TOP 10 FRAUD SMS AND EMAILS OF 2010. INDIA CYBER CRIME REPORT

 As usual, year 2010 also has seen Nigerian fraudsters in full flow. Encouraged by their stupendous success in cheating mobile and internet users, Indians have also successfully indigenized their technology. Apart from deviant MBA students, Engineers and MCA graduates, even small time crooks are copying the “patented” Nigerian techniques with alarming ease, causing havoc among newbies to email and SMS scams. Complaints-India.com Report is based on the frequency of Fraud Emails and SMS received by the website users.

Number1. International Lottery Sweepstakes. “You Have Won Lottery”

Once someone replies, the fraudsters trap him by informing that Cheque has been sent and RBI, Diplomat etc will contact! The trapped fellow is forced to shell out lakhs as one fee or the other, till he gets wind of the fraud.

Number 2. Getting that Dream Job now is so easy!. “Videocon Direct Recruitment Offer”

The Crooks keep sending mass mails or SMS in waves, changing Company Names, Address and Account detail, often. Names of Videocon, Wipro, HCL, Maruti Suzuki, Skoda India, Toyota India, L&T, Bajaj, Tata Group, Volkswagen etc have all been used to promote the Fraud Job offer business of the criminal syndicates

Number 3. Fake Marketing Campaigns offering Free Items

The criminals use SMS for this fraud, extensively. SMS received states that the user has won some item as part of company marketing exercise during launch of new product Need to pay only service tax! Victims who respond are given bank account number to transfer money.

Number 4. Mobile Tower Installation Fraud

The innocuous looking ads declare that certain company is looking for sites to install Mobile Towers on behalf of telecom Companies and invites land /building owners to reply. To convince people, a website address is given to make the business look genuine.

Number 5. Work From Home Scams. Paid Survey, Form Filling, Mail Reading, Typing, Clicking etc

People get easily attracted to easy money making offers by working part time at home. The scamsters advertise in classified portals and news papers. The fact that people who respond forgets is that there is actually NO WORK. The intention is just to grab registration fees from victims

Number 6. Bank Security Upgrade Notice. Phone / SMS Phishing for Password

The user gets call /SMS purportedly from Security Department of the Bank or Customer Care stating that the Security system is being upgraded to ensure that third party transfer is secure.

Number 7. Foreign Job Offers. Foreign Fund Transfer. Nigerian Attack

Victims are asked to send Visa Fees, legal fees etc to account in India. The accounts are leased by Indian crooks to Nigerains for a fee. (Often 10% of money collected).

Number 8. Indian Crooks Using Nigerian Trick. “You have been selected for grant of Rs.85 Lakhs by Govt of India”

This is an indigenized fraud. The receiver is pleasantly surprised to note that he has been selected by Govt of India as one of the grantees of Rs.85Lakhs!

Number 9. Fake Online Shopping Sites / Online Classified Ads

While there are good number of genuine online shopping websites, there are numerous fake sites too. These fakes display a number of items. Visitors unknowingly place orders and pay by credit card. There will be no response to any mails or calls after payment

Number 10. Fraud Loan Offers by Classified Ads

The offer for extending lakhs at cheap interest rates traps many people. The criminals sets up temporary office in a town, publish loan scheme. The crooks operate for couple of months. Collects processing fee from many people and then will shut office and vanish. Simple strategy. But rakes in lakhs, in couple of months.

Detailed Report: http://www.complaints-india.com/article-top-10-SMS-and-EMAIL-scams-2010-10015.php                              

How to Protect Yourself From Phishing Attack?

Phishing:

Phishing is an attempt to steal sensitive personal and financial information of an internet user by sending him/her a fraud email which looks like a legitimate one. It’s a speculative activity since the Cyber Criminal behind the attempt will be sending thousands of emails by using bulk mailing facility, hoping that a few will be indeed foolish enough, to part with sensitive information.

Phishing? Not Me! I am a Smart Geek!

Hundreds of people across India, fall prey to Phishing attacks, everyday. Even IT employees who are supposed to be aware of Phishing techniques are trapped. So do not think that you are very smart and nothing would happen to you! The next one to stare at empty bank account, could be you with a fire spitting wife and wailing kids, at your back!

Steps to Protect Yourself:

1. Never click link in any mail which prompt you to login, UNLESS you yourself had actually requested for a password change or some change in your account. If you are worried after receiving any mail which says your account has been compromised or you need to update account details etc, DO NOT click link in the mail, even if you think its legitimate. Your thoughts could be smudged by tiredness or a drink too many!

