It all started with a phone call that seemed too good to be true.
“Sir, we are from the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC),” the voice on the line introduced itself. “We have a special reallocation scheme for industrial land, and you qualify. This is a rare opportunity.”
For the businessman from Paschim Vihar, Delhi, the timing couldn’t have been better.
Expanding his business had been on his mind for months, and acquiring industrial land through an official government channel seemed like a golden ticket.
“What do I need to do?” he asked, his excitement barely contained.
“A nominal processing fee to secure your spot, sir,” the scammer replied. “Just ₹2 lakh to initiate the paperwork. Once that’s done, the land will be allocated to you.”
The trap had been set.
The Trap Tightens
The fraudsters were masterful in their scam. They provided well-crafted documents stamped with government seals, sent emails from what appeared to be official domains, and directed him to a professional-looking website that mimicked the actual DSIIDC portal.
Everything seemed legitimate.
Each step came with a new financial demand: legal documentation, environmental clearances, verification charges.
The businessman, eager to finalize the deal, kept making payments without questioning the growing expenses.
By the time he started having doubts, he had already sent ₹12 lakh.
The Moment of Truth
One morning, impatience got the better of him. He decided to visit the official DSIIDC office in person to speed things up. But the response he got stopped him cold.
“Sir, we have no such scheme. We don’t know who you’re talking about.”
It took a few seconds for the words to sink in.
“What do you mean? I’ve been in contact with your officials for weeks. I have emails, documents—”
“None of them are from us. You’ve been scammed.”
Reality crashed down. The sleek website, the convincing calls, the official-looking documents, it had all been an elaborate mirage.
Shaken and furious, the businessman rushed to the Connaught Place police station and filed a complaint.
The police launched an investigation and soon uncovered a network of scammers who had been running this scheme on multiple victims.
Some arrests were made, but retrieving the lost money was another battle altogether.
The Takeaway
This was not an isolated case. Across India, scammers target ambitious entrepreneurs by dangling lucrative but fake opportunities.
They exploit the lack of transparency in industrial land dealings, fabricating bureaucratic hurdles and siphoning off lakhs before disappearing.
For this businessman, the loss was a painful lesson. But for others, his story serves as a warning: no matter how promising an offer looks, always verify through official government channels.
Because in the world of fraud, the more real it seems, the more dangerous it is.
