[Gilead]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I bet the local cops are aware of this racket and they may be getting a cut as well.

Can you post some photos the bricks if you still have them? They must be the most expensive bricks in the country at the moment.

[basilmabraham]

This is a very old trick, and an international one too. Way back in 2002, in London, a similar instance happened to one of my friends at university. The crime is so organised that even the best eyes will not see the swithcing of the bags. All my friend got was bricks too. This only happens when you and the culprits are driving, where the theives have the opportunity to disappear into bliss even before you realise something is wrong.

Appreciate your courage, MR, to admit this publicly and creating an awareness for us all. Thanks and sorry for the loss you suffered.

[M.R]

Originally Posted by nick17s

Well M.R, that’s really sad bro, you should have never entertained those guys, even if you have purchased it, wt if the lappy was stolen?
Neway
I guess there is some gang running these kinda things in specially Lajpat Nagar and near by areas.

I know 3 incidents in Lajpat Nagar:

1. my friend's boss went to a shop to sell off his lappy, he went to a shop and didn’t get the money he was expecting , he came back to his car with the lappy, and kept the lappy on the co-driver's seat, suddenly a guy came and told him there is a Rs.500 note lying the ground, he (my friend's boss) came out of the car and found a note and kept it, he then found another 500 note near the rear tire, and a 3rd note near his car's rear, he was sooo happy that he got Rs. 1500 and this was his best day, but NO, as soon as he stepped back in his car, he found that the lappy was stolen. He still regrets, I told him (as he was a friend of mine too) that nobody will tell you if he finds your Rs. 500 note.
Till today I make fun of him, (though, I shouldn’t be) I tell him, this reminds me of "Tom & Jerry" episode, where tom keeps cheese at some intervals to catch jerry.lol..

2. This happened 1 month back, my friend was driving his Maruti 800, and he kept his N73 and an MP3 Player on the co passenger's seat. His both the windows were only 1/6 open, Mind it, 1/6th open, the traffic was moving on a 5km/h speed, suddenly near Moolchand flyover, a guy (looked like labor) came to him and started yelling, that "you almost killed me, with your ride" my friend surprisingly asked what, where, when & how?
In the meanwhile another guy from the other side came and took away the N73, and that guy was a tall guy because no normal height guy can take a cell phone from the seat if the window was only 1/6th open, the labor then told my friend that its okay this time, my friend saw someone turning back on the left side, but he didn’t realized what was happened. Later after 15 mins when he had to make a call, he realized that his phone was stolen, luckily, the MP3 player was still there.

3. Last week, I was in Lajpat Nagar market, went to get tires for my ride from BK Tires, but didn’t buy, while I came back & sat in my car, a guy came and said that he has the latest model of Sony’s handycam and he can give it to me for Rs. 10000, I just said “ nikal le bc” ..Because I didn’t want to become another victim.

M.R If you going to complain about your incident to the police station, please mention these thing too. These thugs chose places like karol bagh, lajpat nagar because these are places where many people from all over india and abroad are staying, and are easy to target.

These incidents are very common near darya ganj too and railway station and ISBT are near.

Thanks for your sympathy man & sharing another incidents which fall in same category as mine, Hmm.. i'm just waiting for few more days then I will send my friend @ that shop to buy laptop & see if that guys also follow him or not, they certainly are keeping an eye on buyers who vistis showroom & from there they follow chase them !

Originally Posted by thedreamcatcher

All I can say here is that I culd not stop laughing when I read this and I almost coughed up the coffee I was drinking through my nose reading this.

Man, how could you fall for something like this. Buying a laptop at a signal is a joke. Didnt it even strike you that they could be con men. What you can do is to file a police complaint at the Lajpat nagar station, so they can possibly nab those guys. Wonder how many more people they are cheating.

Please give the cops their description etc what bike they were riding. Plus you said they gave you their phone number right? So why not hand over the number to the cops

FirstlyI said no but when they approached me again & showed me the laptop imeediately I went lost & fell in their trap.
Their number isn't working nor I noted down their scooter(Chetak) Number.

