Standard Chartered Bank Warning

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This is a warning letter by Standard Chartered Bank warning against accepting free key chains.

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Malaysians Lose Millions To Conmen Bomoh & Fortune Tellers

The NST reported that Malaysians are losing millions to conmen bomoh and fortune tellers.

Last Year, there were 229 reported cases where RM9.9 million were cheated. In 2008, the 185 reported cases involved RM5.5 million in losses. The previous year, 140 cases involving losses amounting to RM4.2 million.

The police said in most cases the victims handed over their money willingly, hoping for a miracle cure to their problems or ailments.

These cases are classified under Section 420 of the Penal Code where offenders, if convicted, could be jailed between 1 and 10 years, whipped and fined.

Victims are usually conned by bomohs or fortune-tellers by convincing them to have certain rituals or prayers done to cure their illnesses or eliminate their problems - and these supernatural procedures cost money.

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Online Boyfriend Being Naughty

According to the Star, a 32 year old consultant is now worried that her nude photos taken by her online boyfriend will be posted online.

The consultant got to know the man called, William Bobby Madoff, through Yahoo messenger for almost a year.

Although she has never met this man who is from a foreign country, she had fallen deeply in love with him.

Taking advantage of the situation, William Bobby Madoff persuaded her to pose naked via webcam.

After breaking up with the man, he now threatens to leak the photos on the web.

This is not the only thing about this William Bobby Madoff. In April last year, William told the consultant to expect a package containing valuables such as a mobile phone, a laptop and some jewellery.

Then a week later, someone claiming to be from the billing department called and asked her to pay RM3,880 for delivery of the package.

When she contacted her boyfriend to clarify about this he said he had paid the charges in his country and was unaware of other charges to pay in Malaysia. However, he urged her to pay for the charges.

She has since reported all this to the police.

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Old Women Cheated Of RM256,565

A 61 year old woman from Cheras was cheated of RM256,565 in money and valuables by 3 women.

The victim, Lee Yoke Chan, went to the morning market in Cheras last week when the women approached her.

In the pretext of asking for directions to a temple, they told Lee Yoke Chan that she would die in 3 days unless she goes through a cleansing ritual by a sifu at the temple as she had been followed by the ghost of a pregnant woman who had died in an accident.

The women persuaded her to hand over all her money and jewellery, which they said was essential for the cleansing ritual, but assured her that these will be returned to her after the ritual.

When Lee Yoke Chan agreed to their suggestion, the women followed her to the bank to withdraw RM186,565 and then followed her home to obtain the RM70,000 worth of jewellery.

Once the money and valuables were obtained, they returned to the market to meet other women. Upon some discussions, the women said the cleansing ritual could not be performed that day because the sifu wasn't at the temple. However, they assured Lee Yoke Chan that the sifu had already blessed the bag containing the money and jewellery, and everything was alright.

Then, without Lee Yoke Chan noticing, the women apparently the swapped the bag containing the money and jewellery with another bag filled a few oranges, packets of instant noodles, bread, a bottle of water and bottles of salt.

The women then returned the "bag" to Lee Yoke Chan and told her not to open it until the next day to avoid bad luck. She made a police report upon discovering the scam the next day.

Source: The Star

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Laptop Thief Caught On Camera

The above is the modus operandi of thieves operating in Kuala Lumpur. Watch how the boy, on the right, steals the laptop on the table while his 2 friends, in front, distract the company's employee by trying to sell her something.

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Top 5 Internet Scams

Source: Divine Caroline

Internet scams are by no means a recent phenomenon, but certain scams come back again and again. Here are five popular Internet scams that you should be on the lookout for.

1. Auction fraud. Sure I love cheap stuff on eBay as much as the next guy, but that ’73 Collectors Edition Elvis Plate you’re bidding on might not be that great of a deal. Fake and stolen merchandise aren’t uncommon; even a Certificate of Authenticity doesn’t necessarily mean anything. As eBay Scam Watch puts it, “If a seller is willing to misrepresent a fake item as real, then what is the big deal of throwing in an authentic looking certificate?” Another scam is the “shill” scam: A seller wanting to drive up the price on his auction may bid himself or have his friends bid, just to make you pay more. If you notice a repeat bidder on a seller’s auction history, something’s probably up. One more tip: Never wire money directly to a seller—it’s almost impossible to retrieve the money if your purchase isn’t shipped.

This fortunately is not very widespread in Malaysia as very few Malaysians purchase stuff online. Or I might be wrong ? Has anyone here purchased anything on Lelong.Com or Ebay Malaysia ?

