Unmasking the Fraud: How I Almost Fell Victim to a Clever Impersonation

Rajan Balana on May 27, 2023, Category: Personal

Alright, I’ve got a story to tell today. It’s not fiction. It’s real, something, that happened to me today.

Randomly, out of nowhere, I received a call from a number identified as ‘FedEx Courier Service’ on TrueCaller. I answered the call, and the IVR said something I couldn’t understand. However, it gave me an option to connect with customer service for more information. I thought they could explain what’s going on.

I asked her why am I receiving this call. She said a courier is booked in my name from Mumbai destined to Canada. I was like, WHAT! She said it is held in customs because of its content. It has a few passports, SIM cards and ATMs.

It gave me the impression of identify theft because she said one cannot book an international courier without a valid identify proof i.e., Aadhaar card and PAN card. I was convinced that someone is using my identity for committing a crime. I expressed the same to her and asked to share more information. To which, she gave me the sender’s and receiver’s address details.

That’s not all, she advised me to file a complaint with the police if I believed it to be fraud. Something I failed to notice during the call but realize now is the sense of panic and urgency she created by suggesting that the courier would be handed over to the nearby police station, and I better raise a complaint before it happens the other way around.

Surprisingly, she offered to transfer the call directly to the police station where the case would be registered.

I was put on hold. The IVR stated, ‘Your call is being transferred to Ghatkopar Police Station’. A person answered the call, speaking in a native Mumbai accent. He heard the complete story, noted down all the information I got from the customer service lady. He heard it so patiently, I did not expect that from a police officer in India.

The police officer emphasized that he was speaking from Ghatkopar Cyber Crime Cell, and asked me if I could to Mumbai to file the complaint. And I couldn’t. Further, he said the line I’m connected to is the emergency line of Cyber Cell and that’s why he will go ahead with remote filing. For this, I would have to verify that no one else is raising this complaint on my behalf, and I’m raising it under no external pressure. To do this, he would give me a video call on WhatsApp in 5 mins. He gave me a number that he called as the official police station number, from which he’ll make a video call. I checked it on TrueCaller, it was identified as Ghatkopar Police Station.

He provided some instructions for the call. I have to use the back camera first to show him that no one is around, and I’m alone in the room. And I’ve to show my Aadhaar card on the call. In the call, he will share a case code that I have to share to the local police station, from whom I’ll receive a call within 24 hours. After the call, he’ll share the copy of the case file with FedEx and me.

I came to my room to pick up the documents. That’s when my wife said, what if this whole thing is just a scam? How do you know if the police officer is genuine? I was stumped. She asked me to call the local police station to check the authenticity before proceeding further. I immediately called Chandigarh Cyber Cell and shared the incident. They swiftly confirmed it be a fraud.

The fraudster called me twice on WhatsApp first and then called on the phone from the same number. I did not pick calls and blocked both the numbers. I’ve labeled the numbers as fraud on TrueCaller so others could get alerted and not fall for it.

It is interesting how an app that is used to identify fraud / spam calls is used by fraudster to gain victim’s trust. Because in the first place, I trusted the call as genuine because TrueCaller showed it so.

Let’s join hands and label these numbers as fraud on TrueCaller as fast as possible before these scammers deceive someone and take away their hard earned money.

  • +2225153543
  • 09919821444

I don’t watch News and neither should you!

Rajan Balana on May 21, 2023, Category: Learning

In school, a misconception was circulated that news is an acronym for ‘North East West South’. And I believed it because the logic that news is information that comes from any and every corner of the world, was convincing.

As an adult, I find it funny, how easily we would believe anything as kidswithout cross-checking it. Surprisingly, even as a mature adults, we still do it today: believe the news blindly and get anxious.

The full form ended up teaching me a meaningful lesson. Since the news comes from all directions all the time, does every piece of news have an impact on our lives? May be not. Then what’s the point of involving ourselves in something that is nothing more than noise? It’s noise that makes people anxious, worried and deaf to real sounds.

It’s been more than 6 months since I watched the news and it has only made my life better both mentally and emotionally. Just like we keep food fast, try a news fast. Challenge yourself to not watch news for some time and see the difference it makes to your wellbeing.

My relationship with WhatsApp – From Love to Frustration

Rajan Balana on May 17, 2023, Category: Random

WhatsApp, an app that has become deeply ingrained in our daily lives, making it hard to imagine a day without using it. I still vividly remember the day I downloaded the app for the first time. Back then, it was a paid app on iOS. Plain vanilla and straightforward app interface intrigued me. The idea of being able to send unlimited messages free of cost seemed unbelievable. I almost immediately fell in love with WhatsApp, until it was acquired by Facebook.