Originally Posted by clevermax

Wow those must be the costliest bricks someone ever bought!! So instead of Windows7 you got Bricks 7
Enjoyed reading your experience. Thanks for sharing.

Certainly not the costliest bricks, I have Seen/heard people have paid for gold bricks & got metals bricks instead !

Originally Posted by sbraj

Thoughts echoed in this thread reminds me of the short fueling tricks at fuel stations. Divert attention, and then cheat.

The menace is spreading. Thanks for sharing the experiences.

Yes, these kinda robbers are everywhere :(

Originally Posted by capt_rocker

Oh boy what can I say..
While others here might laugh at you, I can say with confidence that many of us here would have been tempted to a similar deal if presented to us..
You checked the laptop twice.. found it ok.. but you got duped by those ill-intentioned god forsaken idiots.. they will repent later im sure.. will get caught too.
but you dont let this matter go like this.. atleast go to the sony world outlet and alert the store manager that this is happening around his store and Sony's reputation is at stake.
Im sure if they complain to police, something will happen. Your money might not come back but atleast others would be saved..
God help Delhites.. it sure is a bad impression on already tattered Delhi reputation of being a city of crooks and criminals...

and to imagine the Commonwealth Games are just a few months away!!

First & foremost thanks for your concern & well said anybody can come in their talks even a sane person !
I'm not saying anything to sony world guys as i keep silent & will send someone to their store next week to see what gonna happen with him.

Originally Posted by ntomer

Man, you fell for one of the oldest scams going around.

I have been approached by these customs/shipping yard/container depot guys many times but always shoo them away.

Now time to tell you an interesting incident, when these thieves got what they deserved. Once I was with a friend of mine, who is a property dealer in Noida. We were in his Safari and I was driving.

We were at the Amity red-light when two guys on a scooter approached us and said that they have stolen SLRs and will sell real cheap. I shooed them away, but my friend said at least let me see the camera. I tried to stop him, but he lowered the windows and asked for the camera, making me furious.

But what followed was hilarious, he closed the windows glass and asked me to drive on, which I did. The scooter guys followed us till Sec. 37 red light, but seeing cops there, chickened out. The camera was a fake SLR, which we gave to an employee of his. But the incident still makes us laugh :-)

Nitin

Like they chased you that way also they chased me man.
The Guy who was showing me laptop he keep telling me to switch on the air-condintioner, I said it won't work as car isn't moving I just rolled down the windows for safety.

Originally Posted by MX6

Don't let the negative comments rub it in. As I stated earlier, you averted what could have been a bigger problem. Just think that you paid 15K for ensuring those guys didn't con you, show a weapon and run away with your car. And in bargain, you got 3 bricks. Keep those bricks in your car. The next time some moron approaches you at a signal, claiming to sell such things, show him a brick.

All else, no point in rubbing it in. We all have got cheated by some scamster some time or the other. If not, it's just a statistical abberation waiting to happen.

Yes mate It can happen with anyone & anywhere, I just thank god as they saved me
Thanks brother for your concern & sympathy !

Originally Posted by ElantraGT

I do pity you my friend but at the same time when you get a deal such as these, we need to use a little bit of common sense. No one will see you a product at that price, there is no business where the businessman will make a loss and make a customer happy by reducing the price of the product below his buying price. Yes even if I am in your position, I would have been tempted to accept the offer. I feel bad for you buddy.

I lost control that day mate, As same thing came infront of me, At showroom I have to pay 80k & that guys was selling the same thing at very less price, so i got tempted.
Thanks for your concern buddy !

Originally Posted by amitk26

Sorry to hear your ordeal , You got your brand new lappy bricked that too with out any mods.

Many years back when I was student I saw a scam in Bombay in Fort Area , A street vendor was selling some trinkets and he had 2 peaces of Ray Ban glasses, One guy came and purchased one after hard bargain at 500 Rs the guy offered me the last peace at same price but I refused. After few days I just stopped at the same place for kicks and this time also that guy had 2 peaces and same buyer appeared and purchased at 500Rs I reminded him that you should change the buyer at-least.