2. Bank fraud. “Phishing scams” are popular email scams. You’ll get an email from your bank warning you that someone has been trying to access your account. They’ll ask you to click on a link and verify your information, so the bank can take care of everything. No matter how legitimate the email looks, banks never email you asking for your information. The email is from a scammer hoping to empty your savings. The most recent scams play off government stimulus checks and EPPICards (for child support payments). Check the National Consumers League’s Internet Fraud Watch for tips to avoid such scams. Similar schemes play off mortgage and credit card debt elimination, with the scammer offering to get rid of your debt for a small fee ($1000-2000) and power of attorney authorizing transactions on your behalf. When this information (and payment) is entrusted to them, you’ll be left with nothing—except that mortgage or credit card bill they still haven’t taken care of.

According to a study, a spammer gets only 1 response per 12,500,000 emails he sends out. Despite the low success rate, scams by spam email is still widespread. We get this a lot in Malaysia as well. I've received spam email from scammers passing themselves off as "Citibank", "HSBC" etc officers asking for my banking details, apparently to "regulate some discrepancies in my account" or offering "special promotions". When in doubt, always call your bank. Note: dont' call the "bank's phone number" as prescribed in the spam email.

3. You’ve won a FREE Xbox fraud. Pretty much any time you’re given something for nothing you should be wary. As charitable as Bill Gates is, Microsoft Corporation is a business and isn’t going to give away thousands of free Xbox’s. The email will read something like this: “Congratulations! You’ve won a FREE Xbox (or iPod, or TiVo, or some other fancy gadget)! All we need is your address and credit card information to pay the $5.99 shipping/handling!” Don’t trust it, or you’ll soon find your credit card maxed-out—and probably five or six more cards you never knew you had.

This is the evergreen "winning something" scam. I can't believe people still fall for this trick. Before the advent of the internet, scammers used to call people's houses directly to operate this scam.

4. Charity fraud. Perhaps the most unfortunate scams in recent years have come in the wake of tragedies like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 tsunami. When such tragedies occur, scammers take advantage of the fact that many people who are willing to help don’t know where to donate their money. Never trust an email asking for charitable contributions before verifying the credibility of the organization. Never open attached images or files, as they may be viruses. And never provide them your personal information. If you want to help, you should preferably donate directly to big-name organizations like the Red Cross or Amnesty International, which always organize direct disaster relief funds.

This is yet another evergreen scam. It is still carried out in real life by "volunteers" approaching random people at restaurants seeking donations for a variety of causes.

5. Murder for hire fraud. One of the most twisted Internet scams it the so-called “hit man scam.” The victim is contacted and told that he/she is to be assassinated or a loved one will be kidnapped, unless the recipient wires several thousand dollars to the sender of the email. In another version the “hit man” claims to be a law enforcement official who has recently discovered the recipient’s information in a captured murderer’s pocket. The recipient is then asked to contact the “authorities” to help with the investigation. Even if you feel someone is really out to get you, if you ever receive one of these emails, contact the police—immediately.

Although I've not heard of this scam done via the internet in Malaysia, I've read that in Kuala Lumpur scammers call the victims direcly claiming to be gangsters, hitmen, court officials etc, asking for "kau tim" money (a settlement sum) to "settle" an alleged matter.

The best way to keep your finances secure is to never give out any personal information unless you’re sure the site is reputable. If you think you’ve received a scam email, report it either to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, which also puts out yearly statistics on online fraud, or to the FBI’s Cyber Investigation Team.

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Cyber Casanovas Target Malaysian Women

News reported in The Star

JOHOR BARU: They choose their victims via Internet social networking sites and pretend to be cyber casanovas who start showering their victims with virtual gifts such as flowers, jewellery, plants, pets and even cars.

The cassanovas, I suspect, are using Facebook.

They then exchange photographs and virtual love letters for some time before the casanovas, usually claiming to be rich hunks from Britain and the Middle East, tell their victims they want to get them a real gift as a way of expressing their commitment.

In this day and age, it is disheartening to note that Malaysian women still fall for this "rich hunk" ploy. They truly believe that rich hunks have noting better to do, and have no other access to meeting women, other than meeting Malaysian women through online social media sites like Facebook.

They promise to send cash of between £1,000 (RM5,200) and £2mil (RM10.4mil) for the women to go on a shopping spree.

Rich hunks with that kind of money to waste, spend their time "dating" women on Facebook, instead of hanging out in Monte Carlo or Nice, right ? I can only imagine how the conversation with this women went - I would really like to know.

The only catch is that the women would have to bank in a substantial amount of money, supposedly into the account of a local forwarding company, as processing fee for the parcel containing the cash to be sent to Malaysia.

