Happy Diwali in advance! But be careful of Diwali shopping, especially if you’re shopping online. Vijay Sales allegedly compromised, super administrator access and millions of records offered for sale. An actor using the handle “shinymontanna” is selling alleged super administrator access to the internal systems of Vijay Sales, a major Indian electronics retailer, for $25,000.

Speaking of Fraud…

The Supreme Court has asked the RBI to ensure banks compensate victims if their negligence contributes to the fraud. The compensation should be at least equal to the amount lost.

The Court has also called for suspicious transactions to be flagged, unusual transfers to be temporarily suspended and customers verified before money is transferred. The RBI’s proposed rules are expected by 30 November 2026, and compensation will depend on whether the bank’s negligence is established.

Until then, remember: No police officer or investigating agency can arrest you over a phone or video call. If someone threatens you with arrest and demands money, disconnect immediately. Never transfer money out of fear.

Lost money to a cyber scam? Call 1930 or report it at cybercrime.gov.in.

Headlines

Deepinder Goyal’s new wearable startup – Temple – has opened pre-orders via its app and website. Deliveries are expected to take 3 months or more. Price starting 85,000/- and has six colour options.

I’ll admit, I feel ugh because it’s from Deepinder Goyal. But this is a new form factor. And doesn’t look like it’s overpromising – it just says that it measures certain wellness indicators like cerebral blood flow and oxygenation, and calculates an ‘entropy’ score from 1 to 250. There is a risk of data fatigue though.

Other headlines:

• Walmart probes Flipkart employees over alleged kickbacks amounting to 150 crores, according to a whistleblower report. Specifically, the report says that Flipkart employees are taking kickbacks from vendors for *ahem* preferential treatment. Let’s not forget that Walmart is the “chief backer” of Flipkart, which is another way of saying parent company.
• Binance is hit by a massive $6.3B crypto breach, and suspends withdrawals in the interim. Before that, the ED has launched investigations into alleged violations of FEMA involving two crypto platforms, specifically related to cross border crypto transfers. These two pieces of news are unrelated (maybe).
• MeitY has floated draft rules to allow AI companies and startups access large scale India-specific datasets, which protecting citizen’s privacy. I have a lot of feelings about this. Chief of which being, it’s too late.
• Pixxel – the space tech “soonicorn” – has dismissed questions over the startup’s Indian ownership and control, following the launch of their US subsidiary Pixxel Federal. Okay, sure.

Book Recommendations:

Since this is the last episode before Diwali – and I’m only recommending books till Diwali – let me recommend three more:

• Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini. Yes, the author of heart-wrenching instant classics like the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns is back!
• Normal People by Sally Rooney. How have I not read Sally Rooney before?
• The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali. Get your tissue box and spare tissue box ready.