E-Paper
Panic Thursday as pop-ups provoke Punekars’ worst fears
It was only after the cybercrime department clarified that the messages had been sent to the citizens to alert them about the heavy rain and flooding that a semblance of serenity returned
Punekars panicked on Thursday as jarring pop-up messages hit scores of mobile phones across the city at around 9.30 am and continued late into the evening, leading most to believe that it was a scam attack or emergency of some sort. It was only after the cybercrime department clarified that the messages had been sent to the citizens to alert them about the heavy rain and flooding that a semblance of serenity returned.
Most mobile users in the city received a pop-up notification, “Emergency Alert: Severe” along with text stating, “It is a test alert from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Govt. of India”. The message was circulated both in English and Marathi. A sense of panic gripped Punekars as a majority of them had not the faintest idea about these pop-ups and their intent. Some thought it was a scam attack while others thought their worse fears were about to come true.
Rattled, the city residents began searching for and tweeting about pop-ups on social media. So much so that the cybercrime department had to step in to soothe frayed nerves and reassure the citizens that the messages were no more than flood/rain alerts and certainly no cause for concern.
Ali Mashti, who runs the popular Café India at NIBM road, received a pop-up early in the morning. “The sound is similar to the cockpit emergency warning. Brought back old memories,” he tweeted.
One Sarfaraz tweeted, “Just now, all phones at home started buzzing. Gave a feel of armageddon. Found out it was an emergency alert from the Department of Telecommunications (DOT). What is the emergency?”
Another user, Anvesh Samrit, tweeted, “Received this pop-up. Not only me but my roommate also received this. Can anyone explain what is this?”
While SP cybercrime Sanjay Shintre said, “There is no need to fear as the pop-up message has been sent by various telecom companies to warn citizens about heavy rains. There is no need to worry or panic.”