This is obviously a variation to the typical "cash in advance" Nigerian scam.

The forwarding company may even ask for a few payments, citing all sorts of difficulties in getting the package through.

When the woman begins to feel suspicious and questions her “boyfriend,” the e-mail stops.

Police say many women around the country, some holding respectable jobs like doctors and managers, have been victims of such scams. Thousands of ringgit is believed to have been lost.

Just because they are doctors and managers do not mean they are geniuses. I noticed that those with tertiary education are more easily duped compared to the average joes. Further, these women are the most lonely.

One example is a case in Johor where a human resource manager in her 30s lost more than RM30,000.

She befriended a person, claiming to be from Britain, via a social networking site about a month ago.

They exchanged messages regularly and the man told her he wanted to send her £50,000 (RM261,000) for her to go on a shopping spree.

Yeah, right ! How dumb and desperate can someone be to spend RM30,000 on someone she hasn't even met in person.

She met him on Facebook, communicates with him for one month and she's either head over heels in love with this cyber lover or desperate to receive the £50,000 "gift".

The next day, the woman got a call from a person, claiming to be from a forwarding company, saying she needed to bank in RM4,000 for the parcel to be delivered.

They continued to ask her for money – totalling RM30,000 – over a few days, giving various excuses including exchange rate and other expenses.

The woman suspected something amiss and when she questioned her boyfriend, he did not reply her e-mail.

She only suspected that she's been duped after the con man decided to flee ? Unbelievable.

She then lodged a police report.

Bukit Aman commercial crime investigations director Comm Datuk Koh Hong Sun confirmed there were many cases of cheating not just via the Internet but also through SMSes.

He advised people, especially women, to be careful when asked to transfer money to those they meet online.

“We are checking to see whether local syndicates are working with overseas ones,” he said.

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Datuk "George Soros" Bunian - Secrets Revealed.

A local Malay tabloid has recently revealed that a Datuk who claims to have married a Bunian princess by the name of Tengku Puteri Jasnita has set up a ponzi scheme "mystical trust fund" which he calls the Alam Bunian Puteri Jasnita. According to the Datuk, this trust fund will give millions of Ringgit in returns to its investors - and it is guaranteed by the Bunian National Bank. As the tabloid did not disclose if this trust fund complies with Islamic banking principles, we don't know if proceeds of this trust fund is halal or not. Further, there is no mention if this investment scheme has been approved by the Securities Commission and other relevant authorities. Well, who cares, right ? As the ring leader fund manager is a Datuk with links to royalty, so surely he knows a thing or two about making money.

I can hear some of you already thinking - Bunian, WTF !!??

Okey, for the benefit of you Starbucks coffee gulping folks who don't know what is a Bunian, I'll just tell you and save you some time from Googling for the answer. A Bunian is a mystical being in Malay folklore similar to an elf. Yes, they're like those creatures in the Lord of the Rings.

Anyway, it is believed that although the Bunian usually inhabit the forests, some are known to live near the Kampungs. According to folklore, the Bunian exist in large communities, similar to human social structures, with families and clans.

In remote Malay villages and Orang Asli settlements, it is not unusual to hear reports of human beings interacting socially and even commercially with the Bunian folk. Because of this, claims of "mix marriages" between the communities are also rather common. There are rumours that the Bunian are planning to form their own political party, in the hope that one day a Bunian leader will emerge to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Well, this is only a rumour, please don't believe in rumours. Believe instead in the Bunian.

Back to the Datuk and his exploits entrepreneurial adventure. Whilst we do not know whether this Datuk has had any academic qualifications or work experience in financial markets, his marriage to the Bunian princess appears sufficient to have endowed him with special understanding pertaining to matters of investment and finance. Despite this, some people are comparing him to international financial wizards, like George Soros and Warren Buffet. His followers are already referring to him as Datuk "George Soros" Bunian.

However, there is a fundamental difference between the two men. While fans of George Soros read the Wall Street Journal for financial wisdom, investors of the Datuk are told to read the Chow Kit Journal also called the Kitab Bunian (Bunian bible). The Kitab Bunian is an important read to the Datuk's investors because it is said to reveal the teachings of the Bunian princess - the Datuk's wife.

Whatever the case, the Kitab Bunian surprisingly mentions nothing about finance. According to an ex-investor, the Bunian bible teaches, among other things, sexual freedom. Yes, you read it right - investors are encouraged to have f*ck buddies amongst themselves. The reason for this is presumably so the investors can better exchange investment strategies with each other, while in the pretzel position, in bed. For these newbie investors, the best has yet to come - the Datuk "George Soros" Bunian will teach them all how to really get screwed, soon enough.

If having f*ck buddies isn't fun enough, all the investors are told to stain three fingers of their right hand with henna to purportedly protect and guarantee success of their investments. These "henna fingers" sex maniacs are assured that they can then dip their fingers into many "pies" without attracting any bad luck. This petua (folk remedy) is so powerful that some even believe that just by showing the middle (henna stained) finger to their enemies will cause their enemies to experience serious financial trouble. I know that successful gardeners are called green fingers, but this is the first time I learn that successful investors are called 'henna fingers".

To help them better manage their time to focus on investment related activities, such as spending time with their fu*k buddies, these investors are exempt from saying daily prayers to any god or attend any place of worship, as they they are told that they themselves are gods and can do as they please.

A well known Nigerian currency syndicate foreign exchange investment house, based in Kuala Lumpur, predicted that due to the "conducive social demographics" in Malaysia, the Datuk's mystical investment fund should be able attract a large number of "apprentice" investors who will be trained to appreciate the value of money and be introduced to "real world" financial strategies used by the Nigerian masters.

The well dressed front man regional marketing director of the Nigerian investment house, who wanted to remain anonymous, admits that over the years his organisation has made extraordinary profits from similar financial schemes investment trust funds promoted in Malaysia. He further said that as Malaysians are generally simpletons friendly and are easy to manipulate educate, the country will continue to attract expatriates like himself who are more than willing to share their expertise in Malaysia.

Despite all the fun seemingly experienced by the Datuk and his investors, I cannot recommend anyone to invest in this trust fund because his business focus is uncertain - the Datuk can't decide whether he wants to be a George Soros or a Hugh Hefner. Maybe he wants to be both. What a terrible dilemma he has.

If you find this story unbelievable, you should proceed to read about the Powerful Bomoh In Pahang For Power And Wealth.

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"Islamic Banking" Ah Longs

A local Malay tabloid reported that an Ah Long syndicate (Loan Shark) in Johor Bahru is misusing Islam in its advertising to misrepresent to the public, particularly Muslims, that its business is halal and trustworthy.

The Ah Long's advertisement apparently says that their money lending business is "Islamic Banking" compliant (based on the Bai’ al Wafa dan Al-Ijarah concept) - interest free loan.

To the general public, these Ah Longs appear to be adapting to the times by offering "Islamic financing". Unfortunately, these Ah Longs are not financial wizards. They are not introducing anything innovative to loan sharking; they are simply misrepresenting their business to the public, which tantamount to cheating (in addition to engaging in an illegal activity).

According to the tabloid, the Ah Long syndicate advertises its business by way of fliers distributed to houses in housing estates in hope of attracting new business particularly from unwary Muslims.

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BMW Heiress Blackmailed By Gigolo

BMW heiress Susanne Klatten, 46, Germany's richest woman, was allegedly blackmailed by a 43-year-old Swiss gigolo, Helg Sgarbi.

Helg Sgarbi is now being charged in court.

Susanne Klatten, a major shareholder in German luxury carmaker BMW is a married mother of 3 teenagers. Klatten met Sgarbi in 1997 at the famous spa retreat Lanserhof, a playground for the rich and famous in Tirol, Austria.

Klatten didn't suspect that Ernano Barretta, 63, (Sgarbi's Italian accomplice) was secretly filming their meetings from a hotel room next door and planning to use this to blackmail her.

Read the full story here.

This kind of scandal happens everywhere but usually goes unreported.

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Cyber Fraud In Malaysia

For those who are trading, shopping and making friends online, read this article from the NST.

By : Sonia Ramachandran

The modus operandi is simple: befriend a gullible person online, gain his or her trust, then move in for the sting. That's when the victim suffers big-time. In one case, the victim lost RM1.3 million.
KUALA LUMPUR: She met him online and soon became comfortable with him. After several weeks of emails and getting to know each other, the man, who said he owned a spare-parts shop in Britain, informed her that he had received an order for goods from Malaysia.

Then came another email asking for a favour. His goods were stuck with the Customs Department. Would she mind helping him by banking in her money to some people in Malaysia to facilitate the clearing of the goods?

He promised to return her money as soon as the goods were cleared and he had received his payment.

She had never met him, yet, according to his instructions, she banked in money into five personal accounts in Malaysia over a brief period. That was the last she heard of him, and the RM1.3 million she had transferred to the five accounts.
The Commercial Crime Investigation Department's Cyber and Multimedia Investigation Division assistant director ACP Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said: "The woman believed him as she thought they had grown close even though they had never met before."

She is one of the victims of the latest cyber scam to hit the country. Police call it the "advance-fee fraud".

