Impersonation on the Internet is creating dangerous distrust among major groups operating on the worldwide web. Now RTI activists bothered by this problem are taking the matter to the police
Impersonation is not a new thing. For ages, impersonators have been imitating or copying the behaviour or actions of others. However, when someone impersonates someone on the Internet and starts sending e-mails, by posting comments using the other person's name and e-mail ID, it becomes a serious matter.
Of late, many activists-especially those working on the right to information (RTI) platform-are finding that their e-mails and names are being used to send messages and post comments on the Internet. This is not only leading to misunderstanding but also creating hatred between the receiver and the sender whose name has been used. Impersonators are not even sparing deceased members and are using their names and e-mail IDs. Some RTI activists, including journalists, plan to file complaints with the cyber crime cell of the police.
One RTI activist alleged that a post on the RTI group contained an attachment that was a malware (a short name for malicious software, designed to secretly access a computer system without the owner's informed consent) or spyware. According to some members who opened the file, this may have been another attempt to keep track of the online activities of the activists in this group.
The use of spyware and the impersonation phenomena itself appears to be a battle for supremacy between some non-governmental organisations (NGOs). However, asking members of one group to subscribe mandatorily to other groups and making their e-mail IDs freely available to every member is not the way groups are operated on the Internet.
There is a specific group, HumJanenge-on Google-which has created a web of interconnected groups. Therefore, even if someone unsubscribes from the particular group, he/she continues to receive e-mails through the interlinked network of some real and some fake RTI groups.
What is more shocking, originally HumJanenge was on the Yahoo domain. Some time later, someone (he/she is still not ready to reveal the real ID, yet) set up a group on Google using the same name. This person, or group of persons acting in concert, decided to share member lists from the Yahoo group with the Google group. The reason? They claimed this was being done to create alternates or backups on Google just in case Yahoo decided to close the groups. This appears false, as neither Google nor Yahoo have said or hinted at closing any group or groups in their domain.
According to information available, when some members tried to log out from the groups, they found, to their shock, that they were being asked to subscribe to three or four other groups.
"Adversaries have been successful in using the 'divide and rule' policy. Those who want to curb the activities of RTI activists have been making these insertions deep and cleaving us, very successfully. In the past 15 days, I have received emails pertaining to accusations and counter accusations. Deliberate explanations and counter explanations. Where are we headed in this melee?" asked one member from an RTI group. Some possible solutions
The problem of impersonation on the Internet is somewhat difficult to deal with. It is compounded by the fact that it is not easy to identify people from the limited interaction on telephone and on the Internet and verification is dependent on the computer. But there are a few things those who are bothered by this problem can do, to deal with the issue, or at least minimise the bother.
For a start, people who have found instances of impersonation should approach the police and file a case with the cyber crime cell. Similarly, lodge a complaint against the owner or moderator of the group with the domain owner-Google, Yahoo, or whichever. Google and Yahoo have offices in India and the contact details are available on their sites.
In case one has no way of avoiding such messages or attachments coming to the group, it is necessary to install a good anti-virus, malware/spyware detector on your computer. Some effective anti-virus, malware/spyware removers are available on the Internet free of cost, besides the commonly used Norton and McAfee computer security systems. CNET.com lists the following facilities: Top free anti-virus software - AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011, Avast Free Antivirus; Top free malware/spyware remover: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Ad-Aware Free Internet Security. — Moneylife Digital Team
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