After Poonam Pandey fakes death on internet, experts share fact-checking tricks

Coming back from the grave taking on someonersquos entire identity and cloning everything from facial features to voices What sounds like something right out of a scifi novel is now the reality we live with Influencer and model Poonam Pandeyrsquos recent death scare served as an apt reminder of how the best of us can fall prey to misinformation on the Internet The alarming reminder came right in time after a report by the World Economic Forum last month revealed that India ranks No 1 in facing the highest risk of misinformation and disinformation in the world Cyber security experts and investigators share how you can call a bluff the next time something sounds too good to be truePoonam Pandey in the video announcing her return Pic CourtesyInstagramPause to reflectIn an age where people hit the share button in the blink of an eye cybercrime investigator Ritesh Bhatia suggests taking a moment to practise a basic check called the POV check ldquoThe first step P is to pause Just like you would spend some time gauging the credibility of someone who knocks at your door pause to understand why a certain post showed up on your feedrdquo he sharesKalim AhmedKalim Ahmed digital investigator agrees ldquoItrsquos important to be aware of your own biases Sometimes social media can be an echo chamber If a post triggers an emotion in you thatrsquos your cue to sit down and dissect it before sharingrdquo he notes Bhatia tells us that the O stands for a zerotrust policy to be adopted before moving to V mdash verification ldquoIt is unfortunate but always wise to approach any post with suspicion If you spot something amiss itrsquos best to deem it untrue and ignore it if you do not have the time and resources to verify itrdquo he addsVerify like a proAhmed shares that the first step is to spot discrepancies between the context and the content He shares an example ldquoWe have been seeing a lot of videos around armed conflicts lately Take some time out to read about the geographic characteristics the signs and symbols used and the languages spoken No tool can be as useful as being informedrdquoSenior citizens must consult someone familiar with the Internet before clicking on suspicious linksThe investigator shares a peek into his process of reversechecking visual content ldquoYou can begin by taking screenshots of the picture you received or five clear frames from a video The next step is to upload these to reverseimage checking websitesrdquo he reveals While most of us are aware of Googlersquos reverse image search Ahmed suggests lesserknown tools like Baidu TinEye and Yandex that can crosscheck with a wider sample in some cases ldquoThe tool scans the internet for visually similar content You can scroll through the results to find the oldest mention and in most cases that will lead you to the true sourcerdquo he revealsHeads up from the expertsOver telephonic calls the experts warn us of the evolving and complex methodologies perpetrators have up their sleeves today Bhatia informs us of a growing trend of victims receiving messages from individuals posing as police or customs officers ldquoThe natural reaction of any lawabiding citizen driven by fear is to conform But one must remember that no government official will ever drop you a message and demand paymentsrdquoRitesh BhatiaAhmed points out how AI voicechanging tools can now be used to mimic the voice of a close contact of the victim ldquoYou might receive a voicenote tomorrow claiming your friend has been in an accident and requires money The speaker might even sound exactly like your friendrdquo The experts unanimously suggest a reallife two factor authentication ldquoCall them back on their personal number call mutual friends or family to verify if such claims are true Do not make decisions in hasterdquoThe way aheadIf the recent developments around Pandeyrsquos death scare reveal anything itrsquos that the best of us can fall prey to misinformation Nirali Bhatia cyber psychologist reveals why ldquoContent today is tailormade to evoke a sense of curiosity Flashy headlines gossipy taglines and clickbaity claims make it hard not to click onrdquo she sharesNirali BhatiaThe psychologist shares how individuals who fall for these scams and end up compromising their privacy and security must not hesitate while reaching out for help ldquoOne cannot shift the blame onto victims They need to be approached with empathy and guided through the concept of media literacy with some extent of handholding There is no shame in asking for help from someone who understands the Internet betterrdquo