Road block scam that led to a company called "INCREDIBLE INDIA" on Connaught Place robbing us of £300 (there are 6 or 7 other companies in the area all trying the same scam). Long story short the scam is:
- you buy a pre-paid taxi at Delhi airport. The taxi driver takes you into Delhi centre however you run into a "Police Road Block" in the street, with barricades and a fairly official "policeman" standing at the gate.
- The "policeman" advises that the area is blocked off due to a festival that is ongoing, and the risk of possible conflict between muslims/hindus and other political reasons etc.
- You are re-directed to a "Government Information Centre" on Connaught Place. At the centre, a new guy corroborates the festival story and sits you down to "help" you out. You are offered tea and comforts. He appears to phone your existing hotel to ask if there are any other possible entry routes. He even dials the hotel number and hands you the phone. In reality, however, the person on the other end of the line is simply this man's colleague in a different room!! He tells you it will be impossible to reach the hotel. He also calls 4 or 5 other hotels in the area (or appears to at least, yet it is again just his colleague in the back).
- In the end he proposes some other options such as taking a private driver to Agra and getting a Govt hotel there (at an extremely inflated cost relative to actual prices). He may even just conveniently find a hotel in New Delhi, but the price will be absolutely extortionate.
The factors contributing to the success of such a scam are:
- tourists arriving in the middle of the night, exhausted, hungry etc.
- first-timers in India unfamiliar with the culture, systems and what is plausible/feasible in the city. You should never tell the taxi driver it's your first time in india (they generally fish for such information to gauge your susceptibility) and also try to seem alert even if you are truly knackered.
- There are 7 or 8 intimidating guys in the "Govt Centre" all lurking around. You never know what sort of turn the situation could take if you "rumble" their scam and refuse to go along with it. I was with my wife so the safest thing to do was just to pay to get out of the immediate situation and deal with it later.
- reading other forums, it appears this scam has been in play for many years. Some of the performances of these actors is oscar worthy - dont be fooled and always remain sceptical of every little detail. This is one of the more elaborate cons ive witnessed with many people all in on it.
Kind Regards