: I was Scammed Paid Rs. 12,000 for Remdisivir. Here’s How You Can be Careful #IndiaNEWS #COVID-19 Fact Check On the night of 22 April, Sanchari Pal from Shimla plunged into a crisis that millions

I was Scammed Paid Rs. 12,000 for Remdisivir. Here’s How You Can be Careful #IndiaNEWS #COVID -19 Fact Check
On the night of 22 April, Sanchari Pal from Shimla plunged into a crisis that millions of Indians are struggling with today — to seek medical assistance to cure COVID-19. Her 69-year-old father, Rajendra Prasad Pal, who has diabetes and hypertension, was facing the threat of increasing complications. As his condition worsened with mild pneumonia, the doctors at the Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in Chitranjan, West Bengal, prescribed Remdesivir for treating COVID-19.
However, the drug is still in acute shortage across India.
Panicked, Sanchari reached out to friends, family and strangers via social media, mentioning the details of her father’s case to seek urgent aid. “The doctors asked to arrange for the drug and oxygen tank. I scrambled to reach all possible resources to procure Remdesivir, including the available helplines. I also put out a post mentioning my phone number for people to reach out but to no avail,??? she tells The Better India.
Sanchari says that after being turned down by multiple sources, she found light at the end of the tunnel. By virtue of strangers over the internet, she started receiving calls who claimed to have stock of the drug.
But little did she know that it would turn out to be a scam.
‘He took advantage of my desperation’
Identify fake and original
“My hopes escalated. But I was doubtful as many suppliers demanded full advance payment. I did not want to take risks. However, one potential lead offered the Remdesivir at market price of Rs 24,000,??? she says, adding a person claiming to be ‘Rahul’ from Kolkata shared pictures of the refrigerated drug and assured her four vials.
To double-check, she asked for more pictures and the details of how she would procure the medication from him. He said the drug could be received by Sanchari’s relative who was attending to her father. “As a precaution, I told Rahul that I would not make the full payment. He agreed to my request but asked me to make half the payment in advance. He seemed genuine and expressed concerns about my father’s health too. Rahul said he wants to help humanity and that he understood the pain and trauma people were undergoing in this crisis,??? she adds.
Sanchari says that he even explained how Remdesivir requires storing under 4 degrees Celsius, and needed a flask to be transported. “He sent a picture on WhatsApp showing how the flask is being cooled to prepare for the three-hour journey from Kolkata to Chitranjan. He said the medicine would travel by Janshatabdi Express departing at 2 pm and promised to share the contact details of the train guard to whom he would hand over the medication,??? she says.

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