2. Type the actual website URL, login and check whether there is any message in your account. Usually there will be no message. The mail received would have been just a Phishing attempt. There you are! That is how we display smartness!

 3. Remember that “From Mail ID” that appears in the mail received by you, can be genuine mail ID. (this does not mean that you have received genuine mail) Its possible for Cyber Criminals to send mails which show “From Mail ID” as genuine mail ID. For example, you may receive mail from customercare@icicibank.com asking to click a link in the mail and login. Sounds Tricky? Phishing Guys are also Smart!

4. Remember that the Link could also be correct and read as (for example): http://www.icicibank.com/safe-online-banking/safe-online-banking.html which is genuine ICICI Bank Web Page.

BUT when you click the link, you will be taken to a page which looks exactly like ICICI Bank webpage, but the URL of that page would have very minor difference which most people would not notice.

For Example, on Click of above link, you could be taken to: http://www.iciclbank.com/safe-online-banking/safe-online-banking.html Look hard….. the spelling of icicibank is changed to iciclbank.

That means you are not at ICICI Bank website but at a fraud website launched by criminals.

In effect, users may not be able to detect that they are on a spoofed website and not on the genuine website. So naturally, the user will login using his ICICI Bank login ID and Password. Immediately, the information is saved by the criminals in their database. They would then login at your bank account and change your mobile Number etc, add third party accounts and transfer money out!

 OOPS! Just a small error from your side and you could end up with Zero Balance. And you would not even know, since the Bank Alerts will go to the Cyber Criminal’s mobile number not yours

 5. Phishing Attack With Phone Fun thrown in! Instead of clicking link, the Phishing mail could ask you to call Customer Care IMMEDIATELY! They may even warn that if you do not call within 48 hours, your account will be closed permanently. The other end will be a call center, set up specially for you, to fraudulently verify your account by asking personal identification questions like birth date, mother’s name etc. So do NOT dust your ass and pick up the phone! Instead, check the actual Customer Care Numbers from the genuine website and delete the Phishing Mail.

6. Phishing Attack can be targeted to any of your internet accounts. Remember that a Phishing attack can target any of your internet accounts not just bank accounts, including your accounts for Email, Ebay, Paypal, any Shopping Website, Facebook etc any and all. So be careful with all your accounts. Keep them in tight custody!

7. Moral of the Story! Whenever you get an email prompting you to check / change any of your internet accounts, resist the urge to click the link in the email. Instead, type the actual URL of website and check your account. Offcourse take a few seconds to delete the Phishing Mail.

You could also be kind enough to alert others, by publishing content of the fraud email at http://www.complaints-india.com That would do you a world of good!

After all, consumers have to protect themselves by sharing information about Phishing attacks!

“Work from Home” Fraud Job Offers Traps Hundereds of People Every Day in India

 “Work From  Home”  is  a favorite hoax of Scammers. They  set up  websites offering jobs for working from home.  The websites lists different type of  “Work From Home”  jobs including Adposting, Adviweing, Clicking, Survey, Cut and Paste job, Typing from PDF file etc which  are all 100% FRAUD with no chance for trapped people, to complain and get back money.

All activities are just nothing but rubbish.  The websites will talk about their association  with some foreign firms who need work to be done and these guys are so benevolent that they pass on the HIGH PAYING jobs to gullible public. The fact is that they would  not  have received any work   from anyone, to execute.  The work given to a subscriber is nothing but a ploy to trap people into paying subscription fee! 

Those who fall for the “Work From Home” job offers are being very foolish. The Scammers publish Classified Ads in local news papers and classified websites  to trap victims. Usually the technical / language skills  of people who apply for the jobs will be woeful. Will any genuine foreign company want such low quality, un-supervised work done? Defenitely not.

The “Work From Home” Scams   traps hundreds of people in India, every day. Once Subscription Fee is paid, there will be either  no response from the Advertiser or they will give such boorish  “work” which no one can finish and reach target.

If anyone works like a donkey and reaches target, he would have become real donkey,  since the company is fake,  no one wants the work that has been done, including the people who gave the work!   They will either not reply or say your work is rejected, since there are  errors.  So you get nothing!   There  will be no communication after all the hard work and people who pay subscription fees and work  after that  become real big fools.

Please note that these fraud companies use affiliates.   The   company will sign up affiliates who  are offered money  for refering  others for subscription.   The affiliates  who  sign  up,  will  post classified ads all over the internet, hoping to make money. They will stop  after finding out that they too have been cheated.Here are  Work From Home Fraud Companies/ Websites  which are recently reported by scam victims.   

