Singapore Female Scammer Arrested

As according to AsiaOne, the 32-year-old woman suspected of nine scam cases was arrested on 26th April 2012 morning.

She has cheated victims of their money by lying to them that her husband was hospitalised and she needed the money urgently and would return the victims on the very next day. Amount loaned to her was from $50 to $450.

After the police appealed to the public for information, they got the female suspect's address, which was at Bangkit Road and soon led to her arrest.

We would advise public not to lend money to strangers or even "net friends", even if they were to claim that they would return the money on the very next day.

Malaysia Bersih 3.0 Fake Picture

On 28 April, 2012, thousands of Malaysian protesters rallied for clean and fair elections in the event called Bersih 3.0. Bersih means clean. Police shut down much of the city centre and closed off the historic Merdeka (Independence) Square in Kuala Lumpur (KL) with barriers and barbed wire, enforcing a court order that the protesters should not enter the symbolically important site.



It was supposed to be a peaceful rally but it was said that some hundreds of protesters tried to go beyond the barricades and police retaliated with teargas and chemical-laced water. More than 400 people were arrested, compared to the previous protest at the count of 1,600.

While many supporters of the Bersih event did not join in the protest due to various reasons such as fear, most of them were circulating photos and videos online to encourage and compliment those who were brave enough to join in physically. However, we soon found a grand photo surfacing online, which could have boosted the confidence of the Bersih event a lot, although it was edited.

We take for example, the portion at the bottom right side. After zooming in, you will see the image below.

The image is of course not sharp. However, looking at the intersection portion between the building and the crowd, you can see some blur effect. Many other indications have shown that the picture is a fake one.

We would label the image as a prank.


Anyway, some comments on the photo in Facebook...

Dora Ting photoshop...

Robert Ku 看了好激動 眼淚快流出來了
(He means it's very touching and his tears are almost dripping)

Wong Khai Yang 太假了吧-.-
好像蚂蚁-.-

Zeo Lee Not real, i hope is real too.

覃英豪 ‎== edit 到有点假

Meng Swan lol so fakeeeeeee

Rain Kooy 颖 真的拍出来的原装照片吗？那些人离谱到有点像电脑合成的。。。

Lily Tam Yew Kim 有那么多吗？好壮观!是真的吗 ？？！！

Alesjendro Jong i alwys use photoshop. n i know this is photoshop effect.......

KaiSeng Tan 管他真的假的~就算照片是假的~也不够我们的吉哥假咯~

Shinomori Mizu 照片很明显是PS过假的。不过要表达的东西是真的

Weng N PeiYuh photoshop photo la.... pls upload real photo, my friend

Ye Lao Shi 这是假的。人的比例远近一样。

XiAo Q Biiluii edit 过的==

Dav Tenzi 就算是假的，也应该 like 一下 。。。

Chris Leong Ppl bigger than the window

冬冬 建筑物影子倒影是3-4点 ，现在是1.25pm , po这照片的人真的不是一般人的笨啊！

Jackson Jc fake la...who did this de.. no skill

Catherine Chong 这照片是假的，独立广场周边有人，但是草场里还没进入，另外法院里面怎么可能也有人呢？

Delvise Ngeaw ChunWah definitely photoshop but hope its real!!

Ting Ik Hon this picture may be photoshopped but the people's will is definitely bukan main-main punya

Boon Chong Tan this is a FAKE photos....as per 2.30 pm....the Police still holding Merdeka square....so this photos is a FAKE one !

Eden Chow need to improve ur photoshop skill bro, too fake..

韩-念 那些高高的大厦不会从上面丢bersih 的布下来~

Hugo Hanjie come on...don spoil the whole bersih...this is too FAKE

Jane Tay 虽然是假的，但是看似满地菊花开，很有美感不是吗？(^ ^)

Goldheart Emma now i know why my daughter asked me to instal photoshop lol

Vic Tea But, I guess it was about 75,000 people there

Samantha Ong Chui Ping I was there, and the whole KL turn into yellow!

Caspian King Yeap! someone did a good photoshop of this...

Ahmad Zainuddin Yaacob At least one or two will believe this.

Mib Zaabar this is photoshop...confirmed...but there is really 250,000.

Twitter Direct Message Scam Spam

Social networking websites are garnering more users everyday. They have become part of our lives now - whether you like it or not. Businesses are using the media's power for marketing purposes and whoever denies the power of social media will be on the losing end eventually.

