Extra caution advisable in this boom time for the bogus

This picture has been used for representational purpose

The Mumbai police and the BMC busted five allegedly bogus ‘senior' doctors operating in the sprawling slums of Govandi-Shivajinagar in North East Mumbai, said a report in this paper, citing officials.

The report said tip-offs led to action, with a team raiding the premises of the charlatans who had been operating with impunity for a long time, charging exorbitantly for various kinds of treatments. The team recovered a quantity of medical equipment such as stethoscopes, injections, drip bottles and surgical trays.

Today, it is fertile ground for all kinds of fakes and bogus individuals to flourish. The pandemic has created an atmosphere which is actually driving con schemes, giving ammo to conmen. Cybercrime is on the increase, with cyber police upping the ante about how people need to be very careful in these times, and quick complaints smooth the road to nabbing culprits and getting money back. The vaccine scam has been well-documented and reported, with housing societies being warned about carefully verifying the antecedents of those giving the shots.

These are just two examples buttressing our premise, that a time of anxiety, uncertainty and general stress is boom time for the bogus. They feed into fear and confusion, capitalising on just how vulnerable people are in the current situation.

These doctors without a degree, but with several degrees in deception would have certainly thrived especially in current times. It is also hugely dangerous, given that we are in the midst of an outbreak.

These imposters may certainly not tell the suffering that they need to go in for a test, instead deliberately treating them with their false medicines. Time wasted can be fatal if afflicted with the virus. Extreme caution, sense and scepticism and calling out wrongdoing is the way ahead.