365jobs4U  -   www. 365JOBS4U.com

A Plus Enterprises

Aan Soft    -   www. Aansoft.com

Ad Pulse   -  www. Adpluse4U.com

Admonish Infotect

Avenue Infotech

Chennai Online Jobs  -  www. chennaionlinejobs.in

Click For Task  -  www. click4task.com

Click Internet Jobs  -  www. Clickinternetjobs.com

Earn Part Time Jobs -   www. earnparttimejobs.com

EIFH GLOBALBIZ

Europay Inc

ExpertInn  -  www. expertinn.com

Fast Opportunities  -  www. fastopportunities.com

GIMPL  www. gimpl.in

G jobs Data Service  -  www. gjobsdataservice.com

Gaga Bux   – http:// gagabux.com

Global Data Service  – www. gjobsdataservice.com

Global Info Service and Many More………………………

For More info: Visit  http://www.complaints-india.com

Recognize Fake Recruitment Offers & Email Scams

Recruitment Scam is a thriving Cyber Crime Industry which is said to have  swept  away Rs. 120 Crore  from Indians last year. Criminals take advantage of eagerness of jobseekers to find a cushier job with better pay package, than their own.

 The spammers could use names of well known companies and even design mail ids or URLs similar to theirs.   The Spam may originate from India or abroad. It can be from Nigeria but offer may look like coming from US or UK.

 A) How do one Recognize Recruitment Scam Mail?

 Step 1.   By Observing  Content of Mail

 IF  you have not applied for the job offered  and email says you have been selected or short listed, simply press DELETE button

 IF the mail asks for payment of any money for any reason, simply press DELETE button

 IF the unsolicited mail asks for personal information in the first mail itself for example your Mobile Number, simply press DELETE button

 IF the mail instructs candidate to reply   to a mail ID which is different from the mail ID, from which the Job Offer was received, simply press DELETE button

 Step 2.  By Observing  Email Id.

 If we observe the Mail ID from which mail  has arrived,  it could even be the actual mail ID of a reputed company.  Its possible to force   “From Mail ID”  as any mail Id, that a person wants.   This means one could receive an  email from hr@infosys.com which was actually sent by cyber thieves and not by  Infosys.   This is a   technique called  “email spoofing” and is widely adopted by Spammers.

 But when  “Reply” button is clicked, the mail id  will be  a Hotmail, Gmail or such other accounts.   Sometimes the “TO”  mail ID  will be  deceptively similar to the actual mail ID of the Reputed Company.   

  A company mail ID will end with companyname.com, or companyname.in etc Since Criminals can not use the  mail Id of the Company which they are spoofing,  to receive mails, in order to deceive candidates,  they  will create mailid starting with   company name.  

 For example, mail is received from     hr@infosys.com  offering job for software engineers. 

 But when “Reply” button  is clicked,   the “To  mail Id”  is  observed to be  hr.infosys@hotmail.com .   This is a Hotmail account created by criminals starting with     hr.infosys@  to make it look like genuine mail Id of the company.

 Or the Spammers  will register a  website URL similar to the reputed company  (for example www.info-sys.com ). In this case, the reply email id will be hr.infosys@info-sys.com,    hr@info-sys.com   or something similar to this ending with info-sys.com

 Many jobseekers may fail to see the deception and start mailing and interacting with the cyber criminal gang, all the while presuming that they are corresponding with Infosys executives!

  Step 3.   Do Background Check

Jobseekers should never ever proceed with any employment offer without checking background of the sender on the internet. If the email received is a fraud, then someone would have posted comments or an article on the matter.

 For example, if   Recruitment mail   from “GCI Enterprises” is received, search immediately on Google for “GCI Enterprises Complaints” .   This should throw up enough results to alert a person, about the scam.

 Step 4.   Unable to Decide Even After above Verifications?

 Read More.  Complete Article at:  http://www.complaints-india.com/article-identify-fraud-recruitment-mails-10011.php

 

GCI Enterprises, Sansui Technologies – Recruitment Scam Companies. Take Care!

Scamsters   always look for weak targets to trap and defraud them.  Job seekers as a community, suffers   from eagerness to land a better job with better pay. It’s a very large community to boot  with lakhs of people on the look out, every day, to  switch  jobs. Fake recruiters are having a ball right now, dangling plump offers and hooking hundreds!

