E-Paper
‘Make childless women pregnant': How a 'playboy service' conned men across India
Pitches used to attract men were 'Playboy Service,' and ‘cheap loan services’; they were asked for registration fee, hotel tariffs, with lure of eventual payout
“Impregnate a childless woman and get paid in lakhs” — this offer trapped several men from across India before they could realise that they were being scammed. Police in Bihar’s Nawada district have now busted the gang.
The offer was seemingly straightforward, promising financial reward in exchange for having sex with childless women and impregnating them, along with offering fake jobs and cheap loans, reported the BBC.
Hundreds of men from across the country fell prey to the elaborate scam, deputy superintendent of police and the head of Nawada’s cyber cell Kalyan Anand told BBC. These men were asked to pay first for so-called registration, hotel tariffs, and more before the promise could come true, which it did not.
The police officer said that so far eight men have been arrested and nine mobile phones and a printer have been seized from them for running the scam.
He also said that his team is looking for 18 more accused.
However, the trickier part, he said, was looking for the victims rather than the accused, as the former hesitated in coming forward to lodge a complaint. "The gang has been active for a year and we believe they have conned hundreds of people, but no one has so far come forward to complain, possibly because of shame," he told the BBC.
Also read: Satyam scam: All you need to know about India's biggest accounting fraud
'All India Pregnant Job'
The scam was wrapped in a glittery advertising campaign on social media, with advertisements reading 'All India Pregnant Job' popping up on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, reported NDTV.
Other pitches used to potentially attract gullible men were 'Playboy Service,' and cheap loans services using names like 'Dhani Finance' and 'SBI cheap loans.'
Also read: Chandigarh cyber cops nab 3 women from New Delhi in credit card fraud scam
Once victims, hopeful of making money worth months of their salary, approached the accused, they were offered pay of as much as ₹10 lakh to have sex with a childless woman and get them pregnant.
They were given the illusion of choice by being sent photos of female models, the report added.
However, the journey from the advertisement to the actual payout was not too easy for the victims, who were asked to first pay up a small amount for supposed registration fees, hotel tariffs and more.
It was when the victims continued to pay but it did not really lead to what they were promised, did they realise that they were being scammed. Several of the victims, who came from weak financial backgrounds, lost their savings as they took a chance to earn a big check, and did not also approach the police, said the report.
