A popular Hindi idiom sums up the story of a woman in Bengaluru who paid a heavy price for her food choices and yet was left hungry: "Khaya piya kuch nahi, glass toda barah aana" (Did not eat or drink anything but broke a glass worth 12 cents).
58-year-old Savita Sharma from Yelachenahalli in Bengaluru paid the idiomatic 12 cents, which in her case was a large sum of Rs 50,000, without eating anything, according to a Times of India report.
Last week, she decided to order a meal after coming across an interesting offer on Facebook. The address was that of a Sadashivanagar restaurant. It offered two free thalis at the price of one for Rs 250, according to the police.
Savita dialled the number given in the ad and asked to avail the offer and place her order. The person on the other end told her to pay Rs 10 as an advance, added that she would have to make the remaining payment after the delivery of the food.
She received a link to initiate the payment, and Savita shared her debit card details and PIN without sensing any danger. She received a stupendous shock within the next few minutes via an SMS, informing her that Rs 49,996 had been transferred from her account. The number, predictably, was found switched off when she tried to call.
The meal that promised to be deliciously cheap turned out to be nightmarishly expensive.