Its most unfortunate that  people who apply for jobs expecting a larger bank balance, find their hard earned savings diminished, instead. Last 3 months have seen hectic activity  in the cyberspace by   so called companies “GCI Enterprises”   and “Sansui Technologies”.

While “GCI Enterprises” is most likely a newly coined name, fraudsters behind “Sansui Technologies” are  impersonating  the electronics company Sansui. The Modus Operandi is similar. Send out mass mails asking recipient to apply for job with fancy salaries. Once you reply, you will get response that you have bean  selected and need to attend for interview and a  certain fee is to be transferred to designated company account. 

There are phone numbers to call and people to answer. But if smart guys ask probing questions,  like where the office address is and whether a relative can come and handover cheque, the call will be disconnected.   There are no jobs for troublesome guys here!

You may wonder whether there could be people in reality, to fall for this type of scams. How could any one get job offer without applying? And why should anyone pay charges to attend interview? Well..these are valid, legitimate questions but raised with the knowledge of the background….that of fraud. 

However, a small percentage of people who are unaware of the fraud, could consider the offers as genuine. The concept behind the scam is that people whose profile do not match the job offered will consider the mail as a matter of mistaken identity and ignore.   Those who match the profile would ALSO  consider the mail as a matter of mistaken identity but could proceed, internally happy, that the offers  have landed in their lap,  instead of the persons  to whom  they were  actually intended!   Damn lucky!

 

Its very easy in India to cheat. Open a bank account in some  company name with forged papers. Receive payments for 2 or 3 months and then vanish. Considering the mass-market reach, “Sansui Technologies”  must be easily getting at least 10 transfers per day. That is a cool Rs.18 Lakhs revenue per month, for the crooks, while cyber cell and other policing departments turn a blind eye to complaints. These “companies” also  brazenly publish news paper ads, which shows how easy its to get away with crime, in India.

Incidentally, we may also feel that the Lottery Jackpot mails rarely find victims. Read the story of Ms. Preeti Bala who transferred Rs.18500 and was on the verge of transferring Rs.48,350 more….

Read More at:  http://www.complaints-india.com/article-gci-enterprises-sansui-technologies-10010.php

Engineers Corner 95% of Seats at Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad

India’s premier management institute, IIM Ahmedabad, has seen the dominance of engineering students increasing from 91% to 95% this year in its flagship post-graduate management programme. IIMs have been trying hard to achieve a good mix of students from various streams but to no avail.

Only one student from the arts background has made it to IIM-A. Nine students are from the commerce background. 61% of the total batch have prior work experience

The number of girl students fell from 19% to 11% this year.
.
The admission committee did not have much of a choice, given that only engineers scored well in the first round of selection based on the Common Admission Test and educational background. There was only a limited pool of candidates from arts and commerce backgrounds making it to the first round. Though IIM-A tried to include several combinations during the interview, engineers scored high.

Source: Management and Engineering Jobs  (http://www.resumes-india.com)

Surge in Internet Usage Propels India to 5th in Exposure to Malware – Symantec

The surge in Internet usage in India  was up  by 20 per cent last year. This  was accompanied by an increase in exposure to malicious activity, moving India from the 11th place in the global ranking in 2008 to 5th place in 2009. India accounted for 15 per cent of all malicious activity in the Asia-Pacific-Japan (APJ) region, an increase from 10 per cent in 2008, says Symantec Corporation’s latest Internet Security Threat Report. Nineteen per cent of attacks targeting India originated in India itself in 2009, indicating the rise of India as a country of origin and a target for more sophisticated attacks according to Symantec India.

The report said that emerging economies such as India, Brazil, Poland, with growing broadband infrastructures, would account for ever-increasing proportions of attacks within specific categories of malware. India, for instance, was ranked very high for Zeus infections. Zeus is a $700 malware attack kit available for sale in the thriving $276mn underground economy that makes information theft easier for cyber criminals. Such kits allow even unskilled attackers to break into online crimes. More alarmingly, malware available in the market is  threatening to overtake that of genuine software

As Web attacks continue to grow unabated, the number of attacks out of India too has increased. In fact, the Symantec report says India ranks second in the APJ region for the number of Web attacks, accounting for 16 per cent in the region —a significant increase from the previous reporting period when India accounted for less than 1 per cent of the attacks. India also ranks second globally for malicious code, with only the US accounting for more malicious code than India.
One per cent of the world phishing hosts   and 7 per cent of the regional phishing hosts were in India. The exploding internet usage have brought in millions of new users with many falling for phishing attacks as reported by Complaints India – Online Scam Complaints

India saw an average of 788 bots per day during 2009. There were 62,623 bot-infected computers observed in the country, with Mumbai figuring at the top with 50 per cent, followed by Delhi at 13 per cent and Hyderabad at 7 per cent.
 India is the third highest spam-originating country in the world, contributing 4 per cent to the worldwide spam volumes. However, India ranked first in the APJ region, contributing 21 per cent to the regional total.

 http://www.complaints-india.com/Online-Scam-Complaints/

Modi Opens IPL Can of Worms! Will the Allegations Stick to IPL and Modi?

