Former NDTV Anchor Nidhi Razdan Didn’t Get Job Offer From Harvard University, Files Police Complaint Against ‘Phishing Attack’

Shail Shukla
New Delhi, January 15, 2021: Former NDTV anchor Nidhi Razdan made a shocking revelation today, through her Twitter post. Nidhi, who announced her job at Harvard University six months ago, found it a scam and has called it a phishing attack.

She has alleged that the perpetrators of this attack used clever forgeries and misrepresentations to obtain access to her data and communications.

Phishing is a social engineering attack. It is used to steal user data, including login credentials and credit card numbers. The attacker disguises itself as a trusted entity and deceives a victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message to get access to the data.

In a note tweeted by her, she states, “I got an offer from Harvard University for Associate Professor of Journalism in June 2020 and was ready to join the University in September. However, I was informed that the classes would commence in January 2021. Along with these delays, I noticed several administrative anomalies in the process being described to me.”

She further added, “At first, I had dismissed these anomalies as being reflective of the new normal being dictated by the pandemic, but recently the representations being made to me were of an even more disquieting nature. As a result, I reached out to senior authorities at Harvard University for clarity. Upon their request, I shared some of the correspondence that I believed I had received from the University.”

Nidhi has alleged that a sophisticated and coordinated phishing attack has been made to obtain access to her data and communications and suspects that the attackers may have got access to her devices and email/social media accounts. She has filed a police complaint and has asked Harvard University to take action on the incident.

Nidhi graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women in 1998 and later pursued a Post-Graduate Diploma in Radio and TV Journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. She joined NDTV in 1999 and had been a news anchor/journalist since then. She had quit the job after getting an offer from Harvard University.

I’ve been overwhelmed by the calls & messages of support including the DMs here. I apologise for not writing back immediately. I’m taking a well earned break from social media for a few days & will return refreshed and as good as new. In the mean time keep safe everyone.

— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) January 15, 2021