In the last eight months, Kamarudin said, more than 40 people had been taken for a ride, losing RM2.7 million in total.

But this number, he pointed out, was based only on those who reported the scam.

It is believed that there are many more Malaysians who have fallen prey but have not lodged police reports.

The modus operandi is simple. The scam operators go online and make friends with someone they think might be susceptible to their persuasion. After gaining the confidence of the person, the perpetrator asks for help. That's when the victims lose their money.

Another way these perpetrators scam gullible people is by notifying them via email that they have won a lottery. The victim would then be asked to pay "processing fees" to receive the winnings.

That is what happened to a professional who received an email saying she had won an award from Microsoft amounting to STG950,000 (RM6 million).

She was told that a diplomat would be coming to Malaysia to hand over the money.

Later, the woman received a call from someone claiming to be a "diplomat" who said he needed her to bank in some money to facilitate the transfer of the funds to Malaysia.

The woman banked RM8,000, over two occasions, into the account the "diplomat" provided. She then received another call from the "diplomat" asking her to pay RM200,000 to an African man, who would contact her, because the lottery amount was being held by the authorities and her money was needed to get them to release it. She did as asked.

The lottery money never came and the woman lost RM208,000.

Kamarudin is worried because more Malaysians are falling prey to this scam. "I feel sorry for those who have fallen victim. This is their hard-earned money. In some cases, the victims had even used borrowed money."

He said some of the money involved in this scam could have been banked into accounts of individuals who had no idea the money was from illegal means.

"This is where the account holder (A) befriends the crook (B) through the Internet and who says he is in the process of opening a business in Malaysia.

"B then tells A that he needs an account for that purpose. He asks his new friend A to open an account for that purpose.

"So A opens the account and provides the account details to B. When the money is banked into A's account, B will email A saying he had received payment for his business. He would then ask A to withdraw the money and send it to him."

Kamarudin warned Malaysians to be careful what they did with their accounts. "You should be careful because the police will hold you responsible for the crime perpetrated through your account."

He said the victims were usually women who were sweet-talked over the Net.

The scammers would always ask their victims to bank the money into individual accounts, although they would claim that it was to clear "goods" from a government department or courier company.

"If the money is meant to clear the goods, the payment should be made into a company or the authority's account."

Sniff out the deceit

* When you receive an email or phone call that a package addressed to you is with a company or a government department, check with the company or government department before you pay a "fee" for it.

* Never pay any "fees" into an individual's account or to someone assigned to collect payment from you. The payment should be made into the account of the company or relevant authority.

* Never ever give details of your bank account to a third party or allow a third party to use it. You are responsible for your account and the police will hold you responsible for the crime perpetrated through that account.

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How One Chinese Woman Got Very Rich In America Part 2

This is Part 2 of How One Chinese Woman Got Very Rich In America

Read Part 1, here.

When and how did Big Sister Ping really make it big ?

After the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1990s, as more and more Chinese wanted to migrate from China to Western countries, business started booming for Ping. She bought a building directly across the street from a branch of the Bank of China in New York's Chinatown for US$3 million, in cash. She later also bought the building next door.

Big Sister Ping, runs a restaurant called the "Yung Sun restaurant" in that building across the street from a branch of the Bank of China. It is said that she ran her restaurant better than the bank - not as only restaurant but also an underground bank. Yes, Ping's restaurant was also an unlicensed bank - she loaned and transferred money for her "customers". People used her "banking services" because she was more efficient then the Bank of China across the road - she could transfer money overnight just by making phone calls to China. The Bank of China was slow, it took 3 weeks to transfer money and gave a bad foreign exchange rate and delivered the cash in Yuan, instead of dollars. Her underground bank transferred the money in hours, charged less and paid in US dollars.

Because things became so bad for the Bank of China and it became threatened by Ping's underground bank - it began offering colour TVs and prizes just to lure customers away from the underground bank. The Bank of China also started a large propaganda campaign against her underground bank by taking out ads in local Chinese newspapers warning people they could get in trouble by using the underground banks. Still. nobody gave a fcuk, and didn't go to the Bank Of China because the service is fcuked up.

In the late '80s and early 90s, Big Sister Ping's reputation and stature as a businesswomen had grown so high that she was the best-known and most respected figure in New York's Chinatown.

After the Tiananmen Square Massacre, she had organised a global smuggling network by forming alliances with many small Snakehead operations around the world. She also made important contacts useful people i.e. by buying off corrupt immigration, tourist and other officials to obtain fake or purchased passports, Visas and other documents.