It all started with Shashi Tharoor and his girl friend (Sunada Pushkar) when Modi laid bare Kochi Franchisees Share Holding Pattern.  Ms. Pushkar has offered to let go of her seat equity and Tharoor lost his job. Once the Govt. put IT sleuths on Modi’s trail, his detractors who were overawed by the clout he had managed to generate, grabbed the  opportunity  to hit back, by laying bare his wheeling and dealings.

Its common knowledge that everyone in India looks to make a fast buck under-hand. Including those who level allegations. Neither politicians, taxmen or those from media can claim to be angels.  As  long as the curtain is down all are happy with “giving and taking”! 

Unfortunately, Modi has unwittingly raised the curtain, letting all and sundry to have a ball on the stage!  So what are the charges and allegations currently floating around? Here they are,  for a quick read!

• Were the Bids for IPL Franchisees   rigged in 2008 and the rigging allowed Modi’s relatives  to own Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, both of which were grabbed at very low price compared to other teams?
• Modi’s brother-in-law Suresh Chellaram is the largest stake holder in  Rajasthan Royals with whopping 44.15%

·         Mohit Burman who co-owns Kings XI Punjab is brother of   Modi’s stepson-in-law Gaurav Burman 

• How did IPL/BCCI’s lucrative contract for digital media distribution to “Live Current Media” go to GCV and  eventually ended up with GCV Mauritius which is run by none other than Gaurav Burman!  
• How come Akash   Aurora,  a very close friend of  Modi,  manage to get a stake  in Kings XI Punjab.  
• How could Akash Aurora mange to get into  “Live Current Media”  through his firm Netlinkblue and form GCV?
• How could Modi object to Ms. Sunanda’s  presence in Kochi team  when he could brush aside allegations of his relatives getting in by statements like “They are all businessmen and they sensed a business opportunity in the  IPL.” And “There is no direct link to prove that I have a vested interest in protecting my son-in-law’s interests. What can I do if my son-in-law is a director of a company?”   Obviously, its all fine if relative involved are  that of Mr. Modi?  
• Who pocketed the $80Million(~360Crores)   commission paid by MSM to WSG after Modi brokered out of court settlement regarding TV and broadcast rights? Did not the money flow  back  to Modi?
• What were the sources of funds raised by Franchisees? Were they converting slush black money into white? And was IPL a willing partner in crime?
• Has IPL/BCCI recorded all revenue and paid taxes on that?
• Were IPL contracts under-stated and hefty kick-backs routed to people involved?
• Are various contracts being placed on “friends and relatives” by sharing insider information including leaking of bid amounts
• Were the US$ 1 Billion Net Worth   and US$ 100 Million Bank Guarantee conditions for 2010 IPL Team bids, set to blank out other bidders and help  Modi’s  business friends Adani and Videocon?
• BCCI smelled a rat and diluted the conditions,   which resulted in Kochi and Sahara beating Adani and Videocon.  While, IPL got higher bids, was Modi bent upon trying to get at least one of Adani or Videocon into the IPL league by pushing out Kochi?
• Did Modi offer US$ 50 Million bribe  to Kochi Owners to quit the game?
• Who are Micheal Dalvi, & Jagdish Chandra Qatil   and what is their dealings with  Modi? (Rumors are flying thick about huge land deals Rajasthan) 
• What is the relation between IPL admin and a BPO outfit with strong underworld links and which is allegedly co-owned by a Pakistan national?
• Is there any truth in stories of  Team owners throwing matches?  (Its alleged that up to 300Crore had been offered by bookie syndicates to Team Owners)

 ……..  More to Come?!   View More at: Complaints India – Sport Complaints

Its Raining Jobs in India. Indian Companies Draw up Big Plans for Hiring in 2010

According to Global consulting firms E&Y & Kelly Services over 5,00,000 jobs are expected to be created in IT, telecom, banking and healthcare in India in 2010 -20111 period.