We have a number of scam stories regarding Facebook and we feel it is essential to discuss on a common Twitter scam this time.

If you are a Twitter user, you may occasionally receive direct messages from the user whom you are following.

Below are some real-life examples of direct message spam (scam in disguise).

Hi somebody is saying really bad things about you... http://alturl.com/*vytkn

Hi some person is making nasty things about you... http://tinyurl.com/*btzxskg

Hey some person is making terrible rumors about you... http://sn.im/*230ml0t

ROFL...I'm laughing so hard at this pic of me my friend uploaded http://tinyurl.com/*7uhuvcr

Fastest way to lose weight while removing toxins & boost energy levels http://tinyurl.com/*d5up9tb

lol...OMG I'm laughing so hard at this picture of me someone uploaded http://tinyurl.com/*c4t7xbr

Asterisks "*" are inserted into the URLs by us on purpose.

These messages are automatically generated and posted to you by infected accounts. The main intention is to arouse your curiosity so that you will visit the URL included at the end of it.

If you study the top few examples properly, you can see similarities in them. They can be just a few sets of similar words, which are spin randomly before sending to you. This is because the infected account may be spamming all its followers again within the next few days, and the scammer wants to make the messages look different.

We apologize that our team is not brave enough to click on the URLs to test them. There are some scenarios that are likely to happen if you were to click on the URL:

1. Your computer will be infected by malware or spyware immediately if you do not have an anti-virus software installed.
2. Your Twitter account will be automatically infected by the same virus and it will be sending similar spam direct message to your Twitter followers.
3. The webpage ends up to look like Twitter's login page (phishing scam) and requires you to key in your username and password, and then your Twitter account will be sending similar spam direct message to your Twitter followers because the scammer has obtained your login details.
4. The webpage will prompt you to authorize certain app to your Twitter account, and then your Twitter account will be sending similar spam direct message to your Twitter followers.

It is pretty clear that you should just ignore all suspicious direct messages that contain URL, especially when the URL is shortened and you do not know the exact URL. Be safe than to be sorry!

Police Seeks Help to Locate Singapore Malay Scammer

Police are looking for the woman shown in the picture to assist with investigations into a series of cheating scams reported islandwide.

Between 20 Feb 2012 & 6 Apr 2012 , Police received several reports regarding a female suspect soliciting monies from victims on the pretext that her husband was hospitalised and needed money urgently. Out of sympathy, the victims handed monies ranging from S$50 to S$450 as loans to the suspect who promised to repay them the following day. After collecting the money, the suspect became evasive and remained uncontactable.

The suspect is described as a Malay woman in her 30s, between 1.55m and 1.6m tall, of medium built and has short or shoulder length hair.

Anyone with information can call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000. All Information will be kept strictly confidential.

Meanwhile, Police would like to take this opportunity to remind members of the public to be wary when they encounter cases of similar nature. Do not hesitate to call the police if you sense something amiss.

Fake Celebrity Prank

Hope this can lighten up your day. It is just a prank that requires quite a number of friends to make strangers think that you are a celebrity.

Last Saturday we went to a popular mall in Virginia and conducted a bit of a social experiment. Using his real first and middle name, and with the help of just a few staged people, tons of people believed Thomas was a famous actor, including mall security. The mall assigned us a security detail who escorted us everywhere and helped close stores for the supposed celebrity. They also took us through private corridors to avoid the frenzy. Our cameras were quickly shut down, and most of our footage was captured with a single iphone. The following is just a taste of all the autographs, pictures, and people who wanted get close to all the commotion. Do something fun today.

So, the next time you see people crowding around someone for signature, do not join in the fun if you do not know that person.


Below are some interesting comments from Youtube users:

cindymanila:
LMAO people are so stupid

Bgguy64:
Awesome! The girl giving the number to him, she appears on 1:35 walking by him! Hahaha..

Sephen:
109 people don't know who Thomas Elliot is.

wattoucheng:
Wow, as said before, but I think it needs to be said again: most people are uber stupid ... this would easily happen back here in Brazil ... unfortunately...

frankiefishbetta:
and in the end...... he really became a celebrity....... the end

powderhund14:
wow this is the coolest way to score a one nighter with a blonde ive ever seen... props thomas elliot you may end up famous yet hahahaha

Ducc2BA:
White girls are good looking.. luckily their simple minded too!

