In exchange for what?

It's really sad and disgusting to watch people bargaining with small vendors selling small things with a little profit margin.

Bargaining is good and applicable on certain things and the seller will also tell you his limits. But when you buy and last moment refuse to take your stuff just for a question of Rs 10/-, which might mean nothing to you, is pathetic!

What will you do with that Rs.10/-? Nothing much, I guess. Even minimum fare by auto is more than that! You might buy a packet of chips for your kid just like that. And that amount packet will have 6-7 chips at the most. Or buy a chocolate. But all this not out of necessity. While the vendor, to him every extra penny counts.

I would even understand if the buyer was not financially well off, but big people acting petty really pisses me. And these very people have some business where they sell things at fixed prices.

Yesterday I saw a well off woman with a daughter/ daughter-in-law in tow (who was in expensive clothing) and had a kid on her waist. They were buying crockery from a roadside vendor selling stuff from haath gaadi. The small cups were available for Rs.120/- a dozen only which was a decent amount. But importantly she had agreed and even packed what she bought and then started bargaining over 10 rupees. The look of pain in the vendor's eyes when she dumped the cups while he kept saying that she shouldn't do that after buying, I cannot forget. I could see tears almost waiting to roll out. He did agree eventually to reduce 10 bucks, but in exchange for that Rs.10/- the lady got his pain and unhappiness. Was it worth?

Every time I see people hurting, causing inconvenience, fighting, I think - 'what are they getting back in return'? You are getting back something which you would never want. For every illness, discomfort we face, God sets things right for us. He forgives us. He gives us a bargain. Mostly from the person who hurt us. The Lord's mathematics are perfect.

Intolerance - A Danger Phrase

Danger Phrases and Power Phrases is now my favourite topic, thanks to Dan O'Connor (check his videos on the topic and his book 'Say This -Not That!')

And I've seen how using danger phrases can ruin things or make a message ineffective. It can also cause a stir.

Sensitive as we Indians are, every word we speak should be with care. We know how the word 'intolerance' caused a furore in the nation. Of late we have seen a number of people use that word. However, it remains a negative/ danger word. And while speaking or giving feedback, people like to be associated with positive words.

I have been wondering about a suitable Power Phrase for the word Intolerance. And this is what I think fits the bill : 'Being more accepting of others'. 

So if you want to point to someone that they are being intolerant, the better way to say it will be 'You should be more accepting of different viewpoints as well'. This sounds much milder than telling someone 'You are intolerant'. If you say that, be prepared for a bashing. It will stem out of the thought 'okay, so I am intolerant, let me show you how far I can go with that'!

A powerful communicator is one who speaks positively and effectively and avoids danger phrases. Everyone should make a Danger Phrase list from our experiences and find a Power Phrase for it and incorporate it in our communication.

Intention (Neeyat)

Everything in Islam is based on intention (Neeyat), which is clearly stated before any act. Marriage, prayers, any act. 

Even if you are fasting for Ramzan, everyday when you wake up for suhoor, and you finish your morsel, you have to state your intent to fast for the coming day. It is in the form of a one line prayer for uniformity. Or at least say in your mind. If you are fasting and never say your neeyat and deep in your heart your intention is to lose weight, then your fasting is not for God. No one except you and God will know that.

Even when we offer our salaat (aka namaaz), we begin with the intention (Neeyat) - 'neeyat karta/ karti hoon main teen rakaat namaaz Farz (depends on type of prayer) waqt Maghrib (depends on time of prayer) waaste Allah Taala ke muh mera kaaba shareef ki taraf. Allahu Akbar'. Of course you can say the neeyat in any language.

For those who don't know Urdu or Hindi, the above means 'I intend to offer 3 parts of obligatory prayer of time maghrib for God's sake while I face the kaaba shareef. God is Great'. Every Muslim in the world faces the Kaaba while praying wherever he/she is located. We have a compass with us to know the direction. There are even special kaaba indicator compasses, which show you location of kabaa from where you are located. 

Rakaat means parts of prayer complete with bowing down on your knees and head touching ground (called 'Sajda'). The types are farz, sunnat, nifil, waajib. All acts of Islam are divided into category. Some are obligatory (farz), some non obligatory but preferable (mostly acts of sunnah). Actually all laws are of 4 types. Will not go into those details in this topic. Times of prayer are Fajr (before sunrise), Zohar (when the sun is overhead), Asar (the time between the sun going down -late afternoon/evening), Maghrib (just a few minutes prior to sunset), Eesha (to be offered at night).

Misconceptions about Islam and Muslims

Currently there is too much hatred for Muslims going on and too many misconceptions. Let me clear some.

