Beware of Conmen — Only Alertness Can Save You

We hear a lot about phishing, credit card frauds, and ponzi schemes. We tend to think that these are all recent inventions. Con men and con women have always been there — and also their ingenious ways. Their plans are meticulous. They look so innocent.

This story is from the famous Vikram and Vetal series. There are many versions of Vikram and Vetal stories. This is one of them.

In Mathura, there was a young man — a playboy. He belonged to a business family, but instead of concentrating on his business, he spent most of his time and money on women. He was obsessed with women.

Once, he saw the painting of a very beautiful woman in the hands of a traveller. He made a few observations about the painting. This is another thing about these fraudsters — their sharp observation. This is the foundation upon which they build their plans.

The young man said, she is extraordinarily beautiful, but her modesty shows that she is from a noble family. She wears ornaments and makeup — that means her husband must be rich and lives with her. But there is longing for love in her eyes — that means she is not getting the affection that is due to her from her husband. In all probability, she is the wife of a rich merchant who has become old and physically incapable.

'But what a lifelike painting! Have you made it yourself?'

The traveller was thrilled that his painting was appreciated. This is how these con men take out information — you wouldn’t even know that you have given them vital information.

'Yes,' he said. 'You are absolutely right. She lives in Ujjayini and she is there for real. And as you said, her husband is a rich old merchant.'

The young man immediately set out for Ujjayini. He went to the house of the merchant and had a glance of the woman. His longing for her increased.

He went to the administrators of the town and requested that he be given the job as a watchman of the cremation ground. They agreed. Whatever tips he got from those who came for cremation, he gave them to an old woman and made friends with her. He sent a message to the beautiful woman through her — that there was a young man in town who was longing for her love.

The woman outrightly dismissed her.

The young man realized that she was indeed noble, decent, and chaste — and would never fall for his evil intentions.

He sent the old woman again to her, with a new script.

'Don’t get me wrong. I was only testing you the other day — testing your character. I am an old woman who has renounced the world. How would I ever even think about showing you the wrong path? You are such a beautiful woman, but your womanhood will be complete only if you become a mother. I know what your problem is. I was only trying to see how strong your character is so that divine help can be invoked. Your husband is physically incapable because he is possessed by a spirit. Fortunately, there is a great saint who has come to the town. I have requested him to help you. He will help you.

You only have to come out in the dark of the night into the garden. I will get him there. He will hold your foot and chant a powerful mantra. Your leg will become energized with that mantra. Then you go and give your husband a strong kick in his chest after pretending that you are angry with him. This will send the spirit away which has possessed him, he will get back his virility, and you can become a mother.'

This was very promising. The woman agreed and came to the garden during the next night.

It was pitch dark. The con man held her foot, quickly removed her golden anklet, and also made a cut in her foot with a knife — and disappeared into the dark. The woman got really scared and she ran back to her house.

She didn’t know what to do. How will she explain the lost ornament? She didn’t come out of her room for three days and pretended that she was sick. In the meantime, she also removed the anklet from the other leg.

The young man — the con man — went to the merchant and told him that he had a golden ornament with him which he wanted to sell. The merchant looked at it and immediately recognized that it was his wife’s. He asked him where he got it from.

He started giving stories, but the merchant was not convinced. He started threatening the man with dire consequences. Then he said, 'I will tell the truth, but only after everyone in the town assembles. In front of everyone, I will tell the truth.'

A meeting was called in.

He said, 'You all know that I am the watchman at the cremation ground. The other night, when it was pitch dark, a woman came to the cremation ground and started pulling out a half-burned body from the pyre. When I objected, she started attacking me. I also fought back and in the process, I must have cut her on her leg with my knife. After she disappeared, I found this golden anklet. That’s how I got it.'

The woman was also called in and asked where her anklets were. She could show only one of them. She said she was walking in the garden and after coming back, realized that one of her anklets was lost. She went back and checked, but could not find it. Then they asked her to show her foot and found a cut there.

Nobody was ready to believe her. They were convinced that she was a witch. She was extradited and was told to live in the cremation ground thereafter.

The con man thus had her all to himself. He showed affection to her. She also had no option but to gratify him. After some time, he took her to his hometown.

Look at the ways the evil minds think.

So, evil is nothing new. It has always been there. We can’t just pretend that the world is so nice and beautiful. Evil is part of the world and reality.

Only alertness can protect you from such people.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi