Friday, July 31, 2015

Dance Series #5 - Anatomy Of An Online Scam


The internet is one huge minefield.  But there are lots of dummies wandering around blindly, taking the treacherous landscape for granted like it's their own backyard.  And I turned out to be one of them.

Fortunately I managed to come away without getting my limbs blown off.  Although ending up poorer by $100, I'm writing this off as payment for a very important lesson.

Here's how I walked right into a trap even though all the signs screamed at me "ALERT!!!  IT'S  A SCAM!!!  GET OUT!!!".

No way.  I've posted my paintings online for all these years and here's the first time someone is interested in my art enough to want to pay good money for it.  I was blinded.

With warning lights a-flashing, bells a-ringing, whistles a-blowing, buzzers going full blast, I still fell for it, all because my defenses went down too fast before reinforcements could come in.  There were too many glaring errors and signs that made me highly suspicious and I contacted PayPal to get them to clarify some of the emails I received, all I got were standard items and tick boxes to choose from.  I couldn't write in my questions because there was no blank box for me to write in.  I hate using the phones because I knew I'd only get to talk to machines.  

I tried asking my circle of friends but they're all online 'buyers', not 'sellers'.  I even cancelled the invoice that initiated the sale.  But somehow, I was like a proverbial deer being caught in the glare of a cyber-driver's headlights, knowing the danger but unable to run from it.

Finally when my mind was already busted due to doubts and worries and lack of sleep, (being a chronic worrier didn't help) I caved in because I'm too humanly decent.  I couldn't live with the idea that the other person (who hinted of being wheel-chair-bound, and who may be a genuine art buyer and perhaps turn out to be a potential long-term customer) 'loos' his money because I didn't keep up my end of the deal.  

My reinforcement troops from PayPal arrived 20 hours too late.


Fortunately Paypal volunteered to compensate me for half my losses.
 
I'm now writing this so that all fellow artists and crafts-people trying to sell their products online (who may be as dumb as me) can learn something from this and WALK away from a deal if it smells too good to be true.  

And please just keep walking and don't look back like what I did!!!

 So, here's the anatomy report....  with myself as the pathologist.

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It started off with an email from www.Artbreak.com, the website where I post all my artworks up for sale.
 
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Artbreak Mailer Jul 15

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 Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:54:20 +0000
From: lianchyeteh@yahoo.com
To: james.william220@outlook.com
Subject: Dance Series #5
Hi Mr William,

Thanks for your interest in my painting.  I painted it recently (7th May 2015) and it's still unframed.  

Size: 42cm X 29.5cm
Medium: Color pencils & ink on cartridge paper.

I'm offering it for sale at USD$300 (mailing costs excluded).

Let me know of other details you need from me.
Please advice what country you're residing in.

regards,

LC Teh

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 To TLC
Thanks for your respond,can you framed it for me and get back to me with the final asking price after the frame and  including your pay invoice or paypal email so i can make the payment once..I have a private courier agent that will come for the pickup after payment has been made, so no shipping included. I'll need your name, the pickup address or location for the pick up.

Thanks

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2015 09:40:19 +0100
From: lianchyeteh@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Dance Series #5
To: james.william220@outlook.com

Hi,
l am out of state this week.  I will take care of this when I get back next week.  Will contact you again with details.  Thanks.
LC Teh

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:"william james"
Date:Thu, 16 Jul, 2015 at 19:34
Subject:Dance Series #5

Alright..email me back once you are around i will be waiting for your respond,Your Name?

Able God

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Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2015 00:39:01 +0100
From: lianchyeteh@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Dance Series #5
To: james.william220@outlook.com

I am Teh Lian Chye, residing in Kedah, Malaysia. Where is your location?

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


william james Jul 19

Well i locate in North Carolina,waiting for your respond

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July 24, 2015 - Friday.  I had the painting framed and packed it ready for shipment.  Then I created an invoice in my PayPal account.  What happened next, I let the correspondence tell the story....
 
