'Sensor Scam': Fake mechanics target elderly travellers with false repairs on busy Bengaluru road

A new scam seems to be trending on Hosur Road where fraudsters pose as mechanics who increasingly target elderly travellers. 

On September 2, N Lakshmanan (76) and his 70-year-old wife were driving into Bengaluru from Chennai in their Maruti Wagon R when two men on a motorcycle flagged them down near Hennagara Main Road, Bommasandra. 

The men indicated that smoke was coming from the car’s left wheel. Alarmed, Lakshmanan stopped, after which the men introduced themselves as service mechanics from a car maker. They then asked him to open the bonnet and rev the engine, claimed they saw sparks and insisted a “faulty sensor” needed urgent replacement. 

This caught Lakshmanan off-guard, making him believe that there indeed was an issue and allowed the men to continue. 

One man fetched a small gadget, supposedly from a Maruti service station nearby, pretended to install it, and demanded Rs 18,000 for the supposed repair. The men demanded payment only in cash and refused any UPI transaction. 

With little cash and fearing engine failure, Lakshmanan withdrew Rs 15,000 from a nearby Karur Vysya Bank ATM at Chandapura with his wife’s credit card, where a fraudster accompanied him inside, and added Rs 3,000 from his wallet to meet their demand. 

Only after visiting an authorised Maruti service centre near Ramaiah College, Sanjaynagar, on September 4,  did the couple learn that no sensor had been replaced and the car was mechanically sound. 

“I lost my senses during this ‘sensor’ episode. I want people warned so they don’t get trapped,” he said. 

Similar incidents have been reported elsewhere in the city. 

In a video posted on X, a user highlighted the scam on Hosur Road, where “safety fee” flyers were handed out to drivers on the highway. The user complained of a gang demanding Rs 400 as a “road safety fee” especially from out-of-state vehicles. 

Similar incidents include a smoke-and-mirror trick, where other motorists have described being stopped by riders who create panic about fake smoke or sparks, then stage costly “repairs”.