Though most corporations claim not to disclose or sell user information to third parties, the reality is quite the opposite.

During the registration process in some recent dealings with a major bank in India, I ended up giving a relative’s cell phone number as my contact number because I was about to travel abroad for a few months. I would normally never give out this number, and I clearly remember only ever giving it away once, on this occasion to the bank.

A few days later my relative received an SMS message on his cell phone, but addressed to me. I was informed that I had won thousands of dollars in prize money, and was asked to register on their website with my bank details to claim the prize.

It set me thinking about how this could happen. Did the bank sell my information on to someone? OR, as is more likely, was my information stolen from their database, and then sold?

I am not sure what happened, but I know one thing for sure: I am a victim.

As Professor Ian Angell so rightly says “Be afraid, be very afraid”.