Rallynumanair:
I don't know why people react like this, but I'm pretty sure it is not a good thing.

katharsis79:
I don't know whether to be scared or depressed by this, because:

1) I would swear that was Bridgewater Mall in NJ, so every major mall in the US looks the same apparently

2) Which may explain why in a sea of uniformity people are so desperate to find something or someone "special".

Celebrity worship? They're just people. Wake up morons.

iCombii:
JUSTIN BIEBER I LOVE U

LordMirthLtd:
All that hard work ruined by Comic Sans at the end.

ThalassaOceanus:
Yes, I'm sure this only happens in America you ignorant pricks. Let's see how Europe reacts when One Direction is in their city. 

KevinJrBurnstv:
This is why i hate bitches, screaming like they actually know his ass.

Cindapear:
This reminds me of the time Brad Pitt delivered my pizza. We chased him down the street and his pants fell down.

1800JOHNNYC"
Thomas is the purple Telly tubby!!!!..

bjh493:
People are Sheeps what idiots.

lyndsayiu5:
It'd be better if they showed who were the staged people just to show the effect.

STUNTS1516:
It's actually pretty sad how quickly some of those girls were willing to sleep with him just because they were told he was somewhat famous.

Speck3000:
Where perception is reality, he was/is a celebrity. Really it is no different than the Kardashians or the Jersey Shore people. If you say someone is a celebrity and they believe it, then I guess you're a celebrity. It's not like pretending to be a doctor where you need to pass exams first. Being a celebrity is just being famous. I think we saw just how easy that can be.

xDarkSerpentx:
I wouldn't be surprised if this happened a few years ago but with how quickly people can google on their phones these days, I am surprised that this many people believed it. *facepalm* Still hilarious, great job. hahaha

J0lieS0leil:
Celebrities are normal people like you and me. because they have money or are tv, you think they're super awesome.. success can be a double-edged sword. good job guys. really shows how people have become obsessed with celebrities to the point that just a person saying they're a celebrity can get this much attention.

chosadei1:
I'm from virginia beach, this is just too damn funny. I wanna know how he could get them to shut down stores in MacArthur, thats not an easy task.

vdnaik1985:
I did the exact same thing 15 years back, but at that time we didn't have camera, we managed to fool a few, but soon other chickened out.. This makes me feel good..lol

Tkballers23:
Just shows how sad society is and how they will just follow the crowd ...shame

shmcminn:
I was about to thumbs up this, then I saw the end font...comic sans.

JamilToTheB:
lol it's funny that they were all saying they loved him when they've never seen him a day in their lives. ahh gotta love fangirls.

PoutingXEvoke:
Love it. Half the people don't even know which movie he's from and they're still following him around

soz4reality:
So if he slept with that chick that give him her number.. would that be considered as rape?

Js5s141:
No? She would have agreed to it. He just told her a fake name and career. It'd be immoral sure. But rape? No more than lying about you name would be considered fraud.

calvinthegreat69:
It looked like most people were intrigued by the crowd following him, but since they didn't know they didn't care. So it turned into staged people following a guy around a mall trying to cause a commotion and then confused people asking about it from crappy cell phone camera angles. While I do admit it would be lots of fun to be apart of, it was a dull video.

stimeeee:
My friends and I did this in the 80s. Seems i looked at a lot like John Cougar Mellencamp who was hugely popular back in those days. Anyway we had a lot of fun with it.

Facebook Identity Theft Scam - Verene See

One of the toughest social media network scammers to determine/expose is one who constantly updates his/her fake profile.

Scammers usually create fake profiles to advertise for services/products, solicit for "help", prank others or even scam others directly for money. It is not easy to maintain extra social media network profiles and therefore, not many fake accounts will be maintained frequently. Those fake accounts that are well-maintained are usually for profitable reasons such as scamming for money or simply for work purpose (including cam girls's jobs).

Some months ago, we were looking at a fake profile who did not seem to be selling any product or service and neither a cam girl. The name was "Verene See". We did not discover anything strange about her at first despite some of her sexy photos uploaded were familiar. However, it seemed like her photos were in two different styles. It was until she started teasing her Facebook friends to LIKE her hot photo before she would upload new ones, we started searching around and realised many of the photos belonged to a Taiwanese girl - 徐湘婷, also known as 徐小湘. This Taiwanese girl was just a girl-next-door who had rose to fame because of her blog that included her hot photos of her sweet looks and 32F cup size.

We guess (yes, cannot confirm about this) that Verene See could be someone who resembles the Taiwanese girl and thus she is using her photos. We do not know her real motive for doing so.

