Man falls for WhatsApp ad, tries to sell kidney for Dh800,000

The man was in dire need of money.

Fraudsters befriending people online and duping them into parting with their personal details or cash is not uncommon. But, a scam reported in Bangalore, India, is a bit too much as an innocent man was lured into agreeing to sell his kidney for Rs1.6 crore (Dh804,000 approx). 
Identified as MB Somashekar, the man who was in dire need of money, fell prey to a fraud advertisement on the internet that promised the huge sum for a kidney. According to reports in India Today, Somashekar claimed that Dr Arun Wesley David, a well-known senior doctor from Columbia Asia Hospital in Bangalore, had posted the ad. He even said that the two exchanged WhatsApp messages and spoke over the phone where Dr David, the HoD of Renal Transplant Surgery at the hospital, promised Rs1.6 crore in return for his kidney.
Somashekar, who works as a stenographer, does not remember the name of the website where he came across the ad. He approached the hospital for further process and met transplant coordinator named Aprajita Dhal there who informed him that the number used in the WhatsApp conversations was not of Dr David. It was revealed that the impersonator had asked Somashekar to go to the hospital with his Aadhaar card and other identity proofs to process the formalities.
According to a report in a newspaper, "Somashekar is said to have shown Dhal WhatsApp messages and subsequent conversations on various dates where Dr David' allegedly had been in contact with him about the sale of his kidney. However, he could not remember the name of the website or its URL."
After the matter came to light, Dr David revealed that the number used in the WhatsApp conversations did not belong to him and that someone was impersonating him to dupe people. Dr David has filed a legal complaint against the scammer and Cyber police have initiated an investigation into the matter.

• India