If a dumb and deaf person in shabby clothes approaches you and asks for money, will you give it? No?
Okay, if the same person says that his house was burnt by an arsonist and now he has lost all his money and is facing trouble to continue his studies, then? Still no?
Okay wait, wait. Now if the same person tells you that he has an unmarried sister, who has to be married in due time, and then shows you a gazetted certificate from the government that says to help this poor and forlorn person and wherever he goes, he should be given charity, then? Probably yes.
Well, then forgive me for my cruelty. I happen to have faced a similar situation but I denied to give a penny.
It also happens in Europe and is a very common scam there. It is called The Deaf and Mute Fake Petition Scam. It works when a person with a disability approaches you and shows you a fake petition which is craftily designed to look like an official document to a naive person.
The petition asks for some kind of donation or charity. You will generally give your money out of pity. And voila, you have been beguiled. Pretty straightforward.
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A Charity Asserting Certificate, Really?
The similarity with the above case in Europe raises my eyebrows. First of all, the certificate they show is signed by a major government official, or in few cases, it is signed by the District Magistrate.
Imagine if you are a DM and a deaf boy comes to you for help, you will not hand him a certificate affirming that he is handicapped and impoverished and is worthy of taking charities.
You will not tell him, to go with this certificate of his from people to people and ask them for money. You’ll notice that these people are always deaf AND dumb, BOTH at the same time. Why?
Because the people who are behind it do not want to take a chance of getting caught. An only deaf person may speak and an only aphonic person may react through expressions to someone who tries to inquire about their pecuniary need. It increases their chances of getting busted by the police authorities.
The Scam Aims At The Supposedly Kind People
It is pretty simple. This scam works on the fuel of people’s ignorance and kindness. It is ideally suited in India. Here we have people who aren’t afraid to break traffic rules but they fear the curse given by a beggar or a Hijra.
Funnily, Modi is trying to increase the ease of business in India, playing deaf to the fact that the mafias of beggars and these deaf and dumb people are the CEOs that still rule the Indian traffic lights, streets and temples.
These mafias make a living by hunting on the benign and naive hearts of the general public. Just imagine if there are only 20 deaf and dumb people under a single mafia of a particular region, then it is safe to assume that each person would able to get at least 500 rupees in a single turn.
That means it is 10,000 rupees a day for the mafia, which makes up for 3 lacs per month and this is only a minimum probable figure.
Giving money to these deaf and dumb people who have a petition in hand or to a beggar out of pity is stupidity. Yes, you heard it right, it is sheer stupidity and nothing else.
From where did you get your money? Your parents earned it or probably you yourself earned it. And how one earns money? By grinding oneself in one’s job.
And when you do your job, you are one way or the another paying back to the society through the services your company offers. You have done your social obligation then and there, just take the money, go home and spend it on yourself and your family.
If you want to help the needy then please go to an NGO and after inspecting it, you can happily contribute. But don’t be so foolish to throw away your money to beggars and scammers.
Image Credits: Google Images
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