Scams and frauds are an unfortunate but widespread reality in today’s connected society. From simple street scams to complex cybercrimes, fraudulent acts take advantage of people’s trust, ignorance, and occasionally their desperation. Although the platforms have evolved over time, the fundamental goal of all scams remains to defraud individuals in order to obtain money or personal gain.
Recently, a new kind of scam has gained attention on social media. A man from Gurugram recently told how he came across a basic flat tire and was conned by a gas station tire shop. In the process, he lost Rs 8000. So, let’s find out what actually happened:
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A netizen posted about how he lost Rs 8000 after falling for a tyre puncture scam
Recently, a netizen named Pranay Kapoor shared a video on Instagram that described the ongoing scam at several tire stores within gas stations. Captioning the video, he wrote,
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Got Scammed at a Petrol Pump Tyre Shop.
In the video, Kapoor described how he saw a warning light that indicated a flat tire while driving. He quickly took his car to the closest gas station, where a worker checked the tire and verified it was flat. The worker informed Kapoor that a complete inspection required the tire to be taken off.
In front of Kapoor, the tyre shop employee used a jack to raise his car and then sprayed the tyre with soapy water and brushed it across the surface. After removing a visible screw from the tire, the staff member stated that four different punctures needed to be fixed. He estimated that each perforation needed a mushroom patch, costing Rs 300 apiece, for a total of Rs 1,200 for all four.
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Netizen finds Petrol Pump Tyre Shop might have deliberately punctured his tyre
Nevertheless, Kapoor chose to go to an authentic tire repair shop rather than consent to the repair. A trained expert examined the tire there and told him that just one puncture was real and that the others were probably caused on purpose by the gas pump employee to inflate the bill. Then, while feigning to check the tire, the technician showed Kapoor a thorn-like tool that con artists use to make false punctures.
The tire eventually needed to be replaced completely, which came at the expense of Rs 8,000. Warning about this experience, he says,
Don’t make the expensive mistake I made. Share this video with your friends and family to warn them.
Have a look at the full video:Â
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How did netizens react to the incident?
As soon as the video was posted, it went viral on social media. Many people find the incident shocking, while many others also shared their own scam stories.
Have a look at some of the reactions:
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Meanwhile, it is not the first time that such scams have been reported. Other intentional damage-related scams have already been reported in urban cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, where innocent people were informed about “multiple damages” that were nonexistent. Usually, the scam is performed by overestimating the damage or surreptitiously adding new damage on the spot.
Such scams prosper since car owners are most often uncertain regarding damage repair details. Having a uniformed attendant is itself a reassuring misunderstanding, and the need to repair a damaged item makes individuals surrender to approval without confirmation.
However, not many people know that these kinds of incidents can be filed under the Indian Penal Code’s sections on consumer fraud and cheating. Victims can complain to the firm that owns the shop, the local police, or consumer forums.
What do you think about such scams? Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section of this article.
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