Same buyer lol
Thanks for your concern !

Originally Posted by anonymous

It happened with me too. Around 3/4 years ago, while I was taking my car out from parking in Noida, 2 guys came on a scooter and offered me Nokia N71 dirt cheap. I checked the phone twice and asked them to come to near by ATM. I withdrew the money and before giving it them, asked for the phone once again. They gave it to me. I checked and kept in my pocket and gave them the money. Surprisingly they refused to take the money and asked for the mobile. I thought to drove off but decided not to do in case if they had some weapons or something. So I gave it back to them.
Later on I came to know from one of my colleague who got cheated in the same way that once you have inspected the mobile, they pretend to put it in box but actually they switch it with dummy mobile which looks identical and put it in box and put this box in plastic bag.

That guys are just very clever !

Originally Posted by sachinj12

Same here, once two guys approached me and showed a brand new Nokia phone and quoted 15k for it.

I told all I have is 15 bucks on me and we can trade if he was interested, he just rode away

@ Original Poster, all I can say is

Thanks for your concern !

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Thats one more reason I don't stop or talk to any strangers while driving alone.
Thank your lucky stars that these guys didn't trying robbing you of your phone and everything else.

I thank god extensively for saving me from that guys.

Originally Posted by SirAlec

thats very unfortunate! Thanks for sharing it here, as it may help somebody in future not to get involve with such people.

I am awestruck! how the hell they switched bags without you knowing so fast. Laptop is a sizable thing.

They just got the talent of (Haath ki safayi) buddy !
Thanks for your concern.

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

This trick is indeed very old, and these guys have approached almost every one i know. It was 2004 and i and my friend were walking at night 2 guys appeared out of nowhere and said they have a handy cam and a SLR cam, hey also showed us the LCD display on the SLR cam, Of course the cameras were fake but since the trick was new at that time and not many were aware of such things then so we decided to pick the SLR cam, i went to the ATM with my friend and took out 2000 Rs which was as per the deal. when we came out those guys were gone, i thought those guys must have felt the offered price was really low, but never thought they might have found a better paying bakra.


Anyways being attentive and vigilant is the key here, its just that jobless people in india are very creative.


Pramod

Glad thet they left you (To deal with) lol

Originally Posted by Sli_ce

@ Original poster - i don't want to make you feel worse by saying things like "it happened because of your own fault" Clearly your intention is not to seek sympathy or advice and simply to warn others. and thank you for that. i bet this incident will only make you smarter, more street smart to be precise.

Something very similar happened with me and a friend in Noida last year, i was parking my car in the sector-18 market when two guys on a bike approached us, selling a variety of products, a Panasonic camera, a Kingston pen drive, a brand new Ipod shuffle and what not.

i refused to entertain them, but my friend got interested in buying the 16 gig Kingston pen drive which was brand new, packaged originally. i firmly told him not to fall for it, and in fact not to speak to those guys at all, but he did. and believe it or not he actually bargained from their asking price of Rs 500 to a mere Rs 30!

whats even more unbelievable is that, it actually worked! for about 2 weeks that is, and then got corrupted and died. yes, it was a fake to begin with, but a very good fake, i must say.

the lesson here is - do not entertain anybody on the road, unless there is an actual emergency where your help is needed. these guys are thieves to begin with, and if they've robbed other people, they can surely rob you/rip you off/cause some kind of damage.

Well said brother, this incident will make us stronger & alert !
Atleast they sold your friend a fake one, It would be better if they atleast left a copy of that laptop clone lol

[M.R]

Originally Posted by aargee

@MR - There's one thing I want to appreciate you. You'd the guts to admit in this public forum to warn others. You could've easily told that this incident happened to a friend of yours & got all the advices here. But I really saw your guts to admit yesterday. Trust me, if I were you, I would've thought twice before admiting this.