Her previous Facebook account was GONE before we could broadcast about it, however, another new Facebook account with the name "Verene See" seemed to have emerged recently - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003746033639.

Above are the screenshots of Verene See's main Facebook profile information and profile pictures pages.

徐小湘 is a Taiwanese and should be still living in Taiwan. Whereas, she is not from any Singapore school such as Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) or Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP).

Basically, we can confirm that those photos with the longer and sweeter hair belong to 徐小湘. For example, the second photo from the top row does not fit 徐小湘's style as it looks more rebellious type.

Through our investigation through the Internet, it has been long since scammers have started using 徐小湘's photos to create fake accounts in Facebook. However, since 徐小湘 is a Taiwanese, not many Singaporeans would know about her name, but definitely would have seen her hot photos somewhere in the Internet before.

Below are some of the websites we have come across in the Internet during our search:


From 徐湘婷 (徐小湘)'s closed blog:
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/cuteyo88

網路事件澄清說明！！！

關閉無名相簿已經好一陣子了
所有在網路上有關於我的照片都屬於我的自拍跟生活照而已
完全沒有一張是屬於所謂外拍或是宣傳照
我也不屬於藝人或模特兒
你們沒經過我本人同意ＰＯ照片到處供人下載行為已經觸法


３千張照片大多是２００６年～２００９年拍的生活照！最新的照片也只到２０１０年初！
只是被人一直不斷的ＰＯ～讓人以為我沒有消失‥但其實都是非常久的照片了！

沒有所謂網路上說法的２０１１年２０１２年最新１千、２千、３千多張照片
那都是他們栽贓我的手法
請不要任意相信去下載那些舊照片跟ＰＯ我的照片了！！
那些舊照片不需要一直被炒作
而且從前到現在我也沒拍過視訊、沒拍過性愛影片！
都沒有的事情為什麼栽贓我？針對這點我也提告了！


你們傳我當初被破解的裸照就算了！為什麼連我平常不過的生活照也要這樣亂載亂傳
當初我拍裸照鎖著也只是要取悅我的老公！真的很對不起！原諒我作出這麼不智的行為！
但是其他上千張生活照是礙到你們了嗎？
你們毀了我跟我愛犬皮皮的回憶！我的皮皮牠是越來越老了‥
也毀了跟我交往１０年的老公之間的回憶‥一張照片一個故事
上千張生活照！都只是生活照！為什麼要這樣任意糟蹋別人的回憶！
３千張打包？怎麼會這麼可惡‥太過分了！
那些照片也被傳太久了‥從我２０初頭歲傳到我都快３０歲了還在傳‥

警方日前在某論壇幫我抓到一位陷害我的女生！她犯了侵害肖像權、加重毀謗罪、妨害風化等罪行‥
她改了我上千張照片～總共是３千多張供人打包～我臉的比例已經被改過了！
可惡的是她是在各大論壇放這樣的打包給人到處載！所以失真的照片已經流到網路上到處都是了！
我是不是要慶信自己不是藝人～所以沒關係！
但是這樣子傷害我有什麼意義？
影響我現實的生活‥我真的很難過‥
想起之前有人在我工作的地方大喊我的名字等等事件‥這種心情的煎熬很困擾！


還有我本人並沒有玩任何的交友也沒有ＱＱ
Facebook我本人不會加任何的陌生人～我只有這一個Facebook：
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002912138211

Facebook光是利用我本名徐湘婷和照片的檔案就將近６０個！
請大家不要相信！那些Facebook都不是我！雖然很多個都加上千名好友數了！全部是假冒的檔案！
這篇文章是不想要再有人繼續誤會我
我是打出來解釋清楚～請大家不要再被騙了！

From ttkzm:

22 April 2010

徐湘婷，现居住台湾，毕业于北京市第一二六中学。最近在台湾著名网站“无名小站”
相册中上传自己的生活照被黑客破解。由于自拍照片外流被网络大量转载而走红，“徐湘婷”也成为近期网络热门搜索之一。遭到破解的照片其中大都属于个人生活照，但有近几十张为露骨艳照。而因为该事徐湘婷近照件引起的网络安全，被网友广泛议论和关注。　
事发后， 徐湘婷本人已经把相册关闭。事发后，徐湘婷本人已经把相册关闭。网络相册是许多人用相片写日记或是表现自我的媒介，然而可千万不要以为只要上了“密码锁”，就一定安然无恙。通常只要照片一外流，即使动用到法律手段也是无法根除。因为网路的世界没有边境，要完全断绝的机率不高。

