Cheated by a 'doctor'

Cheated by a 'doctor'

From Sinar Pagi

Some time ago a relative of mine received a call from a man claiming to be a doctor at a private hospital. He said a relative of mine had met with an accident and was in critical condition at the hospital. The man further said that due to his grave condition, he had to be operated on at once otherwise he might die. After giving his cellular phone number, he said the surgery would cost Rp 10 million and that the money was to be transferred immediately to his BCA account, the number of which he also provided. He asked that he be contacted as soon as the money had been transferred.

Panic-stricken, my relative forgot to contact the family of the "injured" man. He rushed to a nearby ATM to transfer the money and then dashed to the hospital. However, at the reception he was surprised to learn that this relative had not been admitted in the hospital.

He tried several times to contact the person who called him, but to no avail. Realizing that he had been cheated, he went to BCA to check if the money had been transferred, and to his dismay, it had.

We have often heard of this kind of trickery, and the culprits are not easily apprehended. Also banks are reluctant to help customers trace the recipient's address.

I would like to appeal to readers to be extra careful. If you receive a similar call, please counter check before you take any action that you might regret.

ABDURRAHMAN SALEH

Jakarta