The Hindu : Look out! He's after your mobile

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 04, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Look out! He's after your mobile

By Marri Ramu

Hyderabad Oct. 2. Are you a software professional carrying a cell phone and looking out for a job? Then, here's a warning. Be cautious if a stranger calls you and offers to help you get a job. He could be eyeing your cell phone rather than helping you out.

The trickster has sweet-talked many youngsters into parting with their mobile phones and made a dash of it. Interestingly, the modus operandi being employed by this fair complexioned young man is new and has been successful. It's believed that more than a dozen people have been conned since May last.

The con man in his 30s usually identifies himself as Rahul Subrahmanyam and prefers to talk to his prospective victims in a somewhat posh hotel on SP Road alone!! That's not the only peculiarity. He usually meets his `customers' at a noted shopping complex in Begumpet and takes them to the hotel. After engaging them in a conversation, he makes a request to use the mobile and then perform the disappearing act.

One of his latest victims, Vamshi, told The Hindu about his encounter with the guy who's acting smart.

He received a call on his mobile on September 18. The caller identified himself as HR Manager of a reputed Bangalore-based software company and said that he had come down to Hyderabad on a holiday.

He also politely enquired whether Vamshi got interview invite couriered to him from his company.

Vamshi, who was actually expecting an interview call, was naturally convinced and then both decided to meet at the shopping complex in Begumpet in the evening. Rahul led Vamshi to believe that there was another highly qualified contender for the job. He then casually dropped hints that he could be of help in getting the job and then invited him to the posh hotel on SP Road where he could also meet the other contender.

Just as they entered the hotel, he borrowed Vamshi's mobile to make a call and casually walked away. Vamshi, who waited for his new acquaintance to return, realised that he had been conned, as he did not return even after 15 minutes. When a worried Vamshi made enquiries, the hotel staff told him that on earlier occasions, too, similar enquiries were made about the stranger walking off with mobile phones. "I was shocked when the receptionist told me that I was the fifth person in that week to inquire about a such a man," Vamshi said. Vamshi later approached the Mahankali police station and a case was registered.

Two other victims -- S. Venkata Krishna of Ramachandrapuram and R. Naveen Reddy of Masab Tank -- who also lost their mobiles in a similar fashion too approached the police.

"Our inquiries with the hotel receptionist indicated that at least 20 persons were taken for a ride by Rahul. We're trying to find out as to how he got the mobile numbers of the victims," the Mahankali ACP, M. Divakar, said.

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Look out! He's after your mobile