From 94im

13 September 2010

無名正妹徐小湘憑著32F的「碗公奶」闖蕩網路，吸引大批粉絲，尤其之前還有露點自拍外流，更是吸引上萬人造訪她的部落格，可說是「名氣響亮」。但也因為如此，讓她的身份不斷遭人盜用，光是臉書(Facebook)上就有好幾人以她的姓名註冊，甚至還「種菜」。

擁有32F好身材的無名正妹徐小湘，因為堅挺的胸型被網友虧為「碗公奶」，而她似乎也相當以一雙豪乳為傲，自拍時總是不忘低胸穿著，沒溝的照片不拍。另外，她還有個裝可愛、無辜的「絕招」，更是令宅男為之瘋狂，「童顏巨乳」的形容詞她絕對當之無愧。

Basically, there are many fake Facebook profiles around but we are not able to confirm even though we have our doubts on them. We also have limited resources to assess each and everyone of them. If you are able to identify other Facebook profiles that are impersonating others, do contact us with your investigation report.

Underage Singapore Call Girl Paid Sex Exposed

Guys who enjoys prostituting in Singapore will be on a higher guard from now onward if they choose to resume with their "fantastic" sexual lifestyle.

The recent case of the paid sex with minor has shocked the entire country. Men between 21 and 48 years old have been called up to assist the police in investigation and 48 of them have appeared in court so far. They include businessmen and high ranking civil service servants and sadly, some of them belong to the education sector.

The public civil servants were quick to resign from their posts days after they were being called up for investigation.

After this saga, many Singaporeans' general knowledge about the laws in Singapore should have increased. At least, they know clearly that having sex with girls under 16-year-old is considered as raping even though the girls are doing it willingly and that having paid sex with girls under 18-year-old is an offence too. Punishment for raping includes caning while punishment for having paid sex with girls under 18-year-old is either jail, fine or both.

We strongly condemn the men who are in relationship or married for cheating on their girlfriends and family (spouses and children). However, being charged for having paid sex with a minor may be unfair to most of the 80 guys.

Even though we have not visited the website that advertises for the paid sexual service, some people have taken screenshots of it before the website vanishes into the thin air. It describes the call girl as 18-year-old at that point of time.

The website is totally a scam - a scam that tricks horny guys into paying for the sexual services of a 17-year-old girl, thinking that she is 18 and legal for the job.

Many people feel injustice for the charged men even though their actions are being despised. Their names are circulated all over the Internet while the identity of the now 19-year-old hardcore prostitute is being protected because she was only 17-year-old at that point of time. The hard truth is that the men who are married will not suffer as much as their wives and children. Have the media gone overboard?

Some days ago, a porn site has "exposed" the call girl's identity and photos despite the well covered up effort by the court and media of Singapore. Nobody is surprised in this era when Internet can do wonders.

On Saturday, 21 April 2012, the Singapore Police Force Facebook page has issued a warning to the public:

In regards to the recent case of commercial sex with a minor that has been widely reported in the media, we would like to remind our fans that a court order has been made, prohibiting the publication of any known photograph or information which might lead to the identification of the underage female witness.

This prohibition, also known as a gag order, includes speculation and any online queries/ checks/ verifications.

The court has imposed this gag order to protect the identity of the underage witness. Anyone who breaches this order through publication in any means, including any social media platforms e.g. Facebook, will be committing an offence, and those convicted may be jailed up to a year and fined a maximum of $5000.

While many people think the "protecting" of the "minor" will only encourage more underage girls to take up the job of call girl, social escort or prostitute, and that the teen call girl is already 19-year-old and not a minor anymore, it is up to the court to determine the correct decisions.

We hope this incident would deter guys from looking for call girls in future.



Below are some of the news videos on TV:

SINGAPORE: Forty-four men, including nine civil servants, were charged in court Monday with having paid sex with a minor.

They allegedly procured the services from an online vice ring which had employed the underaged girl or girls.

In February, reports said 80 men, including a former school principal, were believed to be assisting in the probe.

The police had said then that the investigation is part of on-going enforcement efforts to clamp down on vice syndicates.

Lee Lip Hong, 39, the former principal of Pei Chun Public School was not represented by a lawyer and was the only one who said he will plead guilty to paying S$950 in total for the sexual services of a minor on two occasions in 2010.