MISCONCEPTIONS :

• Mohammed (Peace be upon him) is not our God. We do not worship him. He is a Prophet and Messenger of God.
• Muslims believe in all Prophets from Adam to Abraham to Solomon to Moses to Jesus to final prophet, Mohammed. There have been more than a lakh messengers of God with a message for the people. Only about 25 relevant ones are mentioned in Quran.
• Allah is the same One God of the Universe. When we say Allah, we do not have a separate God. He is the Lord of the Universe. So if you insult the name Allah, you are also insulting your own God, your Creator.
• Prophet Mohammed did not write the Holy Quran. He was an illiterate man. The Quran was revealed to him little by little by Angel Gabriel over a span of approximately 23 years. This started when he was about 40 years.
• Mohammed used to memorize the verses revealed to him and repeat them to his learned companions. These companions used to learn the verses by heart and jot them down. Since he had many learned companions, they compared notes and decided to write the entire text after it was revealed in entirety.
• The teachings and life of Prophet Mohammed (SAS) are documented through Hadiths. This again he received inspiration from God through dreams and revelations of Quranic Verses. These hadiths have been documented again by his companions And scholars of his times whom the prophet interacted with. Again these hadiths have been cross referenced through chain of narrations of all those who documented them and then the ones with maximum matches have been classified as Saheeh (accurate). 
• Quran is in the same state as it was from beginning. It is a practice amongst Muslims and is considered great to memorize the entire Quran. These people are called Hafeez. So, if God forbid, all copies of the Quran present today were to be destroyed also, it can be easily reproduced from the memory of the Hafeez (don't know the plural).
• Islam treats men and women equally. Just covering head is not an indication of suppression. A few Asian countries where one sees discrimination stems from broader local customs.
• Muslims believe that Jesus will come back on Earth to save mankind when it is in the worst stage.
• Only 30% Muslims live in the Arab world. There are number of Christians and Jews in the Arab world who keep Arabic names. Majority Muslims live in South East Asia and Indonesia is the single largest Muslim country in the world.

This is what Islam and Muslims are all about. 

Some relevations... for pregnant women

It's interesting to know that St Elizabeth (wife of Zechariah and mother of John, the Baptist, known as Prophet Yahya to Muslims) is considered to be patron saint for pregnant women, while Muslim women look up to Maryam (Mary) during pregnancy and difficult times.

Some years back I had got to know of Maryam phool (flower) which some keep in water at home while some lady is delivering. It is supposed to bloom. And is believed to ease the pain. Though there are no actual religious references to such a practice in any religious texts. Still I consider it amazing. 

But yes, it is recommended to read the verses of Surah Maryam when in difficulty. That verse is elaborate on the pains Mary went through during her pregnancy. 

While on Surah Maryam, another amazing thing is that the verses about Gabriel Angel delivering the news of birth of Yahya to Prophet Zechariah is similar to some verses in the Bible. Only thing different is that Quran mentions that when Zechariah asks for a sign, the Angel tells him that he will not speak for 3 days. While Bible mentions a longer period.

There are lots of Chapters which cover Moses. Musa Alaihissalaam has been mentioned 136 times in the Quran. Whereas Jesus (Isa alaihissalaam) is mentioned 25 times. Since the Quran was revealed to an illiterate man, Prophet Mohammed over a span of 23 years by Gabriel Angel, so Mohammed's name appears only 4 times. Mary is the only lady to have a whole Chapter on her. She is considered one of the 4 best ladies (others being Aasiya, wife of Phiraun, Fatima, daughter of Prophet Mohammed and Khadeeja, first wife of Mohammed).

Yaum-e-Ashura (the tenth day of Muharram)

What is Ashura and what is it's significance in Islam?

As per Islamic calendar, today (Ashura) is the day when...

the world was made;
when Adam (AS) was created (years later);
when Abraham (Ibrahim) (AS) was saved from Nimrod's fire;
when Noah's (Nuh) (AS) ark was delivered from the floods;
when Joseph (Yusuf) (AS) was reunited with his father Jacob (Yakub) (AS);
Jonah (Yunus) (AS) was saved from the fish's (probably whale) belly;
Job (Ayyub) (AS) was cured of leprosy;
the kingdom of Solomon (Sulaiman) (AS) was restored;
David (Dawood) (AS) was forgiven;
Jesus (Isaa) (AS) was born;
Jesus was taken up to the heavens by replacing him with a lookalike who was crucified;

And not to forget, the martyrdom of Imaam Hussain (grandson of Mohammed SAS) in the battle of karbala by the evil King Yazeed who proclaimed to be God-like). This battle was fought so that Islam would not be diluted by wrong practices, which Yazeed wished to introduce after proclaiming himself as Islamic leader. It could have also led to editing of Quran by individuals. Though Hussain was killed when prostrating in prayer (offering namaaz) in battle; his martyrdom was in fact a victory. Cause after that there was awareness against Yazeed and clarity in the religion.