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You've sent an invoice

Dear Lian-chye Teh,
Your invoice (0001) has just been sent to james.william220@outlook.com. Please note that it may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in your account.

Summary of your invoice

Sent tojames.william220@outlook.com

Sent fromLian-chye Teh
lianchyeteh@yahoo.com
Invoice number0001
Date payment is dueJul 24, 2015
Amount$338.00 USD
Yours sincerely,
PayPal

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
william james  Jul 24 at 4:13 PM
Sorry  i just got a mail from the shipping company that i will need to pay for the freighting fees before they can schedule pr-shipping/ pickup date,they charged $152 for the pick up and delivery, but the problem is they only accept Western union transfer as form of payment which is sent to their HQ in USA.as you are well aware of,I don't have access to my bank account online,but i have it attached to my Pay pal account,and That's why am using Pay-pal.most post offices have Western union section,will it be OK with you if I add the $152 to the amount I am transferring? and as soon as the money goes through you can help me make the Western union of the freighting fees through Western union money transfer? You are not obliged to help me, but i will indeed appreciate your help as I am a little incapacitated here.

Cheers.  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Lian-chye Teh ,

You have received a PayPal Payment of $590.00 USD from  James William ( james.william220@outlook.com)
A temporary hold has been placed on this transaction!
As mentioned in the receipt of Payment and as per New PayPal Payment policy, we have fully debited the total amount (above) from the buyer's account which includes the buyer's shipper's pick up fees.

In order to complete this transaction and get the funds approved in your account. We advice you go to nearest Western Union Office, and send the $152.00 USD to the Agent and send us a Scanned Copy/Photograph of your Money Transfer Control Number Receipt (in .JPG Format) with the Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN) in details.

NOTE: This is important as a security measure to ensure safety of this transaction.


Please, find below the name and address of the Transport Agent where the Funds would be sent via Money Transfer Control Number.

AGENT INFO :
Address:
Name; Bryan James Sullivan
State: Orange California
 Zip code:92867
United State.

Address Status:Confirmed












https://www.paypal.com/us/mrb/pal=KZAL42RVE3MQS 
Your Account will be credited accordingly upon the receipt of details requested. It should either be sent in JPG format or send type details as:
Sender's Name; Receiver's Name; MTCN; Amount Sent;
============================== ============================== ============================== ============================== ====
This administrative email was sent to lianchyeteh@yahoo.com  from Paypal.com S.à r.l.. Your account is registered on www.paypal.com As outlined in our User Agreement, PayPal will periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements. If you would like to receive this email in text format, change your notification preferences.

See our Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have questions about PayPal communication policies.


Copyright © 2009-2015 PayPal Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
PayPal and the PayPal logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of PayPal

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Dear  Lian-chye Teh,
                               Please be assured that you have a fund of $590.00 USD This fund has already been deducted from the buyer' account. We Request that you wire the excess fee TODAY to the agent's address since he/she has made payment to your PayPal account otherwise the payment will not be credited to the account specified (lianchyeteh@yahoo.com)
We need the wiring information (MTCN) For verification before the money could finally show in your account.
At the same time, we want to let you know that your transaction was done via our e-mail payments service, any inquiries and necessary information should be sent to us by directly reply to this message, because of the status of this transaction, it has not been passed on to our customer care phone service section,and all inquiries should be directed to this e-mail address as it is the one monitored for your transaction.

This is to reduce the high rate of fraudulent act and ensure that both buyers and sellers are satisfied, because it is all about our services to serve the worldwide, for the two parties. Please follow the protocol of the payment so that the money will be credited straight away into your account.

E-mail the MTCN to us as soon as possible.

Wiring information:


Name:Bryan James Sullivan
Orange California
Zip code:92867
UNITED STATE.

We hope to serving you better.
Stephanie Tilenius
Vice President & General Manager
PayPal Merchant Services

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2015 11:24:33 +0000
From: lianchyeteh@yahoo.com
To: james.william220@outlook.com
Subject: Re: ABOUT TO MAKE THE PAYMENT ??

