Why do educated folks fall for internet hoaxes? The saga of Harshit Sharma

Yesterday I had posted a set of Q&A about “technology addiction” but it seems the social impact of technology hoaxes go deeper.

Hindustan Times has an article about a youngster and his family falling for a rather unsophisticated hoax: a 16-year old being offered a multi-million rupees job opportunity by the tech giant Google. (ref: Google job that wasn’t: 16-year-old diagnosed with ‘confusional psychosis’, parents affected too)

Harshit Sharma with his mother Bharti Sharma and father Rajinder Kumar Sharma on the Chandigarh-Delhi highway on Monday August 7.(Anil Dayal/HT)

The hoax got amplified late last month when the Department of Public Relations of Chandigarh Administration in India issued a Press Release that claimed (link)

“After completion of his training he will get remuneration of 12 lacs per month. He went for online interview through video conferencing and was selected on the basis of posters designed by him while doing class 12th under the supervision of his teachers.”

The PR instantly went viral and was picked up by mainstream media and Digirati: the story of an Indian high-school graduate getting a multi-million-rupee job offer had the right element of intrigue and Cinderella like aspect to it.

The reports and bloggers blindly echoing the story didn’t pause to think if this was too good to be true. After all, the guy, Harshit Sharma, claimed to be an ‘average student’ and didn’t have other past success or other credentials. A Hindustan Times article claimed:

A Chandigarh student has been selected by the internet giant Google for icon designing.
Harshit Sharma, who completed Class 12 from the Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Sector 33, this year, will be leaving for the US in August.
Selected for Google's special programme, he will be trained initially for a year. During this period, he will receive a stipend of Rs 4 lakh per month. On completing the training, he will receive Rs 12 lakh per month. The information was released by government officials on Saturday. They said Google has told him to join by mid-August.

By internet standards, this wasn’t even a rather elaborate prank. A quick call to Google confirmed the story was a hoax. So, why did Harshit, and more importantly his educated parents - Harshit's father is a high school principal - fall for this? And, why did they play along when media came knocking?

And in a rather sad end to the saga, the family is now seeking help for the ‘confusional psychosis!’

The lesson here is obvious: there are an innumerable variety of hoaxes, pranks and tricksters on the web. When it comes to the internet, check and double check, especially from the source. 

Recent NRI Q&A: Will Indian parents have to pay NRI Fees for schooling in India, if their child is born in the US?

Here are my recent responses to questions about  NRIs on Quora. Do keep the questions coming. I will try and respond on this blog or Quora  

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Question: Will Indian parents have to pay NRI Fees for schooling in India, if their child is born in the US?

The Fee for School and admissions really depends on parents and less on the immigration status of the child. Most schools have a complex fee structure that could include items like

• Admission (donation and other fees)
• Initial fees (books, annual fee etc)
• Annual fee
• Tuition (monthly/quarterly)
• Special fee for sports and other activities
• Transportation fee etc. etc.

Image source (link)

If the Indian parents flaunt their NRI status and seek admission in elite “International” schools, they will have to pay the going rate. Some of these elite-schools cater to international expatriates, Diplomats and others, and charge equivalent of the fee in Dollars. American School charges $24,200/Yr for Grades 1–5.

(Link Article on American School in India)

On the other hand, if they decide to seek admission in convents/English-medium or other schools where most middle/upper-middle class folks send their kids to, they may have to pay a high initial admission fee, after which other fees would be on par with locals.

Recent Q&A on NRIs

Here are my recent responses to questions about  NRIs on Quora. Do keep the questions coming. I will try and respond on this blog or Quora  

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Question: Why are Indians so obsessed with the NRI status?

The purchasing power of NRIs -essentially the “rich uncle” syndrome is part of the reason for the obsession.

But that alone doesn't explain the full story. Different groups in the society are obsessed for different reasons:

• Relatives of NRIs: Obsessed with the rich uncle/aunt/cousin whom they can lean on for foreign goodies and some $$s
• Real-estate agents, builders and brokers: Opportunity to “sell” a slice of Indian dream to this affluent market segment
• Students and youngsters: Look to NRIs as global role model: “If my cousin could go to US to study and get a nice job at Google/Microsoft, so can I!”
• Rest of the digirati and Junta: Always looking for interesting stories. NRI did well in ….. America, England, elsewhere is and interesting story.
• Media and Journalists: Always looking for a juicy story to sell to the above groups. NRIs stories sell!

