The Aladdin’s Lamp Con- Men Who Scammed Doctor Out Of Thousands
This cautionary tale shows how, usually, if a deal seems too good to be true – it probably is!
Anyone who has watched the popular Disney cartoon ‘Aladdin’ has surely found themselves wondering what they would do with a magic lamp with a genie that grants them wishes. Two men in India decided they would use this concept to con a doctor out of over 130,000AUD!
Laeek Khan was left disappointed after purchasing a magic lamp, only to discover that he had been tricked. The con-men had been convincing, supposedly telling Khan that they were occultists. They promised the lamp would bring him health and happiness and, to convince him of the lamp’s authenticity, they made what looked like a genie appear from inside it.
Upon complaining to the local police in Uttar Pradesh of the fraud, Khan said that he had later realised that the genie was simply one of the men in disguise. Khan did not spot the deceit immediately as the men refused to let him get a closer look at the lamp or take it home, insisting it may cause him harm to do so.
The police stated that Khan isn’t the first person to be fooled by the scam artists, who are now in custody – although one of the men’s wives was also involved and is still at large as well as Khan’s 7 million rupees. The group may have also cheated others for similar amounts of money using the same tall-tale.