I just found out our govt levies a 6% GST (General services tax) on all money transfers thru Western Union.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

william james  Jul 24 at 10:32 PM

I  just made the payments of $590.00 USD into your account and Pay-pal emailed me confirming this. So please check your PayPal email address (lianchyeteh@yahoo.com) inbox,spam mail for the Pay Pal confirmation email. Pay-pal said that they would be holding the money i sent because of the excess payments that i made which was the money for pick up, i will need you to proceed and Wire the excess which is $152.00 USD to my pick up agent to enable them make a booking for the picked up of the item.Remember that you will wire the agent fee to them via Western Union Money transfer as that is there method of payment.So please do send the $152.00 USD through western union money transfer and use the remaining change of $50.00 USD as Western Union charges.You can easily Walk to the local post office or any outlet around you.After you have sent the money please get back to me asap with the western union details, the MTCN number which you will be given by western union after you have sent the money as well as the sender's name and address so i can forward it back to PayPal for your money to be put through or you can email it to PayPal directly,that is alright as well.

Here is my pick up agent's info that you will need to send the money to through western union money transfer:
Name:Bryan James Sullivan
Orange California
Zip code:92867
UNITED STATE.

 I will need the address where the item will be picked up,as my pick up agent will contact you to book a pick up time after they have received payments but they will have to book a time that is convenient for you. Is really nice doing business with you

Best Regard...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2015 15:36:33 +0000
From: lianchyeteh@yahoo.com
To: james.william220@outlook.com
Subject: Re: PAYMENT MADE ???
I will do as required as soon as the banks open on Monday. It's Friday night over here right now.  But can you please instruct Pay-pal to release the $152 for the Western Union charges, otherwise I would be cashing out of my own pocket.  With our currency at it's lowest level, this calculates out to a big sum for me.  I don't mind paying for the GST charges first.  Thanks.
regards,
LC Teh

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william james  Jul 24 at 11:56 PM
Thanks for your respond.. i have already made all the payment into your account and the money have been deducted from my account OK.. so you have to go true Pay Pal instruction cos they want to protect both buyer and the seller,that is the reason,they said you have to follow there new rules before the money can be clear to your account,due to scam activities going on with PayPal, so you have to complete the transaction by Monday Morning and get back to us with the western union information so that Pay Pal can released the sum of $590 in your account immediately...

After the money has been send please get
 
MTCN number:
Sender's Name :
Sender's address:
Amount Send After western union charges

waiting for your fast respond...

Thanks..
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PayPal  Jul 25 at 8:17 PM
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Friday, June 5, 2015

I'm Back... Again.

Since I left my last full time job (I'm now on a 3-day work week engagement at my friend Jeff's PC shop) I've been back at my drawing board and going around sketch-book in hand.  But today I just feel that I have to do some writing. 

A friend, a design lecturer asked me about my drawing & sketching interests, wanted to know what makes me tick so that he can have an idea on how to motivate his students.  As I started to answer his questions I began to think back to my early years when I was picking up the interest in drawing & sketching.  Then I remembered I used to keep a web-blog and I had written my thoughts about my early 'ambition'.  I dug up one of my old pieces from when I was blogging in Multiply.com which has since closed down.  I managed to transfer my 'rambling notes' to this current blogsite.  

 Unfortunately, the transfer could not accommodate photos that accompany the articles.  Hence, all the illustrations went AWOL.

Here's what I wrote
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Saturday, March 7, 2015

Removing Toxic People


I used to get my share of having toxic people in my life.  People who, one way or another, make your life miserable just to make their own life appear better.   

One of them I had to shove out kicking, biting and spewing venom.  He happened to be paying my salary too, but I didn’t care.  I ended up without a job, no income, with a wife and a two-year-old child to feed, but I could somehow, still survive.   

As it turned out, I haven’t done too badly.  That was 30 years ago…
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Eventually Everyone Makes It



Once, many years ago when I was out of luck, jobless with a wife & child to support, I overheard my parents engaged in a conversation with a distant relative.   

