If you don’t have a profile at a social networking website, there is  a  risk that some one will create a fake profile. If you have one, it could be hacked or misused.

Not all Indian Paypal account holders have received this mail . Initially many thought it was a phishing email, but later Paypal has confirmed that the email is genuine. Also Gmail seems to have flagged the email as spam.  They have also not specified a date from which these rules / restrictions will come into effect.

The biggest restriction is:
• Any proceeds or earnings received into your PayPal account from the export of goods and services may only be withdrawn to your bank account in India. This received amount cannot be reused for making purchases.

The main disadvantage of this rule is that a Paypal account holder will lose money in transaction fees – when you withdraw to your Indian bank account in Indian Rupees, you lose 2.5-3% in currency conversion fees and when you again pay through credit card, the credit card company will charge up to 5% as currency conversion fees for converting the Indian Rupees back to US Dollars. Also many people in India avoid getting a credit card, since many Indian credit card issuers are notorious for their poor service, inaccurate billing and hiring the services of questionable collection agents. 

Paypal checks are sent by ordinary post and take up to month to delivered. The status of bank withdrawals of many Indian account holders on or after 7 April 2010 is shown as pending. Of all the online payment processors, Paypal seems to most regulated in India because it has the largest number of users in India and uses NEFT.

Update 14 April, 2010  : There seems to be a problem with Paypal withdrawals to bank accounts in India on 7 , 8, 9 April, 2010  and their status is still shown as pending.  Withdrawals on 10 April 2010 have been credited to the bank account . Some users have requested cancellation of the pending withdrawal, but they may incur a foreign currency losss and it is not clear whether the  forex loss will be credited back to the account

It also shows that selling any digital product online to consumers will be difficult in India,  it will be shared for free online. 

Rajshri Films  web venture is given extensive coverage in the online blogs, but the numbers paint a different picture.
Rajjat’s strategy is to support free views with advertising, and charge users $9.99 to buy newly released movies ($4.99 for older releases). Still, Rajjat’s paid-for content has precious few takers—no more than 1,000 a month, he confesses, and mainly NRIs.

There are many smaller companies which have better revenues.  If  you are not compensated fairly  for your efforts, you are likely to look out for other options.

Asian Food Worker has some interesting insights into the culture of intimidation and harassment of certain companies.

Victorian police chief Simon Overland has advised Indian students in Australia to keep a low profile and “try to look as poor as you can”

There are several advantages of looking poor

• Fewer people are jealous,  so less attacks
• You don’t attract gold diggers , the kind who will after becoming “friends” say -  we have an outstanding credit card bill,  can you pay it off.
• People let their guard down  and show their true character – after all very few bother to be nice to a poor person.
• People think you are stupid,  so they lie to you and foolishly try to cheat you.
• People underestimate you, so do not  prepare well when they attack you professionally or in business.
• Looking  poor is low maintenance,  a less expensive lifestyle option

Rs 86000 stolen from ICICI bank account through mobile banking.
From:http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleImage.aspx?article=12_12_2009_001_029&mode=1

Mobile phones are not secure, I have received strange SMSes from JustDial and DNA ,  better to be low tech and safe.

Related : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/LATEST-NEWS/Rs-500cr-land-row-Builder-hacks-into-partners-email/articleshow/5260031.cms

Federal law (See 18 U.S.C. § 2706) requires law enforcement to reimburse providers like Yahoo! for costs incurred responding to subpoena requests, court orders, or search warrants.

• Basic subscriber records: approx. $20 for the first ID, $10 per ID thereafter
• Basic Group Information (including information about moderators): approx. $20 for a group with a single moderator
• Contents of subscriber accounts, including email: approx. $30-$40 per user
• Contents of Groups: approx. $40 – $80 per group

Yahoo is not the only company indulging in these activities.  This is the reason having a personal profile on any kind of networking website like Facebook, Orkut or Linkedin is risky,  you never know how it will be used or misused.  Better to spend a little money and get  your own website.

Even if Rs 3 is wrongly deducted , you can hope to get it back in India from a well run company,  but outside India, you are unlikely to be treated fairly and decisions are taken unilaterally. Their lawyers  will claim to have made payment, but will not be able to provide any supporting evidence.

If  you are dealing with a government organization,  you can use the

Right to Information Act

It takes time, but you will get the information you need.

http://www.anonic.org/online-security.html

http://www.kidmercuryblog.com/t1659/

Many of the influential bloggers and media persons are not as independent as most people think, they are controlled using various methods.