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Question:  What do we do with left over money after the visit to India as an NRI? 

The question is too open ended. Your options would depend on :

• NRI status and intent: Are you a transient NRI (e.g working for a service company with an Indian passport) or hold a foreign passport (and only occasionally travel to India)
• Amount of money we are talking about.
• If it is a few hundred rupees, why not just donate it to charity?
• If it is a larger amount - hundreds of thousands - you need to think if you want to “invest” it or repatriate it back “home” in Dollars, Euros or Pounds
• Bank accounts in India: Many long-term NRIs who just visit India occasionally may not have bank accounts or the means to manage their investments in India. For them, holding Indian currency is meaningless
• Other factors: your investment preference, inclination to donate to charity etc etc.
• More recent factor: Is the money in OLD 500s and 1000s. If so, is the Amount in India or with you overseas? Check out: Indian Government's decision to do away with 500, 1000 RUPEE NOTES! Impact on NRIs )

Think about it a do good!

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Question:   What should the Indians abroad in possession of ₹500 and ₹1000 notes do if they are not returning till 31 Mar 2017? 

First things first. What will NOT work

• Panicking about this is not going to help. Unless you have stashed away hundreds of thousands of rupees in 500 and 1000 rupee notes in your bedroom or bank locker overseas, there is no reason to panic.
• If you had a lot - hundreds of thousands - of currency notes with you while traveling overseas, ask yourself:Has the money had already been taxed in India? If yes, just hold on to the currency till your next trip back to India and follow RBI guidelines ( check out Indian Governemtn statement )On the other hand, If the money had not been taxed, or it was a "cash payment" you received, ask yourself if you should just count your losses and walk http://away.As per RBI regulations, Foreigners and Indians are not legally "allowed to carry any Indian notes with them." Although the rule, which is part of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), has been in place for quite sometime now, it is only now that the central bank is trying to enforce it.If you walk into an Indian Embassy or Consulate overseas with a suitcase full of 500 or 1000 rupee notes, you could be in trouble!
• Branches of "Indian" banks like State Bank of India, ICICI and other banks in the US and Canada operate as local banks. They are not authorized to operate your "Indian" NRI or NRO accounts. Therefore, they will not take your 500 or 1000 rupee notes for deposit.
• Currency exchange ( money-exchange ) outlets in foreign countries may NOT accept the old 500 or 1000 rupee notes. There are already accounts in media that commercial money exchange outlets overseas have reportedly refused to accept the old 500 and 1000 notes.

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Here are a few facts and practical tips for NRIs, left with "some" Indian currency in hand:

1. Carry the cash with you to India: According to a press release by India's Ministry of Finance, individuals can exchange the old notes till December 30, 2016.
2. If you have some money left back in India, you could authorize another person in India to deposit the notes: According to RBI guidelines, if you have old banknotes in India, others may be authorized to deposit the notes into your Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) or Non-Resident External (NRE) bank account. The authorized person should go to the bank branch with the old banknotes and authorization letter from you. He or she should also carry a valid Indian identity proof
3. Send the rupees back to India with someone you trust. If the person is traveling before end of 2016, he or she can deposit it into your account (similar to step 2)

 Mohan Babu K, Indian American, OCI... Once an Indian, always an Indian at heart

Maggi Noodle Musings

The Maggi noodle saga playing out in the Indian media has been closely watched by the middle class and Indian diaspora. After a dozen or so states in India banned Maggi noodles, the central government finally stepped in with a national ban. (WSJ)

Even this account is slightly perplexing since The Independent in an article says “the reason for the ban is, the “concerns of excess lead levels,”  and adds

“The food company said in a statement that the noodles were completely safe, but explained that “recent developments and unfounded concerns about the product have led to an environment of confusion for the consumer. . . . It said that, due to the confusion, it had voluntarily "decided to withdraw the product off the shelves, despite the product being safe".

