INNOVATIVE MEANS OF IMPERSONATION, CONNING, AND FAKE IDENTITIES ARE COMING TO THE FORE!

• Human ingenuity to showcase hitherto unheard-of ways and means to surprise fellow beings is not a new phenomenon at all. Since time immemorial, history has been replete with innumerable such occurrences, making us wonder in amazement as well as reflect with a sense of foreboding about how we never fail to invent novel ways to indulge in conning fellow beings. Is there a kick in indulging in this? With the advent of technology becoming ubiquitous, seamlessly merging into our day-to-day lives, dubious elements are always on the lookout for bettering established checks and balances. It’s a classic case of cat and mouse game at play between the law enforcement agencies and the conmen hell bent on showing who is better at besting the other.

PC: The Statesman

• However, what was reported recently in no less than the capital city of the most populous nation in the world beats everything. People must have felt flabbergasted at the turn of events when a fake embassy of a fake nation was unearthed. Yes, you read it right. The unearthing also mirrors what’s wrong with us and our government machinery in no uncertain terms. As we are aware, Hindustan, in some ways, is rightly termed as Fakeistan. Why? There are the standard fake iPhones and Guccis and Johnnie Walkers, forged Jamini Roys and Labubus. Then there are the more exotic fake GST notices and caste certificates. Not forgetting fake education qualification certificates prevalent so widely across the length and breadth of the country. The list is endless.

PC: India Today

• Most astonishingly, a certain Harsh Vardhan Jain has taken the game to the next level: Creating a fake nation, no less. Out of a standard Ghaziabad rented house, he ran a very freaky ‘West Arctic Embassy’. Until a UP police special task force busted it, this individual presented himself as the ambassador of Saborga, Poulvia, Lodonia, and other fictional micronations. The creativity of it all is really dazzling conmanship. As the saying goes, a good conman doesn’t steal our money but convinces us to give it to him. Yes, we have seen several such movies depicting how a stealthily deviant conman fooling humanity with acts of indigenously executed acts of wonderment. These conmen are not just dangerously charming but also ones who have cracked human psychology.

PC: The New Indian Express

• Of course, you must know people to fool others. No surprise then, the ‘West Arctic ambassador’ has set social media abuzz with diverse comments pouring in. Lodonia has acquired its own fan club. It sounds no less enchanting than Narnia, if you may. Invention is so consummate indeed. The moot point to ponder over here is why it took so long for our law enforcement agencies to call the bluff. Forged diplomatic passports and MEA stamps tell a bigger tale. It takes an STF to tell a real embassy from a fabricated one is most worrying. What was our supposedly alert security apparatus up to when the con ambassador was having unchecked run? This is a sheer case of a security lapse that made the hoax possible. The glaring security lacuna should be addressed now.