Upon Facebook acquisition, I realized that the primary focus would shift towards monetizing WhatsApp. Fast-forward to today, WhatsApp has become no less (and perhaps even more) of a spam channel for marketers and fraudsters, much like SMS. But it doesn’t stop there. The relentless pursuit of tech companies towards increasing time spent on the app has made the situation worse.

Entering, WhatsApp status. I believe this feature was introduced solely to further increase the time users spend on the app. While I do understand that some people love this feature and find it as a great tool for marketing and broadcasting, what bothers me is the absence of an option to opt out. I fail to comprehend why tech companies do not provide the ability to opt out of a feature that is not the core use case for many users.

I believe it’s not too much to ask from tech giants: the freedom to have a switch to turn a feature on or off. I’m certain that many people would resonate with my thoughts.

Easiest way to identify what products to avoid in a supermarket

Rajan Balana on May 8, 2023, Category: Learning

We all go grocery shopping once or twice a week, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the vast number of products available in every category. With so many companies competing for our attention on supermarket shelves, almost every product seems to portray itself as healthier than its peers, making it easy to fall for deceptive marketing tactics.

Let me tell you the easiest and quickest way to identify the product that you should avoid in the pool of infinite and overwhelming options. First tip, ‘The greater the number of ingredients listed on the label, the more advisable it is to avoid’.

Here’s the second tip: most of you might already know that ingredients on the label are listed in the order of quantity. The first ingredient listed has the highest ratio, and the last ingredient has the least. Keeping that in mind, if the first three ingredients listed on the label are different forms of sugar, such as fructose, glucose or corn syrup, just avoid that product without a second thought.

Not just consume, but Create!

Rajan Balana on May 6, 2023, Category: Reflections

We spend a major portion of our time on internet. It could be for various reasons, but one thing that everyone does is ‘consume content’. It could be in the form of watching a video, reading an article, or something else.

There is no harm in consuming content as such. Imagine what you just consumed (watched a video, read an article), you share it with others. It opens a door of unlimited possibilities. Someone might benefit from what you shared which they might not have discovered on their own.

Moreover, if you share your perspective or your opinion on something you read, there’s a possibility that your take brings a new dimension to the topic. Your perspective has the potential to bring a change in someone’s life.

Next time you come across a video or you read something interesting, don’t just close the tab and move to next thing. Instead, share it in your network, even better share your opinion.

Someone out there might just be waiting to watch / read your opinion of something they are consuming! So don’t just consume, create.

Losing weight is easy! – No kidding

Rajan Balana on May 4, 2023, Category: Personal

You might think I’m crazy when I say losing weight is easy. Seriously, I’m not blabbering. I’m speaking from personal experience. During the covid-19 pandemic, like most people, I gained a lot of weight. I went from 74 kg to 89 kg. 15 kg, that’s a lot.

At first, even the thought of losing weight felt like a distant dream. I did what any sane person would do in my position – I started dieting. I cut down on my food as much as I could. However, it wasn’t easy because on some days, I would eat more than I should have. I was losing weight, but the progress was too slow and difficult to maintain. Sometimes it felt like I wasn’t making any progress at all.

I started looking for other ways to lose weight quickly. I supplemented my dieting (to whatever extent I was able to do) with workouts. Initially, I started cycling. It certainly accelerated my weight loss, but it wasn’t working as I liked it to be. Because cycling helped me make friends, and where there are friends, there are parties (mini – celebrations :D). Eating at parties cancelled out the progress I was making with both cycling and dieting. So, if you come across a fat cyclist and wonder why they are fat even when they cycle, now you know why.

While I was going through all this, I kept looking for sustainable ways to lose weight. That’s when I came across the idea of ‘Intermittent fasting’. It was fascinating, and a lot of chatter was happening about it on Twitter. If I remember correctly, Paras Chopra (Wingify’s founder) also talked about it on Twitter and also showed its results. I was super curious to learn more, so I dived deep into the topic and learned more about its working. My conviction got stronger when I met a doctor (through the cycling club) who had been practicing intermittent fasting for many years, and it had worked wonders for her overall health and weight maintenance.

I followed intermittent fasting religiously for four months and combined it with workouts such as running and cycling. That’s how I was able to lose so much weight.

I followed a fasting routine of more than 16 hours, where I would eat my last meal of the day by 3 pm and only have half a glass of skimmed milk at night.

How am I doing today?

I haven’t been working out for the last 3 months, and my intermittent fasting practice is sporadic. Even after all this, I am still around the same weight of 74 kg. And I’m super happy 🙂