The Mobile OTP invasion that has turned our world upside down

What is life these days without a mobile OTP? Book a gas cylinder and you will get an OTP on your mobile. Transferring funds from your bank account is possible only with an OTP on your mobile. Book a train ticket and you get an OTP.

As technology makes our life more complex, mobile OTP has infected our life like a virus. You keep looking at your mobile for that 4, 6 or 8-digit OTP without which a particular transaction can’t be completed. The pundits of the technology world tell us that doing any digital transaction needs an OTP for extra security.

There have been cases of online fraud recently, where people have lost money from their bank. The only thing which can save people from such fraudsters is an OTP. My advice to readers is that never share an OTP. In case someone calls you over the phone asking to share personal details along with an OTP you receive over the phone, just say no. The only last link which can save you from losing your hard-earned money to these fraudsters is an OTP.

The mobile OTP as a result has become a necessary evil without which you can’t survive today. Let’s use our power of imagination to see how a mobile OTP would have worked in historical times or the future. So just enjoy this one time story without a password.

A  Swayamvar in modern-days with a mobile OTP

Swayamvar was an ancient practice in India of choosing a husband from among a list of suitors, by a girl of marriageable age. Two very famous Swayamvars which we all can recall are:

The Swayamvar of Prithviraj Chauhan with Sanyogita, the daughter of Kannauj King Jayachand. Prithviraj Chauhan was a valiant king of the Chauhan dynasty who ruled over Northern India and defeated Muhammad Ghori 16 out of 17 times. King Jayachand had organised a swayamvar to get his daughter Sanyogita married to a Rajput King without inviting Prithviraj Chauhan due to enmity with him. The climax of the Swayamvar was that Sanyogita garlanded a statue of Prithviraj Chauhan. Prithviraj Chauhan, who was hiding behind the statue, emerged at that moment and took Sanyogita along with him on his horse.

The other famous swayamvar was of Lord Ram with Sita, daughter of King Janak where he lifted and broke Lord Shiva’s bow in the Swayamvar ceremony.

A Modern-day Swayamvar

Now imagine a modern-day Swayamvar. The Kings are seated and waiting for the princess. The princess is slightly delayed as she has still not come back from the beauty parlour. The father has already given the princess 6 missed calls as the guests have arrived for the ceremony. The Kings who have arrived are getting bored waiting for the princess. Few of them are surfing the net and checking their WhatsApp messages while few are reading news updates on coronavirus.

The princess finally arrives and the swayamvar ceremony starts. Instead of carrying a garland in her hands, the princess is carrying an iPhone-XI. She takes a round of the hall and looks at all the kings. Finally one of the kings gets an OTP on his mobile. He logs onto www.whowillbeluckytoday@swayamvaroftheprinces.com , keys in his OTP and vow gets an answer that says “YES”.

A Modern-day house

Let me take you through a house of a modern-day family of mom, dad, daughter, and son. Father is busy on the laptop with his office work. The daughter is busy watching a movie on Netflix. Son is listening to music on his Air Pods connected to his iPhone. Mom is the only one who is working in the kitchen making lunch. She calls her daughter and son to help her but without success as both are busy in their tech world.

Dad meanwhile checks with the spouse on what is special for lunch. Spouse asks him to wait. Soon all three – dad, daughter and son get an OTP on their mobile. They simply have to log onto www.whatsforlunchtoday@srivastavashouse.com and key in the OTP received on mobile. Voila, the entire lunch menu is there.

Peeli dal (Yellow lentil soup), karela ki sabzi (Bitter gourd vegetable), chapati (bread) and boondi ka raita (curd) is the menu for father. The daughter and son also log onto the site and key in the mobile OTP. Well, the menu for kids is interesting and not as bland as fathers. For them, the chapati has been replaced by parantha (Indian fried bread) and instead of karela, they have chicken curry.

Celebrating Valentine not with roses but with mobile OTP

It’s 14^th Feb and the guys are pretty excited. It’s a day when their financial outflow will be high that they don’t mind as the return on investment will be much higher. Dressed up in their best attire they are ready to team up with their beauty. But hey what’s this? The beauty already has got 4 more companions. Seems she is very much in demand.

The mobile OTP comes to the rescue. All the 5 guys get an OTP on their mobile. They log onto www.whowilltakemeoutforlunch@valentinebeauty.com , key-in their OTP and get to know instant results. 4 of the guys get “No” for an answer on the site while the 5^th one gets a “Yes” along with the venue address. However, the winner is still not able to smile properly. The reason being that the meeting venue is a fine-dine restaurant at a 5-star property.

Kidnapping in a tech world

The Kidnappers have become smart. No more phone calls asking for the ransom money. Once a victim has been kidnapped, his family gets a mobile OTP. They are supposed to log onto www.paytheransommoney@kidnappers.com. Once on the site, the victim’s family has to just type the OTP and they come to know about the amount of ransom money along with the drop location.

The kidnappers are not only smart but also cautious. They send the second OTP on the mobile. This time the family has to log onto www.dontcallthepolice@smartkidnappers.com. The family has to not only key-in the 2^nd OTP but also the PAN number so that the kidnappers can check the last 3 years IT-returns of the victim.

A mobile OTP to salvage the situation between a husband and a wife

An argument has just broken between the two early in the morning. The wife is complaining that the husband is coming late from the office every day and she can’t run the house as well as take care of the kids all by herself. The husband on the other hand is perplexed about what to do? His explanation that there is too much work in office falls on deaf ears. The argument turns ugly with accusations being leveled at all levels without any evidence. Even the parents are not left out.

The husband leaves for office. In the office, he cools down and realises his mistake. He calls his spouse but gets a very cold reply. By evening the spouse also cools down and sends a mobile OTP to her husband. The husband has to log onto www.howtopacifyspouse@angrywife.com. The husband is happy to get an OTP. Seems he can return home in a peaceful environment. He logs onto the site and feeds the OTP. After reading the answer he realises that he has to pay a heavy price. The message says “Call my mother and say sorry to her”.

Incidentally, the husband gets a second OTP on his mobile. The moment he keys in the 2^nd OTP thinking that this will be a “Sorry” message from the spouse, his phone gets hacked and the wife can read all his WhatsApp messages. So just remember all OTPs are not safe.

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