Health Care- 2.5 Lakh Jobs
IT & ITES – 1.5 Lakh Jobs
Telecom – 1.0 Lakh Jobs
Banking Sector -0.4 Lakh Jobs
Experts expect strong demand of jobs from FMCG, Education, Construction & Industry Sectors
According to a study by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), manufacturing sector alone is expected to create 28Million new jobs by 2015. So that is great news for all aspiring engineers and technicians!
The (Assocham) report projects manufacturing, textiles, food and beverages, transport equipment, metals, leather and machinery to contribute most to employment generation
Meanwhile, several IT Companies have announced recruitment plans for 2010 according to Employment Consultants “Resumes India”

Infosys – To Hire 30,000

TCS – To Hire 30,000

WIPRO – To Hire 7500 Freshers

Accenture – To Hire 8000

Satyam – To Hire 5000

IBM – To Hire 5000

Honeywell – To Hire 1000

(All the above Hiring news released till mid April 2010 by companies are available at: http://www.resumes-india.com/newsdetails.html )

With Indian Economy on the upswing and GDP expected to grow by 8.5 to 9%, there will be large job creation. The Indian Employment scene looks bullish and that should bring cheers to jobseekers across the country. Freshers too should get absorbed in large numbers across all educational fields.

ISRO burns US$75Million as India’s First Satellite Launch Vehicle with Indigenous Cryogenic Engine Disintegrates.

India’s effort to launch Geo Synchronous Launch Vehicle ( GSLV-D 3) with homegrown cryogenic engine, was undone by massive failure of the cryogenic engine. A successful mission would have would taken India into the elite club of space-faring nations comprising the United States, Russia, certain European countries, Japan and China who possess the cryogenic technology

The GSLV flight was to have placed the 2.2 Tonne advanced communication satellite GSAT-4, into Geo Transfer Orbit.

The 49-metre tall three-stage Geo Synchronous Launch Vehicle blasted off at 4.27pm at the end of a 29-hour countdown but minutes later, the cryogenic engine which was to fire and take control from the initial liquid propellant stage, failed to ignite, resulting in mission failure.

The space vehicle tumbled uncontrollably and disintegrated. Obviously, the mission achieved little, except to prove that ISRO has not been able to demonstrate advanced indigenous technologies though millions of dollars of tax payers money is being burned, every year, to support the hugely manned organization.

Within minutes of the historic failure and without even going into the reasons, ISRO had no qualm in claiming that it will be ready to test again within a year. ISRO had invested Rs.330 Crores (Approx US$ 75 Million) on the Project. Its not sure whether this includes the fat pay and allowances of the work force. Obviously, since the tax payers in India seldom ask questions, ISRO need not bother about fund requirement for the next adventure!

Incidentally Chandrayan1, the moon mission, had to be aborted several months in advance and it damaged the country’s space exploration program.

“The 100 million U.S. dollar moon mission survived for only 315days. It was scheduled for two years. It’s a great loss to India’s space explorations. The abandoning of the mission has dashed the country’s most ambitious effort in space explorations. It was a major boost to the country’s space program, particularly with India competing with Asian nations like China and Japan in this field,” said space analyst R.K. Roy.

Contrary to ISRO’s explanation that Chandrayaan’s orbit around the moon had been raised from 100km to 200km in May this year for a better view of the moon’s surface (sic), it was revealed later that this had to be done because of a miscalculation of the moon’s temperature that had led to faulty thermal protection and eventually the satellite could not be saved, and was virtually “fried” in space.

While critics even within ISRO, confirmed that the mission was a huge failure, the then chief of ISRO, Mr Madhavan Nair said it was a great success. “We could collect a large volume of data, including more than 70,000 images of the moon. In that sense, 95 percent of the objective was completed”. No wonder critics wondering how 95% of mission objectives could be completed with mission surviving less than half its intended life!

ISRO had tried to bask in the glory of American payload (moon Impact Probe) on the mission, finding water on Moon, claiming all over the place including the national television that Chandrayan found water on Moon! That was like driver of a truck claiming Nobel Prize since his truck had carried scientific instruments which was used in research.

ISRO can not brush aside failures (example: Loss of INSAT 4C and `strap-on’ fire mishap suffered by the GSLV D1), camouflaging them as mere technical hitches. The country needs valid answers for the string failures, which have burned millions of dollars. Govt. of India should not get carried away by the technical jargon mouthed by ISRO. It needs to make ISRO officers accountable for the failures.

Heads need to roll in ISRO.

Article: Citizen Complaints