The was who was showed me the laptop was sitting next to me on my car & I was checking the laptop throughly lol
People scolded me like hell how come you let him sit in your car.
Honestly is the best policy mate lol So It's good to admit mate as what you did

Originally Posted by MX6

Where do you find time to bargain and buy laptop bricks on traffic lights Aargee? Most of the time is spent in ensuring some irate trucker or imbecile biker doesn't scratch your vehicle and cry that he's a poor guy.

That day i was free buddy hence went to purchase a laptop but came home with a laptop bag (Filled with bricks ) lol
Bag is still with me (Cost 15k)

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

Really sad what happened with you but learn a lesson and move on. This reminds me of people buying 500gb pendrives for 400bucks and then bragging about it hehe .....

I do remember about that pen drive cases.
Thanks for your concern mate !

Originally Posted by svsantosh

While I can pity you... I also feel this is going to be become part of a email forward around the world.... "How to buy a Ph-ony Laptop"

That's hilarious lol

Originally Posted by Gilead

Sorry to hear about your loss. I bet the local cops are aware of this racket and they may be getting a cut as well.

Can you post some photos the bricks if you still have them? They must be the most expensive bricks in the country at the moment.

Will do man after leaving office mate !

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

This is a very old trick, and an international one too. Way back in 2002, in London, a similar instance happened to one of my friends at university. The crime is so organised that even the best eyes will not see the swithcing of the bags. All my friend got was bricks too. This only happens when you and the culprits are driving, where the theives have the opportunity to disappear into bliss even before you realise something is wrong.

Appreciate your courage, MR, to admit this publicly and creating an awareness for us all. Thanks and sorry for the loss you suffered.

Thanks for your sympathy man !

[thedreamcatcher]

Even if the number is not working, the cops can still trace it down. It must be registered in someones nameso they can trace it. Do file the compllain

[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by Irish

15,000 for three bricks? 3,000 per brick?

Are you sure?

Who was your math's teacher? Time to go back and give him a hard wack.

[sanjayc]

M.R@, admire your guts for coming out and sharing the con. Not many, including myself, would have the guts to accept and share openly with what you have gone thru. Hopefully, by sharing, you have your "dil ka bhadaas" out and now can relax.

Take it in your stride. This is an international trick..have seen the same on the show "The Real Hustle" on BBC World, where designer clothers, camera etc was involved.

Originally Posted by Ranjan Sharma

Are you sure?

Who was your math's teacher? Time to go back and give him a hard wack.

[Edsel Rulez!]

Originally Posted by ntomer

But what followed was hilarious, he closed the windows glass and asked me to drive on, which I did. The scooter guys followed us till Sec. 37 red light, but seeing cops there, chickened out. The camera was a fake SLR, which we gave to an employee of his. But the incident still makes us laugh!

I fail to see the humour in the situation. Wasn't that asking for trouble? The scooter guys could have traced your address from your vehicle number and tried to create trouble in future. Also, how can you be sure that they were peddling stolen goods? They must have claimed it was "stolen from a foreigner" only to make you think the camera is genuine. It could have been a cheap Chinese replica for all you know. That apart, what's clear is that you guys stole their stuff.

[car-dent]

its a very old trick. me and my friend had bought 2 soaps for 6000 rs around 4-5 years back in crawford matket mumbai. they had shown us two nice camera phones which got us tempted.

[Deeps]

Having read all the incidents above, i got suspicious when a guy offered me a copy of "Mail Today" for free in the morning!

[tanwaramit]

Originally Posted by Deeps

Having read all the incidents above, i got suspicious when a guy offered me a copy of "Mail Today" for free in the morning!

for all you know it could be free, Gurgaon expressway toll you get newspapers and Tehelka magazine for free being distributed by them

[srishiva]

Thanks for alerting again (we have seen so many instances and we need to hear more to remember).
But didn't you think that it could also be stolen since they were offering one that cheap, which is also not the right thing to do?

[kiranpashtakar]

Fear and Greed are man's worst enemies. Fall prey to either of them then your judgement becomes biased. One should be aware of this and acknowledge these natural instincts and tame them. Was it philosophical