Ping charged a small down payment, and potential illegal immigrants had to borrow the rest of the money upon arrival to the US from families already in the US. Those who did not have families, could borrow money from loan sharks and were found jobs at restaurants, massage parlors, laundries, garment factories etc and allowed to pay off the debt in installments, with interest, fo course. However, unlike other Snakeheads, who beat up migrants who could not afford to pay the fees, Big Sister Ping did not do that. People said that she is benevolent and kind - she sent money to the families of those who died on their way to the US or waived the fees for a son to go over instead.

The Chinese don't see human smuggling as a crime. They see it as a necessary service. And for some Big Sister Ping was seen like a goddess because the consider her a benevolent and kind Snakehead - they consider her as a kind of Robin Hood.

Others, however, say she is a cruel woman, who used the notorious Fuk Ching gang to prey on the helpless illegal migrants - she would not hesitate to kill, some say.

Big Sister Ping charges from US$20,000 to US$35,000 for an illegal immigrant. Reports say that many illegal immigrants were held hostage by members of the Fuk Ching gang who tortured them if they can't pay the fees.

It is rumoured that at one time, she transferred $40 million US in illegal earnings back to China. She is seen by Asian standards as an outstanding businesswomen turning a restaurant to a underground bank and a human smuggling operation into a vast global empire with links to organised crime - especially with the notorious Fuk Ching triad.

Ping legally holds three passports - a Hong Kong, a U.S. and a Belize passport.

Chinese from China emigrate to the U.S. illegally for more money. That is the main, if not only reason. Report shows that an illegal Chinese can earn about US$1,500 a month working at a restaurant in America. An illegal immigrant who sends half that money home to China can make his or her family move into the upper class in China, where the average income, is between $250 and $300 a year.

Read a related post - Smuggling of Chinese workers into the United States

Please post your comments.

How One Poor Chinese Woman Got Very Rich In America

Do you know who this is ?

This woman is a big time Tai Kar Che (Big Sister, in Cantonese), in New York's Chinatown. This is a story of how Cheng Chui Ping rose from being a poor girl from a village in Fujian, China to becoming Tai Kar Che of New York's Chinatown, with connections with the powerful Chinese triads.

She started from nothing to becoming so rich in New York that she bought a building for US$3 million (approximately RM10 million), in cash, and reportedly transferred US$40 million (approximately RM130 million) to China.

She started as a general worker in a Chinese restaurant and later got into the business of smuggling illegal immigrants - she became a big time Snakehead.

Snakeheads (called "Sheah Thau" in Cantonese) are Chinese gangsters or triads that deal in human trafficking - they smuggle people to other countries. They are mainly found in the Fujian region of China and smuggle their "customers" (often from China and Vietnam) into wealthier countries in Western Europe (mainly the UK, France, Germany, Denmark),America, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Because of culture and language, in Western countries, these illegal immigrants will be confined to work mainly in Chinatowns, but in Asian countries with a sizable Chinese population, they work in numerous small Chinese businesses away from the sight of the authorities.

The Snakeheads fees vary according to the country, but can be as high as US$50,000 per person. Snakeheads use various methods to get their customers into countries - they usually use stolen or altered passports, illegally obtained visas, and bribe officials.

In order to pay the "fees" to the Snakeheads, many of these illegal immigrants end up working in "under the table" low-wage (often lower than the minimum wage) service jobs, e.g., as restaurant waiters or dishwashers, masseuses in massage parlors, prostitutes, general workers in laundries, pirated DVD outlets, illegal gambling dens etc.Some Snakeheads will "help" these illegal immigrants obtain financiang from loan sharks (common called "Ah Long" in Malaysia) to pay the "immigration service fees" to the Snakeheads.In Malaysia, Snakeheads call themselves "foreign worker agents".

In June this year, 57 year old Cheng Chui Ping aka Big Sister Ping was sentenced 35 year in prison in New York for running one of the largest illegal immigrant smuggling syndicates. She has an infamous reputation of smuggling large numbers of illegal immigrants to Chinatowns of Canada and the United States.

Ping was born in 1949 in the poor farming village of Shengmei in China's coastal province of Fujian. Big Sister Ping's parents were peasants and life was hard under the brutal communist regime in China.

Although life was tough on her and luck did not favour her when she was born, she was determined to improve her life. She somehow made her way to Hong Kong and later with the help of Snakeheads, she went to Canada and then in 1981 she immigrated to New York alone leaving her husband and family behind.

Upon arriving in New York, Ping began working in a Chinese restaurant as a general worker, she was chopping vegetables, washing dishes and waiting on tables, then she started selling clothes on Hester street and cheap food along East Broadway. People who know her described her as an extremely hardworking woman. Later, when she had more money, she opened a provision shop (sundry shop) on Hester Street selling variety items and souvenirs. As she established herself financially and she became a naturalised US citizen, her husband and children joined her in New York.