He said his elder son was married and was now a high court judge in Singapore.  The younger son was also married but staying at home.  His next sentence floored me.  He said, ‘the useless son is staying with me’. 

That hit me in the guts. 

My parents had little education like most parents at that time.  They did not have an answer to that.   

Perhaps they could have said, ‘We shouldn’t say any child of ours is useless.  Perhaps it’s only that their time has not come when they start to succeed in their undertakings.  Everyone has to struggle for a while.  Some find their calling only when they have lived half their life time.  We just can’t declare them ‘useless’ just because they haven’t made it. 

I think, eventually everyone makes it.
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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Old-timers' Poem: Life Before Computer


Author: Unknown
A computer was something on TV,
From a science fiction show of note.
A window was something you hated to clean,
And ram was the cousin of a goat.
Meg was the name of my girlfriend,
And gig was a job for the nights.
Now they all mean different things,
And that really mega bytes.
An application was for employment.
A program was a TV show.
A cursor used profanity.
A keyboard was a piano.
Memory was something you lost with age.
A CD was a bank account.
And if you had a 3 1/2 inch floppy,
You hoped nobody found out.
Compress was something you did to the garbage,
Not something you did to a file,
And if you unzipped anything in public,
You'd be in jail for a while.
Log on was adding wood to the fire.
Hard drive was a long trip on the road.
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived,
And a backup happened to your commode.
Cut you did with a pocket knife.
Paste you did with glue.
A web was a spider's home,
And a virus was the flu.
I guess I'll stick to my pen and paper,
And the memory in my head.
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash,
But when it happens they wish they were dead!
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Saturday, January 18, 2014

'Gov't needs to stop dishing out As to students' - by Nigel Aw - Malaysiakini

'Gov't needs to stop dishing out As to students'

The government's education policy cannot continue dishing out A1s to students simply to make parents feel good, says PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli.

Rafizi related his days when working for Petronas where he was part of a scholarship committee that almost all applicants had come in with 10 A1s, but found that they struggled when sitting for General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (A-level) exams.

"There is a big disconnect between the national examination and the real quality of education and politicians must come to terms and fix this.

"I have a feeling we have been dumbing down all along... we need to call a spade a spade.
  
"If it means only 10 people in the country will get 10 A1s then so be it," he said at a forum entitled ‘Malaysian education system: Can we bring back the quality’ in Kuala Lumpur today.

He added that as long as the education policy kept dishing out A1s, people will think everything is still jolly good and it will be hard to address the real problems with the country's education quality.

"We need to start with a clean slate and do a proper benchmarking of international standards," said Rafizi, who is also the Pandan MP.

Also present at the forum organised by the Edge Media Group were Inti International University chancellor Arshad Ayub, Parents Action Group for Education chairperson Noor Azimah Abd Rahim, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsuddin Bardan and Federation of Manufacturers Malaysia Yong Poh Kon.

'Dumbing down schools'

Later, the Edge Media Group chief executive officer Ho Key Tat who moderated the forum queried if any government officers were ready to respond whether schools were indeed being dumbed down, to which Performance Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) director on education Tengku Azian Shahriman stood up.

Tengku Azian lamented that even Pemandu was having trouble accessing the data on education but pointed to data by earlier presenters at the forum which showed that students were getting good grades for the English language in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) but were performing badly in the Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level (O-level) with regard to the English language.

"There the answer lies," she stressed.          

However, Tengku Azian said the government is planning to introduce tougher questions in exams but said there are resistance from parents and teachers.

"It will mean that students will get less As, so are parents willing to see their children score less As?" she asked, to which the room of some 300 people responded "Yes".

Rafizi (left) echoed Tengku Azian's difficulty in obtaining data on education, stating that the government had often claimed that they were protected under the Official Secrets Act 1972.

Elaborating on the need to improve education, Rafizi said before the quality is addressed, the main issue is the distribution of resources or efficiency in the education system.