Lee resigned from his position in December last year, to the shock of parents and students, after serving the school for three years.

When asked, the Education Ministry said it's "unable to comment on the case, as the matter is before the courts".

Others charged included lawyers, naval officers, a managing director and businessmen.

The youngest is 21 years old, and the oldest, 48.

They are accused of obtaining sexual services from a girl or girls under 18, sometime between September 2010 and March 2011.

They allegedly paid S$450 to S$850.

During the court session, lawyer Subhas Anandan took issue with the charge sheets.

"How is anybody going to know what he is charged for when you don't know who the girl is, and what her age is? We just can't accept the word of the prosecution... We are going to ask the prosecution, the DPP, to give us further particulars. If they do not give us the further particulars, we will take it up in the High Court," he said.

While the exact number of girls involved in the cases is not known, one thing is consistent - the 44 men sought the services from a person identified as Tang Boon Thiew, the alleged ring leader of the group.

Tang is said to have been charged last year and his case is ongoing.

Tang was charged on November 4, 2011 on 34 counts under the Women's Charter and one for allegedly having paid sex with a minor.

The case against the principal will be heard again later this month while most of the others will have their cases mentioned again in June.

If convicted, they may be jailed up to seven years, fined, or both.

More men are expected to be charged at a later date.

www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1195536/1/.html

SINGAPORE: Members of the public and MPs say they are shocked by news that several public servants are involved in an on-going investigation into an online prostitution ring, including an ex-police officer and ex-principal.

They said that public servants, especially those in senior positions or who work closely with minors, have a moral authority to uphold.

Hot on the heels of a recent corruption probe involving two senior civil servants, public service officers are again in the spotlight, this time, over suspected involvement with an online prostitution ring.

Public reaction has been one of dismay, especially over news that an ex-principal may be involved.

"I recognise the fact that this may be his personal life, so what he does outside school is really something between him and his family. But nevertheless, the fact is that he's leading a group of teachers who are expected to be examples, good models for our students. I think it'd be difficult for the teachers to look up to him, if there are moral flaws in his character," said Lim Biow Chuan, Government Parliamentary Committee Chair for Education.

The former principal, who's said to be 39 years old and married, resigned unexpectedly in December.

It's believed that teachers at the popular primary school were informed of his resignation, but were not told the reason for his departure.

It's understood that the new school principal told teachers not to speak to media.

One teacher who works at the school in question, said the former principal was very well liked by teachers and students, and most were "crushed" when they found out about the news.

Described as "warm" and "friendly", the former principal was also said to be a champion of student and teacher welfare, trying to alleviate their workload as much as possible.

It's understood he also pushed for sports excellence at the school, due to his love for sports.

Some Singaporeans Channel NewsAsia spoke with felt civil servants have to maintain a high standard of conduct.

"I think it's morally not right and these public servants should be sacked on the spot. They make lousy role models for children of our generation," said one member of the public.

"Depends on what position (they're) holding. If they are in the education ministry or are senior MPs or ministers, then I think it's not appropriate," said another.

Mr Lim said he doesn't think the situation is a widespread issue. But he noted that the Education Ministry may need to review its selection process and see if there are ways to improve the appointment of top leaders in schools.

Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, Government Parliamentary Committee Chairman for Law and Home Affairs, Hri Kumar, said: "Civil servants should be expected to uphold the reputation and integrity of the civil service, and do nothing to undermine public confidence."

And while he does not think the recruitment process of public servants is flawed, he noted that "there must be a regular and robust assessment process, and disciplinary issues which surface are dealt with fairly and quickly".

In 2010, the Public Service Commission disciplined five officers for inappropriate or immoral behaviour.

According to PSC's annual report for the past five years, immoral or inappropriate behaviour was among the top three reasons for disciplinary action.

Authorities have remained tight-lipped over how many public servants are involved in the probe, or how they will be dealt with.

They say that as investigations are on-going, it is not appropriate to provide further details.

www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1182535/1/.html

Sim Lim Square Scams in Singapore

Following the earlier complaint by our reader regarding the Sim Lim Square scam on purchasing of Samsung Galaxy Tab, there is a complaint lodged to Stomp regarding the exact same shop. However, the complaint is regarding Nokia phone this time.

From Stomp:

STOMPer einnor warns others against this shop in Sim Lim that charged her friend for 'software installation' without her friend's knowledge. When confronted, the shop owner smugly asked the friend to get a lawyer to sue him.