Alhough Big Sister Ping and her family was already quite wealthy by the late eighties, they continued to work each day in their business. They did not drive big cars or wear fancy clothes. She usually took the subway (train) when she travelled. She does this so that she does not attract too much attention - this is important if you're running an illegal business. A famous American gangster also used this strategy, Frank Lucas - a famous American Gangster.

To be continued - How she made it big.

Please post your comments.

How To Sell A Fake RM10 Rolex For RM10,000

A group of con artists in Johor Baru convince its victims to buy itmes below market value. One of the victims, a lawyer in her 30s, was sold a fake Rolex for RM10,000.

According to the Star, the lawyer was approached by a man claiming to be a foreigner under the pretext of asking for directions.

The man then told the lawyer that he has about 30 mobile phone, each valued at RM3,000, for sale at Rm1,000 each. Then, two other men (accomplices) joined the conversation on the pretext of wanting to know about the mobile phones.

The first man then showed them a Rolex watch which he said was valued at Rm10,000 - this was "verified" by one of the accomplices who apparently took it to a nearby watch shop to for valuation. The lawyer then bought the fake Rolex for Rm10,000.

I was approached a few times by foreigners (they looked like illegal Indonesian immigrants) outside the bank who offered to sell me "stolen" original luxury watches at below market prices - they said they just wanted to clear stock fast. When they showed me their samples wrapped in pieces of cloth, the watches definitely looked fake to me.

Please post your comments. Tell us your story.

The Darker Side Of Thailand

Is there a darker side of Thailand than its prostitution ? Read this.

Comments, please.

Jacky Ho's Father Died Believing In A Miracle

Jacky Ho is a 40 year old sales executive from Seremban. The Malay Mail recent report said that Jacky bought supplements from a direct selling company believing the supplements could cure his 70 year-old father who was diagnosed with a clogged artery.

Despite being told by doctors from University Kebangsaan Malaysia that his father had to undergo an immediate operation to avoid a heart attack, he decided to seek alternative treatment which resulted in his father death.

He sought the advise from a direct selling agent who convinced him that the supplements he was selling could heal his father. Jacky then decided to join the direct selling team and spent RM2,000 to purchase the supplements. He lost his money and lost his dad.

Malaysians are a gullible lot and are easily deceived by "snake oil salesmen" claiming to sell miracles in a bottle. Unscrupulous direct selling companies usually base their fantastic product claims on dubious scientific research findings and anecdotal evidence.

I once told a direct selling agent that if his supplements are so effective, they wouldn't need to sell it through the direct selling method because big pharmaceutical companies would buy the patents to the products and sell it directly to pharmacies and hospitals.

For instance, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Incorporated doesn't have to sell Viagra through direct selling, do they ? They sell directly to hospitals and pharmacies. Simply because their product works.

Beware of con men not only in the direct selling industries but also in the "get-rich-quick" money making / start own business industries. You can normally find these "experts" selling money making courses through "free seminars" advertised in the local newspapers.

I knew a friend who went for a "free seminar" at a hotel where the speaker claimed that he could teach you to make millions with just your ideas. The speaker of dubious character and accreditation gave himself away when he forbid any attendees from asking questions during the free seminar (presumably to prevent anyone from exposing him as a fraud).

He gave the excuse that asking questions during the seminar would interrupt the concentration of the other attendees. Instead, he said, if anyone had any queries they should ask him privately after the seminar. If he had nothing to hide, why must any queries be asked in private ?

Anyway, if he knows how to make millions just by ideas, then he should be doing it himself, right ? Why bother teaching others at a seminar for just a few thousand ringgit ? Bill Gates and Warren Buffet don't make money by giving seminars, do they ?

Read also this interesting article by Australia's ABC .

There's another article in Yahoo about get-rich-quick seminars - read here.

Well, what do you think ? Please post your comments.

So Many Africans In Damansara Damai

According to Harian Metro, there is a growing number of Africans in Damansara Damai, Petaling Jaya.

The growing number of Africans in this area has made the local residents anxious as there are many reports in the newspapers about Africans being involved in criminal activities including drug trafficking and "black money" syndicates.

Many question if these Africans who enter the country with students visas, are really here to study.

The residents in Damansara Damai alleged that part of these Africans' modus operandi when in this country is to seduce local women with the intention of extorting money from them.

Read the full story here.

Damansara Damai Location

Related Post: Africans In Malaysia - An Increasing Menace

What do you think ? Please post your comments.

Can People Seal Your Identity ?