I am not even going to speculate over what a safe level of lead in food is. The government and media are sure to sort that out. And for those in the west wondering what the bruhaha over ban of Maggie in India symbolizes? It is perhaps akin to banning Pizzas from American college dorms. The outcry is perhaps similar to the one seen in Britain when the government first tried banning newspapers to wrap the unofficial national dish of Fish and chips.

Maggi and I go back to the mid nineteen eighties while I was growing up in India. Nestle made initial inroads by creating a market where it didn’t exist by smartly catching the young. My first taste came from a couple of packets I got at school - Kendriya Vidyalaya R.K Puram - in Delhi, circa 1984-85. Maggi also contributed to a few of my childhood memories by giving away t-shirts, games and other swags in exchange for used wrappers. Smart move on their part. My generation that grew up in middle-class-India, and the ones to follow were hooked by Maggi!

In the decades since I first ate Maggi, it has become an Indian cultural icon; and one can argue the brand ushered in the Ready-to-eat phenomena in India. Just a few examples:

• For young working couple and those on the move, it is a practical alternative to eating out at an (questionably hygienic) dhaba or roadside eatery. All one needs is a kettle of boiling water and in a few minutes a ‘meal’ is ready to eat.
• On the Indian matrimonial websites, brides-to-be proudly claim their culinary “achievements” include making a cup of chai or a plate of Maggie noodles!
• This is also a quintessential Indian export for the diaspora. Local Patel brothers and Indian grocers across the US stock inexpensive Maggi and packets of Maggi noodles are among the must-carry for young Indians coming to study at American campuses or to work on H1-Visas.

Reading accounts in the Indian media, I am slightly amused. I am also left scratching my head wondering if this is just a proverbial storm in a clichéd Maggie kettle? Even if we give the benefit of doubt to those crying for Nestle’s pound of flesh, logic dictates that “excessive” amounts of lead-or-any-other-chemical in a ready-to-eat food will be harmful only if eaten in excess.  Now, those eating Maggi as a staple daily dinner should be concerned, lead or not!

Wag the dog: Playing the global media

This week the American media went wild over the saga of a young boy thought to have taken off on a helium balloon in Colorado. Now comes news that the Sheriff will file Charges on suspicions of a hoax (Sheriff: Charges will be filed in balloon saga). It also turns out Richard and Mayumi Heene had inside hooks into the media (Huffington Post: Balloon Boy, Wife Swap Son).

Flashback to about six months ago: Media went similarly wild over the saga of Nadia Sulaiman who gave birth to Octuplets and dropped the story like hot potatoes the moment they realized she was a single mom on welfare already struggling to support her other kids. The public was outraged over the fact that a single mom on welfare went on to get fertility treatment and give birth to eight more children. Needless to say, before the story died down, Sulaiman’s "supporters"created a website asking people to donate, publicizing the URL, again thanks to the media frenzy over the story. (I couldnt google the URL when I searched recently).

And before that there was the saga of the British girl lost in Portugal. How did the story end? Parents were suspects : A British couple who turned their young daughter’s disappearance from a Portuguese resort into an international cause célèbre — raising millions of dollars and recruiting celebrities from J. K. Rowling to the pope to their campaign — were formally named suspects by the Portuguese police on Friday, a representative of the family said. Of course, this was not the last word. Two years hence, the saga continues and the media continues to follow the story: Satellite clue to Maddie kidnap

Wag the Dog is a Hollywood classic about a Washington spin doctor who, mere days before a presidential election, distracts the electorate from a sex scandal by hiring a Hollywood film producer to construct a fake war with Albania. The scheme enlists the aid of a country music singer, who creates several theme songs for the war; a "fad king"; and a costume designer, who helps create a fictional special forces unit to fight the war's supposed battles.

Of course, not all of us are as media savvy, at least not savvy enough to get over the money-and-muscle of large corporate in India. I remember how Jet Airways ensured almost a total media blackout when little Aditya died on board an international flight. The mainstream media India approached and interviewed us for stories that never got aired or published. The parents decided to bury the grief in solitude and move on.

I guess for every Nadia Sulaiman or Heene family that manages to Wag the Dog, there are a hundreds of others with a story waiting to be told.