From the events over the ages, it is evident that God loves the day of Ashura (10th day of Muharram) and He even forgave many Prophets and gave mercy to those He was testing on this day (this is God's way of saying that everyone is capable of error and tests, including Prophets). So keep praying and keep seeking forgiveness on this day.

And yeah, like my Dad always says Never Work on Ashura. Since has been the norm since ages, even before the advent of Islam.

The Arabic word Ashura means 'tenth' and is derived from Hebrew word Asarah or Asharah.

What we call Yaum-e-Ashura (Yaum meaning Day, together meaning 'tenth day') is similar to Yom-e-Kippur (Day of Atonement) in Judaism. This is the tenth day of Jewish month of Tishri. So for many years before Islam also, this day had a lot of significance due to it's glorious history. 

Muhammad SAS used to fast on the day of Ashura, (10th of Muharram), in Makkah. When Muhammad SAS led his followers to Madina, he found that the Jews of that area likewise observed fasts on the day of Ashura. At this, Muhammad affirmed the Islamic claim to the fast, and from then on the Muslims have fasted on combinations of two consecutive days including the 10th of Muharram (e.g. 9th and 10th or 10th and 11th) to differentiate between the practices of the two faiths. Due to minor differences in a day or two in months due to moon, these days might not been occurring on same dates now is my understanding. 

So while the fasts of Ramzan are compulsory, the fasting of two days around Ashura are 'recommended' and to be done in combination of two.

My risotto with curry please!

Today I happened to go KFC while coming back from some place as I was hungry and thirsty. 

While I was placing my order, a woman in the parallel line was placing her order for rice bowl with chicken popcorn (same order as me). The funny thing was that like all curry loving Indians, she was insisting that the rice bowl to have extra curry. And the cashier didn't know what to do. Every chain food restaurant follow their unique style and recipes and this rice bowl has a unique continental style and is filled with one layer of masala sauce in between, which is like a gravy. But that gets absorbed in the rice. Indians love for curries is well known. It's really funny when certain people even insist on gravy or extra masala with even biryani. Maybe that's why the Hyderabadi biryani comes with some thick gravy as an accompaniment And then there are some who eat fried rice with overflowing wet manchurian. Then some who want their food wet and can't find curry, will buy curd and smear their pulaos, biryanis, risotos, fried rice, tawa rice and what not with it, else food wouldn't go down their throats.

I am fine with my food being dry. Else as long as the food is well flavoured, I can savour it. I love fish curry though and yes, jhinga (shrimp) curry.

I liked the rice bowl with chicken popcorn just like it is. The basmati rice used in it made it fragrant and flavourful. And I love the crushers. Especially the chocolate one. And since KFC serves Halaal chicken, that's one place I can eat without worries. McD and Burger King make no sense to me as I don't understand burgers. I know only the Indian burger, vada pav. And that also I prefer the batata vada without the pav.

She Lets Kids Creativity Soar by Giving them Wings!

As I walk into the office of Supersonic Aeromodelers at Bandra, I am greeted with a broad smile and warm welcome. That's Dilshad Ahmed for you. With a vast banking experience behind her, she is now a successful entrepreneur and give wings to kids' dreams!

Dilshad- giving kids wings!

Having worked for 5 and 1/2 years in Andhra Bank, 7 and 1/2 years with Societe Generale, 10 years with DBS Bank and 2 and 1/2 years with IBM, she decided to leave banking behind and try something new. For a while, she worked with 'For She', a car rental company, which taught women to drive and be self-reliant. The company changed the life of many women. Even men brought their simple housewives to learn driving. Dilshad told me about an autorickshaw driver who brought his shy and soft-spoken wife to their organisation and requested them to make her smart and independent. And so she and her team did. Though, For She is defunct now, many women who learnt driving are doing well for themselves, while some are plying for a women's car rental company.

