Mumbai, May 15 (IANS) Actress Ankita Bhargava recently shared a deeply disturbing incident on her social media account.

She revealed how her elderly parents almost fell prey to what appeared to be a highly and sophisticatedly planned scam involving two men who allegedly posed as Crime Branch officers from Gujarat.

The actress said that the experience has left her shaken and compelled her to warn families, especially those with senior citizens at home, to stay aware.

Sharing her experience, Ankita wrote, “SCAM ALERT. Will delete this soon.

Yesterday something happened that genuinely shook me. And I need every family with elderly parents to read this carefully.”

‘I reached my parent’s house around lunch time and found two strangers calmly sitting at our dining table. They introduced themselves as Crime Branch officers from Gujarat. They said they were investigating an old neighbour of ours who had allegedly committed fraud and they only needed a simple statement from my father confirming that the neighbour no longer lived there.”

She added, “At first, everything seemed normal. They were calm. Polite. Well spoken. Confident. I even asked for ID cards. And surprisingly, they calmly showed them and even said, ‘You can take a photo.’ That immediately lowers your guard because scammers in our heads are supposed to look shady or nervous. These men didn’t. Then came the paper. A handwritten statement in Gujarati. My father does NOT read Gujarati.”

She added, “When I questioned it, one of them casually said, ‘I’ll translate and explain it to him.’ And suddenly something inside me said NO. Not panic. Not fear. Just instinct.

I asked them, ‘If this is an official statement, why is it handwritten?’ ‘Why is it not in a language he understands?’ ‘Why are you asking an elderly man to sign based on your verbal translation?’”

Ankita further shared, “That’s when I realised how easily senior citizens can be manipulated, not through aggression, but through authority, politeness and urgency.”

“My father later told me, ‘Honestly, I probably would have signed it because he sounded genuine.’ That sentence disturbed me deeply.

I tried getting the handwritten note translated. Even ChatGPT couldn’t read the handwriting properly. My mother in law couldn’t make sense of it either. But they still expected an elderly man to sign it,” she added.

The actress added how she handled it and stated, “I then told them very clearly, ‘No one signs anything in this house unless we can read and verify it ourselves.’ They insisted Gujarati was necessary for Ahmedabad.

I said, ‘Then come back with a proper typed copy. Or go through the building manager or secretary first.’ Only then did they finally leave.”

She further added, “And the scary part is this. If I had arrived 15 minutes later, my father may have signed something he did not understand.

Maybe they were genuine officers using sloppy methods. Maybe not. But that’s not even the point anymore.”

“The point is no senior citizen should ever be made to sign documents they cannot personally read and understand.

Please tell your parents. Never sign handwritten papers blindly. Never rely only on verbal explanations. Never feel pressured by uniforms, IDs or official sounding language. Ask for printed documents. Involve family members. Verify through society office or local police station.”

–IANS

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