Woman falls prey to card activation fraud, loses Rs 3.7 lakh

As more people have started using smartphones, fraudsters have started adopting new tricks to siphon money from innocent people.

Representational Image.

KOCHI: As more people have started using smartphones, fraudsters have started adopting new tricks to siphon money from innocent people. The latest to fall in their snare is a Thrissur native woman who lost money from her bank account and credit card after being approached by an unknown person to activate her new credit card. Police have registered a case and started a probe into the incident.

It was on February 16 that the 43-year-old woman received a new SBI credit card. On the same day, she was contacted by a person claiming to be a bank official. He offered to help her activate her credit card.

“Unaware of such cheating, she revealed the credit card and bank account details to the person over the phone,” a police official said.

The accused later said that for completion of credit card activation and its usage, an application named QS Support has to be installed on the mobile phone. As directed, the victim too installed the app before she received messages that Rs 3.21 lakhs were debited from her bank account on seven transactions and Rs 48,000 taken from her credit card.

“The app which the complainant installed on her mobile phone was a remote access application. This allowed the fraudster to access the victim’s mobile phone. He obtained all the required passwords and OTPs to complete the transactions. Even though the victim approached the bank, they were helpless and advised her to lodge a police complaint,” the police official said.

However, the police are still puzzled about how the accused person learned that the victim had received a new credit card. Police suspect the victim might have searched for new credit cards on fake websites alerting fraudsters about a new prey. “The cyber fraudsters approaching people for credit card activation is a new method.

We suspect that no recent case of similar nature has been reported in Kerala in recent days. A probe is conducted based on the mobile phone from which the victim received the call and about bank accounts to which the amount was transferred from the victim’s account,” the police official said.

Iran official says schoolgirls poisoned in holy city

Since late November, hundreds of cases of respiratory poisoning have been reported among schoolgirls mainly in Qom, south of Tehran, with some needing hospital treatment.

For representational purposes

TEHRAN: An Iranian deputy minister on Sunday said "some people" were poisoning schoolgirls in the holy city of Qom with the aim of shutting down education for girls, state media reported.

Since late November, hundreds of cases of respiratory poisoning have been reported among schoolgirls mainly in Qom, south of Tehran, with some needing hospital treatment.

On Sunday the deputy health minister, Younes Panahi, implicitly confirmed the poisonings had been deliberate.

"After the poisoning of several students in Qom schools, it was found that some people wanted all schools, especially girls' schools, to be closed," the IRNA state news agency quoted Panahi as saying.

He did not elaborate. So far, there have been no arrests linked to the poisonings.

On February 14, parents of students who had been ill had gathered outside the city's governorate to "demand an explanation" from the authorities, IRNA reported.

The next day government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said the intelligence and education ministries were trying to find the cause of the poisonings.

Last week, Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri ordered a judicial probe into the incidents.

The poisonings come as Iran has been rocked by protests since the December 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini for an alleged violation of country's strict dress code for women.

Chennai Central becomes India’s first ‘silent’ railway station

Taking a cue from airports, the station is trading the omnipresent ‘voice’ for more inquiry booths and visual display boards.

Chennai Central becomes India’s first ‘silent’ railway station

CHENNAI: The 150-year-old Dr MGR Ramachandran Central railway station in Chennai went silent on Sunday, making it the first in India to do so, as it bid adieu to the public announcement system that has guided passengers to their trains for decades. Taking a cue from airports, the station is trading the omnipresent ‘voice’ for more inquiry booths and visual display boards.

In the order announcing the change, issued on Saturday by Southern railway general manager R N Singh, officials were told to ensure all visual display boards are in working condition and to deploy sufficient staff at inquiry booths for a smooth passenger experience.

Large digital screens displaying the arrival and departure of trains in Tamil, Hindi and English have been installed at all three entry points to the station, namely, EVR Periyar Salai (MTC bus stop), suburban terminus, and Wall Tax Road (gate no 5). Concourse areas have also been covered with 40-60 inch digital boards.

The PA system will continue for suburban trains. Mentioning that the move was undertaken on an “experimental basis”, an official spokesperson of the Chennai railway division said there will be no audio from advertisements as well. “Passenger information centres manned by railway staff will guide travellers,” he said.

Mixed response from passengers on ‘silent’ Central rly station

The station handles nearly 200 express trains, including 46 pairs of daily trains, and an average daily footfall of 5.3 lakh. The voice behind Tamil announcements is of Kavitha Murugesan, a dubbing artist and college lecturer based in Erode.

The public announcement system was used for disseminating information about train arrivals, departures, delays, and location of trains. It was proved effective during accidents and natural disasters, and for passengers with visual impairments. To aid the disabled, the station has now installed braille navigation maps at its main entrance. QR codes have also been pasted across the place for persons with disabilities to access a sign language video providing an overview of the station.

A railway official said additional infrastructural improvements will be taken up based on passengers’ experience. “As part of the station redevelopment, larger display boards will be put at the entrance. Inquiry counters will also be increased,” the official said.

S Vasanth Perumal, a resident of Salem, who boarded Coimbatore-bound Intercity Express at central station, told TNIE the absence of the announcements had hardly made a difference. “Even before listening to the PA system I would look up the train departure on display boards. Without the noise, the ambience here will see a change,” he said.

R Pandiyaraja, former member, Southern Railway Users’ Consultative Committee feared it is too early for ordinary passengers to follow boards and access the station without announcement. “Rail passengers cannot be equated with air passengers,” he said.

Braille maps, QR codes for disabled For disabled passengers, the station has installed braille navigation maps at its main entrance. QR codes are pasted across the station for persons with disabilities to access a sign language video of the station’s overview. Improvements will be based on passengers’ experience, said an official