When ForShe closed, Dilshad wanted to do something on her own. She went through various business options, including franchisee businesses. That's when the idea of aero modeling came to her mind. I asked her, 'Why aero-modeling? It's something very off-beat and was a risky business option.' She told me that she realised that in India, children had very little access to develop their scientific minds and abilities. There were not many options and avenues available for them here. So, she decided to fill the gap. And set out to learn aero-modeling. Once done with that, she then moved to taking classes of her own. It began with her house, where kids started to come to learn the art. Slowly, she started conducting workshops at schools and eventually now has her own office and has also started her own line of aeroplane model DIY kits. Some of these are flying airplane models while some are not. For the younger kids, she uses foam cut-outs to make the aeroplanes. She now operates under the name of Supersonic Aeromodelers and is happy with what she started and where she has brought it.

A few aeroplane models hanging at Supersonic Aero Modelers office

She told me that the kids enjoy making these aircraft models and ensure that they complete making it whenever she holds sessions for them. She even sells other science DIY kits for kids. And yes, why only kids, Dilshad points out that even older people can learn from this art and buy her models. She is also assisted by her sister at times.

Supersonic Aeromodelers will soon come with an exclusive website to sell their aeroplane DIY kits and also other science kits. It is now sold exclusively through her only. Online selling will give people outside Mumbai and Pune also the opportunity to buy the Aeroplane kits. This she hopes will help develop childrens' scientific minds. And I hope so too and wish her all the best.

To have more insight into the activities of Supersonic Aeromodelers, you can check their website: http://supersonic.net.in 
and facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/SupersonicAeroModelers

Go, give wings to your kids' dreams. Maybe it will inspire him to be a pilot one day.

Stop Hate. Spread Love.

Being born and brought up in a multi diverse country, till few years back I never even saw people from religion point of view. We went to school and college and had friends from all communities and liked to learn about their food and culture. Never once looked at people with religious glasses. Accepted them for who they are. Religion was a personal thing. And outside of my house, it was just a name. It meant a person with different beliefs. The only thing that really was evident was different language and different culture of various states. Suddenly, the hate mongers are creating so many differences and giving everything a religious fervour. 

Until now we saw criminals are criminals, terrorists as terrorists, good people as good people. Now anything happens we classify them. One name of person from targeted religion comes up, the hate spreaders will isolate it and circulate and recirculate the news. 10 names of any other comes up, then it's like they are majority so their name will pop up somewhere. You won't find foreigners committing crimes here kinda attitude. Hatred spreading has gone so far now that in Indian media also we are showing what's happening in another country also with a religious tinge. The other day I saw a news about a marks goof up in Egypt. How Indian media (some of which is controlled by some group through some company) shows such an irrelevant internal news of a country? A bright Christian girl fails because of being a non Muslim in Egypt or some crap to that effect! The people who had commented below the article had probably read the entire news and were quick to clarify that it was a goof up which was rectified. Everything we are see from religious angle? Follow your faiths. But at work and in society you are just an Indian. 

I had vowed a year n half back that in Office or in public places, I will never discuss religion or politics. When a discussion comes up, I go some other way or ignore or get busy with something else. I am entitled to my opinions and it's not necessary that I share with all unless they're friends or family. Eventually many discussions lead to fights. Because many people do not understand 'right to opinion' nor are accepting of others' opinion. We are not good debaters. We expect to say and then shut our ears to others points of view.

Stop hatred, spread love.

An Honest Doctor

Hey, it's hard to come by honest and humble doctors. One such is Dr Siddhesh Shirke. He is my new dentist. He will never tell you to go for any extra treatment or implant just like that. He will try to save the teeth, even it means by a fluoride filling. He charges so little saying honestly that he just did a little filling. I feel embarrassed to pay him that much. A little part of my teeth broke some days back, after my last filling and today I went to tell him that. And he charged me nothing at all, thinking that the part of the filling fell off. I tried to tell him that it's another part of the same tooth. But he insisted that for a pinch of fluoride and minor job, it was not necessary to pay. I was too embarrassed and left saying 'Thank You'.

I know of other dentists, who will try to make a little cavity sound like a crater and advise you to go for metallic filling. In the bargain, they will make the cavity bigger so that soon you will go back to them after few months for root canal and eventually they will end up putting an dental implant there and finally a cap. It's like they say in Hindi, 'topi lagaya', means he made a fool out of you. 'Topi lagaya' literally translated means 'to put a cap'.

Marathi people are quite sincere and honest and I have a special respect for them.

I recommend Smita Dental Clinic for your dental woes, if you happen to be living near Mira Road.

Sheldon, oh Sheldon!

Last year I attended my first Comicon in Mumbai. They've just arrived in India a couple of years back. I was sooo fascinated by this Sheldon figurine. I kept coming back to the stall where it was kept, to check. Finally gave up on it as I had other things identified to pick -Sherlock poster, comic coaster, spoof superhero desk calendar and Tintin digest. 

