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Cellular crimes
 A few weeks ago criminals entered into a showroom on Mount Road, Chennai, and decamped with hundereds of cellular phones. Within a few days, another group of criminals ransacked a showroom at Mylapore, Chennai, and took away a bit bulk of
cellphones.
Such cellular crimes have become common nowadays with the criminals realising the "cellular season" is on. There is enormous loss
every time the criminals loot these phones and with the shop-owners not having any burglary insurance, most of such losses are crippling for them.
Where do these criminals dispose of these stolen phones snd convert them to cash? This is the million dollar question policemen face as the exchange and transaction is done stealthily.
When the criminals loot the jewels, there are professional receivers, mostly pawnbrokers, to receive the stolen stuff. In the same way, there are professional receivers for these stolen cellphones, who buy them cheap, in a few selected places in Chennai.
A few shops at Burma Bazaar, Kasi Chetty Street and Ritchie Street, all situated in and around Parrys', usually receive these phones at a nominal price of around Rs 500 per set, the original cost being around Rs 5,000 per set.
 Most of the cellular customers prefer to buy the phones at these three places not knowing how they came to be sold there. They also buy with the great feeling that they are getting the original foreign brand at a reduced price as they are exorbitant at showrooms.
Most of the stolen stuff are conveniently sold to these customers at a reduced price at these places. When a theft occurs in cellular showrooms, and if the police spreads their dragnet at these three centres in Chennai, it is possible that the criminals can be nabbed easily and the stolen property recovered immediately.
But, unfortunately, during all such thefts, police register FIRs as a mere formality and make no sincere efforts to shadow these centres, in spite of knowing all these fradulent exercises. As a result, cellular crimes thrive in Chennai city and many cellular shop-wners continue to be the losers.
There are also other 'frauds' being committed by leading cellular companies themselves.
A leading company offers cellular connections to customers by supplying the instrument against a deposit. Since the deposit is minimal and the instrument can be acquired without spending much, middle-class and even lower middle-class customers just grabbed them. But they did not know they were getting into a dangerous loop.
 The agents, without disclosing the 3-year warranty to the customers, get their signatures in various forms. The company does not send monthly bills and prefers to send it for a couple of months which may amount to several thousands of rupees.
The middle-class customers cannot be expected to pay such big amounts at one go. When the customers are unable to pay the dues, they threaten to terminate their contract with the company. But the company then informs them that they cannot do so as they have signed an anti-disconnection warranty and that if they still want to do so, they would have to pay a minimum of Rs 3,600 towards the cost of the instrument.
So, many customers get caught in the trap. The company, it is alleged by many, charges exorbitant rates without specifying the details of the calls made. Many also allege that sometimes the quality of the reception is very poor.
While the fradulent tales of the company are such, there are also fradulent stories about customers also. (Yes, it is one big criminal world.)
 Some customers get two or more connections by giving false addresses. After having made calls that cost several thousands of ruppees, they simply shift their residence. Some of the customers, make a false complaint to the police that they have lost the instrument. It is common to find children using such disconnected instruments as toys.
While purchasing cellular phones, people should buy at leading outlets and insist on bills. While getting cellular connections, it is better to avoid companies which makes fradulent exercises and fail to provide proper services to the customers. One should be very careful about the conditions of warranty before acquiring any cellular connection.
Harvey
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