hand and gave him a strong signal to go away, and in the next second, he walked off. He simply disappeared in the traffic.

Thanks for sharing such incidents on T-BHP. It helps a lot to stay aware and alert.

[SideView]

A variant of the scam posted in #63 strikes, instead of guys crossing roads by foot they were on scooters.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...perandi-108264

Keep a eye out Bangloreans. Drive safe.

[Thanos-VV]

Not really sure where this happened and also tried to find a relevant thread to post it. Couldn't find any other thread and hence posting it under this one.

Look at the coordination among all the fraudsters and the Driver is totally clueless. It could be anyone right! Will you be having the presence of mind to switch off the car and then take the key out and lock the car before coming out to check during broad daylight in a crowded road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-km...ature=youtu.be

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by Thanos-VV

Look at the coordination among all the fraudsters and the Driver is totally clueless. It could be anyone right! Will you be having the presence of mind to switch off the car and then take the key out and lock the car before coming out to check during broad daylight in a crowded road.

Thanks for the reminder that Bangalore roads are still unsafe, we've gotten used to a safer Bangalore these days, but with the heavy exodus (due to COVID) and thinning police force (same reason), things are getting easier for the robbers, as there is strength in numbers.

We've generally left the car unlocked when going to small grocery stores, but this is a strong reminder for everyone that we're still living in the 3rd/4th world that is India, and the protocol before exiting the car is to pull the keys out, lock the car and only then go to do your chore. As always, never put valuables into the car without a person IN the car to keep an eye on them. All laptops, petty cash bags etc should be under the seat, preferably hooked into the under-seat rods as most of them come with the brass pull-type loop.

With the economy nose-diving and in continuous free-fall, desperation today is at an all-time high, time to batten down the hatches everywhere. I do hope humanity is retained all through this crisis at an individual level, as we come to grips again, with the basic human concepts of trust, mutual helping and faith in goodness, the rulers have eroded that for the past 6 months.

[TheHelix0202]

Before watching the video, I was convinced the car was going to be stolen, and scorned the idea of leaving the key in the ignition when stepping out like that. I later realized that wasn't the case here.

True, it could happen to 98% of cars with a central locking linked to the key in ignition (like our erstwhile i10) or people who don't lock their doors while driving at all. But in our Rapid, once you press the lock button, it doesn't unlock until you press it again. Presence of mind of the driver is important too.