While talking about Sheldon, I feel it's actually because of him and Penny that 'The Big Bang Theory' works. Sheldon plays his part perfectly and Penny is effortless.

I've discovered this new dabba/ Tiffin service called Yummy Tiffin. Got so bored with my previous tiffin service, which served me for 3 years. Does healthy have to be boring? Sometimes taste weird too? Agree, I did get pleasant surprises as well. But some of them look good and packaged so well, everyone in office drools over it while you know how it tastes. 

Starting the new dabba on trial basis for five days. They have an online wallet system where you fill it with an amount and then choose fixed meals from types or customise it on daily basis. One month's menu is posted in advance. I've chosen food I'd never tasted before like mayo sprout sandwich, Mexican minestrone, Bengali style bhindi with a difficult name and much more... I hope they taste as good. They're cheaper than my previous health food provider. And no paying dabba wala separately. It's their headache. And no money wasted on food you don't want to eat. Another good thing is that I don't have to tell them 'No Tindli' 'No capsicum'. These are marathi dishes I do not like. Capsicum is good as accompaniment or as a flavour. Never as a bhaji by itself! While tindli is good for pickling.

Say the Right Things - Be a Savvy Communicator!

Good speakers, authors and people whose talks / videos make a difference to your lives are hard to come by. A good book or good video on business communication always interests me. And one such person whose communication videos, online training lessons and books have made a difference to my life is Dan O'Connor.

Dan O'Connor is an eminent speaker, communication trainer and an author. His videos on YouTube under the banner of Online Communication Training are well known and followed by many. When I started watching them, I was a changed person. His style of training is easy and humorous and loved by many. His style got me hooked. And I went from one video to another, got hold of the books he's written and also downloaded some online courses. And everything was worth it. I have been following the speaker-cum-trainer-cum-author for quite some time now. His dealing with negative people tactics, his power phrases v/s danger phrases and his energy vampire slaying techniques are well known. They have changed the lives of many. It made me more confident, assertive and ready to take on the world.

What would be more exciting than knowing than Dan O'Connor has now made his presence in India. His books are being launched in India through Intellifox Designs. The first book of his to be available in India at local rates is "Say This-Not That!" The book is available in India through Amazon.in and Flipkart. And reasonably priced at Rs. 299, though currently available at promotional rates. And this is just the beginning, as is obvious from the attached video. So, what are you waiting for, guys? If you are a resident of India and have not been able to afford good business communication books from across the seas OR are Dan O'Connor's fan too OR just want to be a savvy communicator, get your copy of 'Say This - Not That!' It is a book you can add to your collection, if you have one.

Of Social Media, Apps and Data Theft

As the reach of Social Media Sites and Online and mobile Applications (Apps) expands, your own data is at a high risk. You put a lot of personal information at stake when you download apps on your desktop as well as mobile. Most of the social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google + and many recent chat apps feed on the basic quality of human nature - hunger for attention. All of them feed on human ego. And more the fire one has to show off and advertise things to the world, the better it is for the popularity of the site / app. 

How Safe is your Online Content?

Once you post your photos, data, your story including contents of your chat, you are indirectly exposing your personal life to them. That's because most of these sites and apps automatically get the right to use, sell, reproduce your pictures and data as they deem fit, without your consent or any compensation to you. 

Who has Given them the Right?

But who has given them the right to do all this? Of course, you yourself. How many of us actually read the Terms and Conditions one has to tick before signing up for an application?! We are always in a hurry to make accounts, often ignoring the fine-prints! So tomorrow if any of these social media sites want to write a book on your life from your posts, pictures and chat content (depending on the rights they have on your contents), nobody can stop them. Scary, right? But the agreement to use your content ends with deletion of your account. Yet what you had posted earlier might remain in their database without your knowledge! And might still be used. All the terms and conditions are subject to change, but this is how it is at the moment. That is why deletion of an account is much difficult than creating one. Take Facebook, for example. It's 'delete' option is hidden from visibility. People just 'deactivate' accounts, keeping it still alive through comments and data posted on other people's accounts. Then often they are tempted to log in again, making the account active once again.

What the Law Says :

Instead of putting the legal aspects of the rights held with these sites, I would rather quote the experts and would prefer you to check the authenticity of my words from the proper sources.

