Update : July 29, 2010
The gentleman in question has advised that this case is closed as it is baseless and I have no reason to disbelieve him. He has advised that he is no longer with his previous employer and that he has a graceful termination of employment which (naturally) means there is no basis for the case. However, he has to send me an update showing the withdrawal or dropping of the case from the complainant point of view and I hope he gets this asap so that this 'blot' is removed from his name.
My professional opinion to him is to obtain a formal closure from NASSCOM (complainant) as the case may still be on the record, even if NASSCOM is not interested to follow up and has realized that what happened was an error. The reason is that unless the case is closed at the police station it will remain live and can rear it's ugly head at any time in the future.
I am told that my blog is an impediment to his job search and am distressed that anyone who is doing a background check is not following up with a double check.
I have also removed his name from the blog to reduce the distress to the max extent possible, however, I shall make my own verification with NASSCOM to establish the current status.
----dinesh-------
Location: Mumbai (Thane) Jan 24, 2009
Perpetrator : An employee of Ma Foi Consultants
Incident:
Fraudulently using the Nasscom name in an email.
He set up an email account on Yahoo! India (rohit.nasscom@yahoo.co.in) and used this address to send mails to IT companies asking them to share company information to include in a Manager's directory being prepared by Nasscom. In the emails he used the name Rohit Chopra introducing himself as an event director at Nasscom.
One of the companies he approached was Kale Consultants. They suspected the email to be a fraud and contacted Nasscom. A quick investigation identified the IP address and traced the email to Singh who was arrested by the Thane Police Cyber Cell.
Comment:
Singh and so many such users are not aware of the fact that the internet 'tags' you and what you do. People think that because they are in the comfort / privacy of their home or in a dark corner in a cybercafe no one can see them while they indulge in such criminal activities.
Unfortunately they forget the 'footprints' any communication picks up along the way from their keyboard(s) to the destination. And then there are so many telltale signs that evolve from any such act.
People like Singh are like petty thieves - first timers who indulge in shoplifting just for a lark. And then they cry "sorry" when caught. Unfortunately, a crime is a crime - small or big and the law then takes it's own course.
Cybercrimes are new additions to the world of crime and criminology so the treatment is different since the law enforcement establishment is also learning the ropes. Unfortunately petty cyber criminals will face stricter reactions than regular petty thieves so it is better to desist !
Better go shoplifting or pick a pocket :)
Media Coverage:
Hindustan Times Jan 25, 2009Labels: email fraud, identity misrepresentation