The STOMPer elaborates:

"Recently, my classmate from China bought 2 Nokia 302 phones from a shop in Sim Lim for 560 SGD.

"The shop told my friend that the phones require a software to work when my friend brings them back to China.

"The owner didn't tell my friend how much the 'software installation' was, so my friend thought that it was free as she is using the phones in China, and so she agreed to the installation.

"In the end, the bill came up to $1410.

"This is obviously a cheating case. And when my friend asked for a refund, the owner said no and proudly asked my friend to find a lawyer and sue him.

"STOMPers, be careful of this shop."

Following this news broadcast by Stomp, Facebook user Doris Winata shared it: "They charged my sis $850 for itouch which cost $450. @_@".

"Yea.. They return 100$ and gave a screen protector. My sis gullible ma"

She cannot confirm that it is the same shop but the shop is definitely in Sim Lim Square.

Victims who have been cheated by any shop should report to the police and CASE so that the scammers will not be able to victimize more people. It is time to uphold the reputation of Sim Lim Square, which is one of the IT heavens in Singapore.

Fake Employment Scam Targeting Foreigners

As reported by MediaCorp Channel 8 news, there is a stupid scammer who offered to help foreigners to get jobs in Singapore via the Internet.

He got the victims down to a restaurant and asked them for a sum of $1000 each so that he could help their overseas relatives to get S-Passes to work in Singapore. The reason for placing the deposit was to make sure the interested job applicants would not go back on their words.

Why do we label the scammer as "stupid"?

The waitresses recognised the scammer as an ex-staff of the restaurant and thus his identity has been exposed to allow police to summon him over for investigation soon if he has not left Singapore.

We are sure that similar scam method would eventually evolve. Do take note and be careful.

Identity Theft Scam in Malaysia

According to the star online, a 65-year-old Malaysian hawker, H'ng Yu Choon, from Penang is facing problem of losing his Malaysian citizenship as "he" is now a Singaporean.

He was pickpocketed near 30 years ago and had lost all his important documents during the incident. He had then made a police report and had his identity card replaced. When the new system of using Mykad was implemented, he had also replaced his identification card.

He does not have a passport and has never left the country before. However, accordingly to records, "he" had renewed his passport five times and had recently migrated to Singapore, giving up "his" Malaysian citizenship.

It is either a technical problem or the result of identity theft.

Nevertheless, we should just take good care of our personal belonging, especially the important documents.

Fake Tsunami Scam Alert Using Old Video

On Wednesday, 11 April 2012, a 8.9 earthquake occurred in West Sumatra, Indonesia. There was issue of tsunami warning but none had taken place. During the earthquake, residents of a few neighbourhood countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, could feel the shaking as well.

A Singaporean "Adam Tan" who was at Penang, Malaysia reported on his Facebook status "Earthquake in Penang!!" at 4.51pm on the very same day.

When many people from all over the world were concerned about the Indonesians' well-being, Youtube footage surfaced showing that smaller waves of tsunami had occurred due to the earthquake. Eventually, there were many people who exposed that the videos were re-uploaded from old videos taken years back.

The tsunami is a scam or prank, whichever you call it, but it is definitely disgusting to joke about such thing. It will definitely cause public panic to people staying in Indonesia and Malaysia.


Indonesia Earth Quake Tsunami 2012-04-11 by mobilecoupon



Comments:

rahkriga:
yeah..its a real lie. this footage from years ago. i have friends indonesia..just talked to them....no tsunami. i am watching indonesian news live on cnn...no tsunami. the person that posted this did so with the intent to deceive and you fell for the lie without doing your own research...dont be so gullible

stanchung69:
Hi rahkiga, understood, sorry for any offence- some people are just MOFO's for making these. Some idiots on FB are saying Penang bridge is closed & bracing for impact and Phuket was hit by 30M waves.

rahkriga:
my point is...this is footage from years ago...not today. so yes...this video is fake. im watching indonesian news live...there is no tsunami. this video and its poster are full of shit

rahkriga:
This video is from 2009. Stop reposting this

rahkriga:
this is footage from years ago...not today. im talking with someone in indo now...no tsunami

kangta164:
This was from 2004 Tsunami footage. Don't scare people with fake videos because some of us do have families and friends who are living in the affected zone.

poyosaurus:
Just flagged it

min92min:
There isn't any tsunami reported yet. Stop reposting just for the sake of taking advantage, idiot! Do research before you even posted it.

nuarmat:
real video (from 2004 deadly tsunami) but not the latest one. no tsunami was reported.

harry118556:
fck!!!! this is not indonesia!!!

sentosagani:
so fake

terrybear2k:
old fake videos

kongjunkiet:
Really happen, but not latest!