Check this link from the Law Offices of Craig Delsack, LLC which explains  what rights the social media sites have over your private pictures and content : 

http://www.nyccounsel.com/business-blogs-websites/who-owns-photos-and-videos-posted-on-facebook-or-twitter/

Rights Held by Telephone Apps

Now let's come to telephone apps. So many of us download so many games and applications and give so much consent to the companies ourselves, without blinking an eye-lid! Without wondering whether such kind of app actually need such access. Some ask access to your location, to your files, pictures! I generally do not download apps unless I check out the kind of access they are seeking. The other day I was about to download one popular caller identification app and was shocked to see them seek access to my picture folder apart from Contact list (which was understandable). Then I remembered my colleague telling me that since downloading the app, he not only gets name of the person calling, but many times pictures of unknown people calling for first time too!

So I restrained myself from downloading the app and requested my close friends and family to delink any snap they might have associated to my number. Sometimes you accept terms and conditions of a company and indirectly put your own family and friends to risk or exposure. Imagine a husband associating a sensuous photo of his wife with her number. Then he downloads the app, giving photo files access which it asks for. And the next thing that will happen is that the photo will get associated with the particular number and when she calls a colleague, friend or even an unknown person, her associated photo will get flashed, provided no other photo is linked to her number. What an embarrassment! The app works on the principle that as soon as people keep adding to it, it reads all the data and picks the maximum names and now snap/s associated to that number and then stores that name and snap (if any) to that number. Suppose a casual photo is published on a social networking site and one has an unwanted stalker and he/she downloads that snap and saves it with number with a sleazy name attached to it, it is likely that name and snap will be associated to that number. Likewise, if you have a nickname. And imagine calling a prospective employer with your embarrassing petname / nickname flashing on his/her mobile. Your impression is already made!

My brother suggests that in such cases, you cannot educate everyone so better to create an account yourself and add your name and snap as you want it to appear (you can even have alphabets spelling your name out) in that account. That is always the first preference of the app. Alternatively, if you do not want to give too much access to the app, yet want to find details of callers, you can subsequently delete the app from your mobile and yet log into your account from a laptop / desktop or mobile net and search up the names of callers.

For all other apps, be careful which access it is seeking. Download only the popular ones offered by good companies. Rest is upto you, how much access you want to give to an application.

Online Data Selling and Identity Theft

Ever wondered why as you sign up for online retailer accounts, shopping cards at big stores, you start getting more and more emails of Ads and more shopping sites in your email-box and mobile phone! As you shop through these channels, you are a potential buyer for other sites / stores as well. So either openly or discretely, this data is passed on to other retailers. If you are registered for DNC / DND, you might not get Ad sms, unless officially registered with some retailer. So your email ID is again vulnerable. And your email IDs get filled with promotions and advertisements.

Advertisements are still fine. But when your email box is filled with sleazy spam and phishing emails, its horrible! Most email providers scan such type of emails and direct it to your spam folder. But still, others keep flowing in. 

How do they get their data? The resumes / CVs that you upload on job portals, your social media accounts; these are the sources of your data theft. And if that wasn't enough, nowadays I've seen individuals selling their contact lists online! Email, phone... Everyone for money. Imagine your own friend doing that?!

Then there are these representatives at malls approaching you with 'contest forms' asking you to fill all details. Once you do that, then of course, you will be getting emails and calls of various schemes and requests. You can still report calls for promotions / advertisement received on DND registered mobile numbers.

As long as data is used for promotional activity also, you are still safe. But when it is used to steal your money or identity, it is a fraud.

Identity Theft Frauds

Identity theft can be done by stealing your email, phone number, credit and debit card details, your ATM PIN, your account details. 

How is this possible? Sometimes we pass on credit / debit card details over phone, sms and social media sites, emails. Or write details somewhere and leave it. Or keep your cards carelessly. Someone could overhear a conversation, hack into your social media account, copy details of your credit/ debit cards and if they know your personal details also, they can easily access your netbanking account or make online payments! I've noticed how some shopkeepers refuse to handover their swipe POS to user and blatantly ask the the shopper for their PIN. And some shoppers actually do that. Never ever do that! Even if the shopkeeper makes you look bad or cranky. People might watch or hear the PINs being keyed in and rob your wallet as you walk out. And voila, they have access to your money! Before you discover the theft and deactivate your card, your account could have been wiped out.

Apart from credit / debit card information theft, you might be sent heart touching emails seeking donations for a cause and ask your bank details and passwords. These links direct you to fraudulent sites where data is received and stored. If not an emotional email, it might be a phishing email appearing to be sent from regulatory authority. Such emails scare people into replying to them. Another way is to send emails for job opportunities. Such emails will appear too good to be true. They will be willing to hire you without interview. By just filling a form. And the moment you reply to the email, you will be asked to part with money, for which you will be directed to a fraudulent link or asked for bank details or told to wire money to some account.

