Tech
Beware of WhatsApp’s friend in need scam! What is it and how to stay safe?
Scammers pose as a friend or family in the WhatsApp friend in need scam. They use stolen smartphones to send a message on WhatsApp requesting help to contacts saved on the phone.
We are not new to online scams. Scamsters don’t leave any chance to dupe people in any way. And now WhatsApp users are their target. The instant messaging app is the most used app in the world and that’s why scamsters have used this platform to cheat people with their tricks. So, the latest scam ‘friend in need’ has been doing rounds on the internet.
What is WhatsApp ‘Friend in Need’ scam?
Scammers pose as a friend or family in the WhatsApp ‘Friend in Need’ scam. The text message asks the victim to help them financially as soon as possible. Scamsters even ask the victims to share their personal information, money or a six-digit PIN number. Victims send money to the fraudster without realising it is not a friend or family member since they have no knowledge of who is sending messages. There appears to be no way to get the money back once it has been sent.
Who are the victims of this scam?
WhatsApp in the latest awareness campaign said that “If you receive a suspicious message… calling or requesting a voice note is the fastest and simplest way to check someone is who they say they are. A friend in need is a friend worth calling.”
According to the National Trading Standards, around 59% of WhatsApp users in the UK have received a similar message asking for help from their contacts. The message was in fact sent by the scammers.
Read Also: Taylor Lautner, who played Jacob Black in Twilight, gets engaged to Tay Dome; see pictures
How do scamsters contact you?
Fraudsters use stolen smartphones to send a message requesting help to contacts saved on the phone. Because the number is already recorded in the victims’ contact list, they send the money immediately after receiving the plea for help. If your friend has lost his phone, it is likely that thieves and fraudsters may use it to send concerned messages to his contacts.
How can you stay safe from such scams?
If you receive a text from a friend requesting money, instead of replying or giving the money immediately, call that person. Before responding to any such messages, always double-check the sources. Take note of the terminology used by the fraudster in such suspicious texts.
Tech
Apple fever grips New Delhi, Mumbai as customers line up at stores for latest model
Apple iPhone 15 had gone on pre order in India on September 15. The Company will start shipping the pre orders in India from today. There is a long queue of customers outside the Apple stores in New Delhi’s Saket and Mumbai’s BKC.
Apple’s much awaited iPhone 15 series went on sale in India on Friday, September 22 at 8am. The newest edition of the flagship phone series has finally landed in Indian stores for direct purchase. The phone was available for pre-order in several countries over the last week. The i Phone 15 series is available on Apple’s website and physical stores .
Apple iPhone 15 had gone on pre order in India on September 15. The Company will start shipping the pre orders in India from today. There is a long queue of customers outside the Apple stores in New Delhi’s Saket and Mumbai’s BKC. Customers rushed to the Apple stores across the two cities to get a feel of the new series. The lucky ones managed to purchase their new iPhone 15. The craze for the much awaited i Phone in Apple’s performance in the country.
Apple’s strong performance in India is due to a significant increase in the company’s production of the iPhone Series. The production is facilitated by its contract manufacturers Pegatron, Wistron and Foxconn. The sale of the iPhone 15 series has already begun today across 40 nations. Apple fans in Vietnam, Turkey, Malaysia, Macao and 17 other nations will have to be patient buy the new iphone 15. As the iPhone wiil start sale in these countries on September 29.
iPhone 15: Features and prices
Apple’s flagship product comes in four versions iPhone 15Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 plus, and iPhone 15. iPhone 15 ProMax is available in 3 storage capacities of 512 GB, 256GB, 128GB. The iPhone 15 Pro(128Gb) begins at Rs 1,34,900 while iPhone 15 ProMax with 256 GB will start at Rs1,59,900. iPhone 15 plus begins at Rs 89,900. The 128GB base storage will start from Rs 79,900. The series is available in five colours black, blue, green, yellow and pink.
Tech
Realme C51 smartphone with 50MP camera launched, Checkout features here
The Realme C51 lacks 5G, though it comes with loads of useful features to attract a wide range of customers.
Realme C51 is priced under Rs 10,000. The smartphone features 6.7 inch IPS LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate and 33W fast charging. The company is also boasting the phone’s sleek design (7.99mm), which is fairly uncommon among competitors in this range. Realme is already selling Realme C55 and Realme C53 in India under the sub Rs 15000 category.
The Realme C51 lacks 5G, though it comes with loads of useful features to attract a wide range of customers. It sports a 90Hz 6.74 inch display with a screen to body ratio 90.3 percent and upto 560 nits brightness. Additionally it comes with the mini capsule feature which was first introduced in the Realme C55. It functions similarly to Apple’s Dynamic Island notch that changes size based on notifications.
The Realme C51 draws power from an octa-core Unisoc T612 Soc and a 5000 mAh battery. It includes a 50 megapixel primary AI camera. The camera app offers features such as portrait mode, beauty mode, Bokeh effect control, Filters, Face recognition and HDR. The Realme C51 also has a 5MP selfie camera with F/1.8 aperture and 5P lens.
Realme C53 also debuted in India recently. It features a 108 megapixel camera and it costs Rs 11000. The base model comes with 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage and is priced at Rs 9,999. There is also a variant with 6GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage which is priced at Rs10,999. It draws power from Unisoc T612 Soc and a 5000mAh battery. On the software side, the Realme C53 runs on Realme UI T edition based on Android 13. Real me will soon refresh its Narzo series as well. It will launch Realme Narzo 60X 5G on September 6. The company may also launch some more products.
India News
Aditya L1 mission: Countdown for ISRO’s Solar mission starts today; check launch time and key objectives
ISRO Chief S Somanath said the space agency was preparing for the launch and the countdown for Aditya L1 will begin today.
After the groundbreaking success of India’s moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, ISRO is gearing up for another mission but this time to the Sun. The India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch its first space-based solar mission Aditya L1 on Friday. The launch is scheduled to take place on September 2 at 11:50 a.m. from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.
ISRO Chief S Somanath said the space agency was preparing for the launch and the countdown for Aditya L1 will begin today. He said that they were just getting ready for the launch. The rocket and satellite are ready and they have completed the rehearsal for the launch.
Adiya-L1 spacecraft will provide remote observations of the solar corona and in situ observations of the solar wind at L1, the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point. The L1 point is located about 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth.
Exceptionally, this will be India’s first space mission dedicated to observations of the Sun to be launched by the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency.
The ISRO team is ready for the launch, Somnath told the reporters. He said that the rocket, as well as the satellite, are ready with the launch also completed. The Indian space agency has commenced the mission’s countdown on Friday.
Aditya L1 will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point (L1) of the Sun-Earth system. A satellite that is placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the advantage of viewing the Sun continuously without any occultation/eclipses. This provides a greater advantage of observing solar activities and their effect on space weather in real time.
The location shall be a balancing point of the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Earth. The position where the two gravitational forces cancel out each other allows objects to stay at a fixed position, helping in the reduction of the use of fuel by the spacecraft.
The first Indian space mission to study the sun will carry payloads expected to provide crucial information to understand the problem of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities, and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather, propagation of particle and fields, etc.