Be careful when you give your your name, IC and other details online - you might be a the next victim of identity thieves.

Although ID theft is hardly talked about in Malaysia, but there have been many cases reported in the newspapers - stories where old people who discover someone has been withdrawing their EPF savings, families who are told their land has been registered under someone else's name and people who discover someone has been using their name to take loans.

In the past, an indentiy thief would steal from your post box, visit various agencies to get copies of documents and do lots of other labour-intensive work. Today, with computerisation, they can just hack into a computer system and get whatever information they want.

The easiest and most effective way to get someone to provide their personal details (by filling out a form) is to offer a freebie via a website. In return for filling out a form, you are given a magazine, a discount card etc.

Ethical companies will keep customers information to confidential, but unethical companies sell this information to third parties.

Read the full story in the Star

Useful websites:

To report suspicious, criminal activities online, or are just curious to know about current online scams affecting Malaysian computer users, visit MyCERT

University of Michigan reveals how you can recognise ID theft scams online - visit this site.

Scambusters discloses how popular scams work and how you can avoid the usual traps - visit Scambusters.


Please post any information you have about this. Thanks.

Pondan Uses Black Magic To Steal Money

Harian Metro ran an article about a "pondan" (Transvestite) who claims to be working as a famous makeup artist for TV dramas is believed to be using black magic to steal money through empty envelopes by using black magic on "her" victims.

According to the article, the pondan does this by initially approaching a victim under the pretext of wanting to change money, she then simply offers an envelope to the victim who is persuaded to insert money into it. Upon the money being inserted into the envelope, the pondan tells the victim that the money she intends to change is at another place and will persuade the victim to permit her a few minutes to get it. She then leaves the envelope purportedly containing the money with the victim.

The victim realises that he has been duped when the pondan doesn't return and the envelope he is holding, purportedly containing his own money, contains instead 6 4D tickets and a letter from the pondan apologising to the victim for using black magic to steal his money.

One such case repoted to the police is where the pondon enters a shop selling ladies accessories, approaches a salesgirl and makes small talk about her work as a makeup artist. The pondon then leaves the shop without purchasing anything.

A few minutes later the pondon comes back to the shop and tells the salesgirl that she (the pondon) has 20 pieces of RM10 notes and she need to change it for larger notes because she intends to attend a wedding and has to give an "ang pow" to the married couple - inserting 20 pieces of RM10 in the envelope (as 'ang pow') will not be appropriate.

She then asks the salesgirl if she (the salesgirl) is willing to change the 20 pieces of RM10 with 4 pieces of RM50 notes. The salesgirl obliges and inserts 4 pieces of RM50 notes into an envelope, seals it and writes the name of the couple (to be married)on the envelope, as dictated by the pondan.

The pondan then says that she has left the 20 pieces of RM10 (which she intends to change) in her car and says that she would be back. Meanwhile, the salesgirl claims that she was still holding the envelope purportedly containing the 4 pieces of her own RM50 notes.

When the pondan didnt return for the envelope, the salesgirl opened the envelope and was shocked that it instead contained 6 4D tickets and a letter from the pondan apologising for using black magic to steal her (salesgirl's) money as she (the pondon) needs the money urgently to save her friend's life - apparently the pondan's friend was undergoing an operation at the Institute Jantung Negara at the time.

The salesgirl says that she would not believe how this could happen as two other salesgirls stood as witness when she inserted the 4 pieces of RM50 into the enveloped, sealed it and wrote the name of the couple on it - she was holding the envelope, not the pondan.

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What do you think, guys ? black magic or David Blaine type magic or simply a version of an African scam - envelope swap ? Please post your comments.

‘Medium’ Wants Money And Sex

According to the Star a con man and his female accomplice fleeced two women of RM17,300 and the man even had sex with one of the women.

The woman, called Lai, 32, said a relative introduced the couple, who posed as a medium and disciple.

The con man, who operated in Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur told Lai to strip so that he could perform acupuncture on her and remove toxins from her body caused by evil spirits.

After the "treatment", she was made to drink “holy water” and coerced into having sex with the man as the "holy water”put her in a daze.

The female accomplice would call Lai for further “treatments”, even at odd hours, threatening that evil spirits would harm her family if she did not comply.

Besides sex, Lai lost RM8,300 to the couple, apparently for special prayers.

The other victim, identified only as Thing, 42, who works in the food industry, said the con man claimed he could get her cheaper goods.

Thing claimed that he had hypnotised her into willingly parting with RM9,000

The two women sought help from MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong.

Any victims of this nature can call Fennie Song at Chong's department at 03-21615678.

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Please post your comments, guys.