How does one identify if an email is authentic ? One sure-shot way of doing so is to check if the sender has sent email from his/ her organisation account. You cannot have officials from government bodies or big organisations sending you emails from their yahoo and gmail IDs! You can also look up HoaxSlayer site to check if such emails are authentic.

Exporter-Importer Data Fraud

One important kind of fraud involving huge amounts is by accessing Invoices and Purchase orders exchanged by Importers and Exporters. Unlike earlier, where purchase orders actually moved in hard form and acceptance of order was obtained from purchaser, now a lot of quotations and orders are exchanged on emails. Most purchase orders or Proforma Invoices have bank details of Exporter. Hackers identify such traders and hack into their email IDs and replace the original Order or Invoice with a fraudulent one having bank details of some other account. Either this or a top up email on original email is sent stating change in bank details. The importer unsuspectingly makes payment to the wrong account without making a call to or verifying facts with the seller, only to loose large amounts of funds!

This can be avoided by keeping strong passwords, by exchanging emails only between two main parties instead of all and sundry in the company and also by verifying any data with the seller before parting with the funds.

Other types of Identity Thefts

In India, PAN card details are used for tax frauds. Earlier Indian Railways used to display PAN card details of passengers after finalisation of final passenger list and display on their boards. This was done for identification purposes. But eventually it turned out to be a source of data which was being stolen for certain kinds of tax frauds. This has since been discontinued. Sometimes PAN card copies are taken by various bankers and other organisations and sometimes excess copies could be taken as one isn't clear enough. Ensure to have all such extra copies destroyed. Else another customer walking into the organisation might misuse it.

Also while taking your valuable documents for photocopying, keep an eye on your documents and ensure no extra copies are being made without your consent.

Apart from data being used to rob you of your money, in today's time, it can be used to rob your identity and commit frauds and illegal activities. How ?

Suppose, an anti social element wants to commit some illegal activity. Earlier for creating accounts, one had to key in one's own User Name and check availability. That would be your account. Additionally some data was asked for, which was never verified. And you could have internet calling accounts, without being traced back. You could open various online accounts with self made user IDs and operate on fake data on anonymous basis. But now, as security check, companies are seeking email IDs for creating user accounts. Some even seek mobile number. Email IDs and mobile numbers can be traced back to user. But one intending fraud might not want to use a correct email ID or phone number. So they steal other email IDs to do so.

Last whole month, I had my gmail ID being used for creating social media accounts, mobile freecharging company account, online shopping account and even an account with an online dating site! Most of these companies had added my email ID without sending me email ID confirmation link. A few who did, did not wait for the confirmation. Suddenly my email inbox was filled with activities and transactions which I was not even part of! I had to take action. I started writing to / logging complaints to each one of these sites/ companies. Twitter was most professional in delinking my email account without any further questions. But I had to take up with the dating site very strongly before they could delete my account. The mobile charging company asked me to send email from correct ID! 

Here I would like to highlight one interesting thing. All the accounts were made from my gmail ID. My gmail ID has a dot separator between my surname and first name. But interestingly these accounts were created using email ID having no separator! At first I was fooled into thinking that this was some other account and erroneously I was receiving the emails. Then thanks to my brother, I learnt one interesting fact.

For a layman, both these email ids (one with a dot and one without) may be different but the reality is that gmail considers any email ID as same. For example, I could even send a mail to p.e.t.e.r@gmail.com or pet.er@gmail.com, but both would reach the correct email ID, that is, peter@gmail.com. So probably gmail does not allow users to create user IDs with dots if the same email without dots is already created.

Please refer to the link below for confirmation:

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10313?hl=en

So when I was asked to give deletion request from correct email ID, I had to inform company of the above fact, to have account deleted. This was amusing as the account creator was part of the IT industry and should have been aware of it.

Finally, after a lot of email communications and awareness messages to friends, I have all my accounts deleted. I was especially concerned about the dating site account. I was getting so many notifications. The account was made as an 18 year old and imagine if someone had posted objectionable content and pics using my identity! As I write this, another shopping account has been made in my name and some shipment has been ordered. I have informed the concerned company to look into the matter and delink my email ID from the account.

This incident has made me aware of so many frauds and security breaches. I knew some things, I learnt so much more. And my sole purpose of writing this article is to make others aware that all this is possible. So next time, you see unwanted / usual activity in your email ID, especially, creation of accounts which were not created by you, be alert. Write back to all of them and have the accounts deleted. Who knows what might be the intention!

Check below interesting links I came across which might help the reader to increase their awareness of data and identity theft :

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft

http://www.allianceonemumbai.com/identify-signs-employee-fraud-business/

Better safe than sorry!

