"We look before and after,/And pine for what is not" thus begins one of the loveliest quotes in the English language. Yes, it is from "To a Skylark" by Percy Byssey Shelley. Sure, I do love Shelley's passionate, intense and yet deeply intellectual/spiritual poetry.
Yet, given the times today, this great quote has a quite new meaning. Of course, a slight word change or two here n there would be necessary, too. Currently, given the AI explosion, the quote would read as "better check before and everywhere/as often they pretend to be what they are not!"
Yes, with your mug shot available somewhere or somehow, and your voice which can be recorded (as a lecturer, for instance, there is no knowing, when which intellectually lazy and technologically enabled enterprising student is recording/livestreaming your lecture for friends lounging in their beds, and/for their own reference as the 'imp' material for 'that' night before the exam when an entire semester would be pushed tight in to that small little, little brain so as to be puked out in to the answer sheet the next morning!), you can be used against yourself!
Well, the ICICI Bank has this ad(vice) which shows a guy getting a video wherein his woman relative (her screen presence and her voice are literally too good to be true!) is pitifully narrating how she is in solid trouble, and needs a huge amount. Well, the original version, sitting right next to him luckily, tries to talk to the impersonator, and the video call gets disconnected from the other end
Which are the safety tricks/tips? First and foremost, never ever answer an unknown number. Anybody who is clean and honest would not at all mind 'i'dentifying himself/herself. Sadly, these days, it is better not to believe. The faith quotient better be low, however much it may go against your core personality.
For most online transactions, better to have a separate bank account with minimal savings so that our hard-earned money does not get transferred to the con (wo)man's difficult-to-locate accounts.
No, no, these are not my insights! I am not that street smart. These are suggestions by the bank and the police. Why not the Truecaller installed in your mobile? Well, the app needs all sorts of 'permissions' which can be the 'open sesame' in their own way. Better check back cross-check each time. Better to err on the side of caution! Valour does reside in cowardice!
Pratima@
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