He pointed out that despite the government spending 5.8 percent of its gross domestic product on education - one of the highest in the region - it is performing poorly.

Rafizi said that magnitude of spending can afford the country better teachers with better pay instead of buying school laptops with over-inflated prices.

Meanwhile, Noor Azimah said by convention, students normally receive their SPM English language results first and the tougher O-level results for the same paper much later.

"The results should be presented together so that parents will know that their children's English language is not as good as they think," she noted.
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'English schools' demise started racial divide' - by Nigel Aw - Malaysiakini

'English schools' demise started racial divide'


Despite growing concerns of racial polarisation in the national and vernacular school education system today, multiracial schools were once a reality.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers former president Yong Poh Kon said English-medium schools were among the most multiracial before they were abruptly phased out after the 1969 race riots.

"The sad part is we had a multiracial schooling system, but nowadays 94 percent of Malays are in national schools while 88 percent of Chinese are in Chinese schools.

"In fact, the Chinese schools are more multiracial than national schools," he told a forum entitled ‘Malaysian education system: Can we bring back the quality?’


According to the National Education Blueprint (NEB), as of 2011, national primary schools comprise  94 bumiputera, three percent Indian, one percent Chinese and two percent others, while Chinese primary schools comprise 88 percent Chinese, nine percent bumiputera, two percent Indians and others, one percent others.

He added that the English medium schools then were experiencing steady growth as parents saw that they provided better future for their children but in contrast, present day national schools are seeing a decline in enrolment.

Today, Yong lamented that the workers the education system is churning out students lacking sufficient English language communication skills to be employable.

He added that the NEB has set a target of Malaysian students achieving 70 percent 'credit' in the GCE O Level English Language examination by 2025.

However, he said it will be a difficult target to meet, especially with the reversal of the teaching of mathematics and science in English (PPSMI).

"Currently among bumiputeras, only 18 to 20 percent of students get a 'credit' in the Cambridge paper while 50 percent fail, so you can't just set a 70 percent target unless you are going to do something about it," he said.

"With PPSMI, at least you have a striking chance of achieving proficiency in English (target set in NEB) but it is sad to say that PPSMI was phased out.

"(If) you don't change the amount of time English is taught (as previously ), it is not possible to expect different results," he added.

'Only 75pct can pass with a bell curve'

Yong quoted Albert Einstein, saying that is was insanity to repeat the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

He said that despite the emphasis on the Malay language with a 90 percent target for ‘credit’ under the NEB, it was "impossible" to achieve.

"If it goes by a bell curve, normally only 75 percent can pass. It is impossible to achieve 90 percent credit," he noted.

Also present at the forum were Inti International University chancellor Arshad Ayub, Parents Action Group for Education chairperson Noor Azimah Abd Rahim, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsuddin Bardan and PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli.

Meanwhile, Noor Azimah said that even though the Malaysian schools fared poorly in the Programme for International Student Assessment, the top 10 schools which took the test were actually comparable with those in Shanghai, which ranked number one.

"The test can be answered in English or Malay... nine out of 10 of these schools which scored close to Shanghai chose to answer the test in English.

"But this was not made public because it would be contrary to what the government has in mind for students," she said.

However, Rafizi (right) had a different take on PPSMI, reiterating that Pakatan Rakyat's focus has always been to improve the quality of English teachers instead.

"Let me give you an anecdote, we met a few specialist teachers... one teacher from Kota Baru who had been teaching for 20 to 30 years with pride and was adored by her students, said she feared to go into class due to her problem with the command of English.

"Pakatan's position remains the same, unless we resolve the quality of the pool of English teachers, we may end up not achieving anything (even with PPSMI).

He added that once there is a ready pool of qualified English teachers, then options such as PPSMI or even granting schools autonomy to choose their language of instruction will be more readily available.

He said beyond all else, accessibility of education - especially for the rural folk in Sabah and Sarawak - must also be addressed before more sophisticated education concerns of urbanites can gain traction.
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