Picture courtesy : www.allianceonemumbai.com (Corporate Fraud Detectives in Mumbai)

The flop tale of reduction of plastic usage in Mumbai

 

After successful implementation of plastic ban in many states/ areas, a similar plan was introduced in Mumbai too with slight changes. Mumbai being a big commercial capital with a combination of people from all backgrounds and a huge population, its not easy to implement big social awareness plans easily. So a different policy was adopted. Everything in Mumbai, from vegetables to fish to meat to roadside eatables were handed out in fine plastic bags. It is said that these plastic bags were also one of the major causes of the floods of 2005 in Mumbai due to clogging of drainages.

 

So the first policy adopted was - plastic bags thinner than 50 microns were banned in the city some years ago. This is being implemented and successful to an extent. But still in small lanes and areas, this is flouted sometimes (or many times?). There is no control in busy commercial areas of Mumbai which are congested by traders, people and traffic! Offenders are caught at times, plastic is seized and fine is levied, but in Mumbai everything is comparative. For a small time trader/ hawker, if getting a good plastic (more than 50 microns) costs Rs 1000/- for example and gets him business worth Rs 5000/- to Rs. 10,000/- per day, this might mean profit of Rs 2000/- to Rs.5000/- per day less Rs. 1000/- expenses (of good plastic purchased). Whereas a finer quality cheaper plastic may cost him Rs 100 to Rs 200/ and increase profit margin. And the possibility of being caught is once in few months and at that time a fine of Rs.5000 or more could be levied. But this again would be less cost to trader as he has managed to earn much more profit due to this difference already. And these acts are not seriously implemented by officials. It is all arranged. What can be monitored daily is usually ignored and acted on once in a while, so both benefit. But there are many honest shopkeepers who have implemented usage of plastic more than 50 microns concept since implementation. And it has made a difference. Also there are 'aware citizens' who report offending small shops / vendors.

 

After this 'partly' successful phase, it was felt that a bigger plan was required to phase out use of plastics. All malls and stores were handing out your purchases, big and small, in complimentary plastic bags. And as is the case with Indians, after having made good purchases in a shop, especially garments, many ask for an extra bag for keeps or other usage. And 'other usages' for neat plastic bags of stores and shops meant carrying your lunch tiffins to work in it, students put their books in it for going for tuitions, carrying snacks for picnics or using for further shopping. Sometimes there is no use for them. They just pile in your house.

 

Then to control the 'happy with plastic' feel, another plan was implemented by the Government on 1st July 2011. The retailers were to charge between Rs.1- 7 per plastic bag being handed out against the purchases made. The customer is asked if he/ she needs a plastic bag. This was supposed to be a pilot project in Mumbai before being implemented in entire India. The idea of implementing this was to make people feel the pinch and think twice before opting for a plastic bag. It would make them responsible and carry a cloth, jute carry- bag alongwith them. This made a difference initially. And to some sections. People have started using carry bags, fancy jute bags and jholas along for shopping. A lot of free and extra bags culture has stopped and even students prefer backpacks to plastic bags even if the number of books is less.

 

But all said and done, most Mumbaikars are mostly on the go and travelling long distances to work and their lives are fast and mostly traffic or train-time driven. Late work hours and sometimes long travel hours leave you to manage time as and when available. If we manage to leave a bit early, we might just go and shop for essentials or luxuries. We are also impulsive buyers. The working crowd is earning well. A trip for a movie might result in some shopping. Nothing is planned. Everything is time driven or impulsive. So its highly unlikely that one is carrying shopping bags or extra bags/ jholas for shopping. When you are asked at the counter whether you need a bag, only that time you realize that you should have carried one. And in highly inflation driven expensive city, a Rs 5/- hardly matters. You end up saying 'Yes' to a plastic bag. And instead of causing awareness and sense of responsibility amongst Mumbaikars, this move has only resulted in additional profits for retailers!

 

If this money collected out of plastic bag sale is put for a good 'Go Green' cause and the same is highlighted alongwith Green environment messages on pinboards and posters within shops and malls, this might create more awareness. People would relate purchase of plastic shopping bags with their purchases as a unhealthy and socially irresponsible practice. And Retailers should also be made to realize that all this implementation is for a good cause and not just to earn extra bucks. And made socially responsible to use these funds effectively. The change should come from within to make this drive successful.

 

With the correct awareness and a little push, we will go a long way. I've bought a few carry bags, but only sometimes carry them even when I go shopping on weekends. Only on reaching a cash counter, I say to myself, 'Oh shit!' I too need a little push...