Touts are sending messages to aspirants, 'selling' seats at management institutes in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. Experts say, it's just another case of personal data theft
Touts are sending messages to aspirants, 'selling' seats at management institutes in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. Experts say, it's just another case of personal data theft
Admission touts are making most of the telecom revolution.
They have joined the bandwagon of direct selling companies and customer care executives to ping you on your mobile phones with SMSes, offering seats in MBA institutes at Delhi, Pune and Mumbai at "very reasonable and affordable prices."
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Call for corruption: The message from an MBA admission tout |
One such message sent to Gaurav Kumar, a MBA aspirant reads: "Last few days left for securing confirm seats in Indian School of Business Management and Administration (ISBM), AICTE accredited and non-AICTE accredited courses, along with mass communication and media. Last date for registration is January 29 and exam is on February 6. Call me for getting seat in the merit list at reasonable and profitable rates. Offer is only valid for limited seats and profile of the student is also to be considered because of tough competition this year among the aspirants."
"I was surprised and was wondering how he managed to get my number. However, I played safe and didn't call up the number. I have read a lot about these things in newspaper," said Kumar.
When MiD DAY called up the number from which the message was sent, the person on the other side introduced himself as Harshvardhan from Pune and started giving details of various leading B-schools in Pune where he could book a seat for any candidate.
When asked if his reach is limited to Pune, he said, "He can also book seats at institutes situated in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Rates vary from institute to institute and we start our work only after we get some advance. We keep a track of admission dates for various institutes for various courses and as it comes closer, we send bulk messages so that the aspirants can make a choice."
On further query, the tout said it was from this year that he had started sending out messages. "There are many aspirants, who are ready to give donation but don't know where to go. Sending out messages helps us to market ourselves and get in touch with thousands of students seeking admission."
MiD DAY had carried a story on how escort agencies buy contact details of potential customers from the market and use to send out 700 to 1,000 SMSes in a day. As a result of the campaign the number of enquiries over the phone tripled within a week of sending the SMSes.
According to cyber security experts, the SMSes reveal the vulnerability of personal data.
Vivek Vohra, a Delhi-based cyber crime expert, said: "Telephone numbers are available on the Internet at very nominal rates. It is hard to catch the sender of an SMS as they can easily change the SIM of the mobile phone from which the message was sent. Moreover, they can use bulk SMS service, which helps them keep their identity a secret."