Tsunami hits Malaysia in penang new video by resh RESH



Comments:

dtwldaniel:
Throw ur youtube account away! Damn liar!

serineck:
no tsunami in penang this year..don't simply put as new video.

lawrencewong100:
jibai lanjau! YOU WANT MAKE LIAR THEN GO CHOP DICK DOWN 1st! o0o

THIS WONT MAKE YOU POPULAR! BITCH

MrXiaoGan:
Brainless!!! Don't simply download and re-post again n put "New".....

HKWAI1012:
mdfk! u too free izzit??

BirdyHeng:
o0o KNN make youtube audience confuse, rubbish...

sanique624:
bro, strongly recommend you to remove these videos.. you are causing public confusion and moral panic, no point making your channel famous with this irresponsible act.. =)

cathTV:
Anyone please report police!!! This fellow r really insane!!! Trying to make another wave via web...

chuchow82:
Year 2004 Video, this video uploaded intended to misleading and causing public confusion!

P.L.E.A.S.E . . . R.E.M.O.V.E . . I.M.M.E.D.I.A.T.E.L.Y . . !!!!!!

albertwing78:
God..! Please punish that that Punk, publish fake video.. Hope ur area of ur house had earthquake.. God punish u.. Faker

AhSeng883:
don't create chaos while state government alrdy clear the tsunami alert.... don't try to create panic to public and , screw you idiot!

nesanclc:
hey bloody low life, uneducated RESH... stop uploading old videos & calling it new... You like to create a panic izzit? Dumb fool!! Its idiots like you that make the internet a dangerous place... Got get some education bloody pariah!

fugilo:
The earthquake is at 4pm yesterday , and tsunami supposely will hit Penang at 10pm at night , but this is daylight video .

pjj2259:
GET OUT FROM PENANG resh RESH !!

ytcssoh:
MAKE POLICE REPORT, put him jail !!!

zenze:
old footage

Schroeder9999:
Just flag this video. I wish I could flag the douche bag who posted this video as a new one too...

Chris58851:
Now technology were so advance and people starts to become clever to use them. Only you seem to have retarded...

Tayhao Lai:
May you rot in hell. Damn retarded.

twjian25:
Tsunami will only hit your place and your lovely car, won't hit Penang.

Hit your internet line, so that you won't upload this stupid video again!

We pray for you... ^.^

TRoJaNVYRuZ:
Watch out, we have a badass over here! Report him

SaracenzS:
jack ass this is old video....2004

Internet Love Scams - Victims Please Contact Us

As reported by various presses in Singapore, a 32-year-old Nigerian was arrested by the Malaysian police in Kuala Lumpur (KL) for series of internet love scams. He was extradited to Singapore on 11 April 2012.

The scammer would befriend female victims through online dating and social networking websites. He would then try to start fake love relationships with the ladies. He would pretend to visit Singapore and claim to be detained at the Checkpoint, after which, he would request the victims to remit money to certain bank accounts so that he could be released.

If you are a victim of such scam or have a friend who has fallen prey to such scammer, do contact us with your contact details. We will update the reporters who are working on internet love scams news so that they can contact you to find out more in order to educate the public. Your particulars will be kept confidential.

Your kind assistance will be very appreciated by everyone.

Facebook Scam - Sharing Image - Flies Will Move

The image's description reads: "按share，你就会看到他们在走动!"
Direct translation to English: Press share, you will see them move.

By sharing any item on Facebook, Facebook does not display any special effect. The image is just a static image, which will not move.

Sharing the image will not harm you, your computer or privacy, but you may be mocked by others.

This can be considered as a prank, unless the person who posts or re-posts it has the intention of drawing people to his/her profile for marketing purpose.

The image is posted by a Facebook user Cindy Yow. We are not able to identify if she the originator of the prank/scam.

Scam Alert: Facebook Fake Profiles

There are some very obvious misuse of photos by a few Facebook users. In other words, these are Facebook fake profiles.

1. Rachel Tan
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003252601897
Photos belong to Yuhong and friend

2. Val See
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001716408537
Photos belong to Priscilla

3. Xiao Xue
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003291364968
Photos belong to Yinghui

The owners of the photos, all Singaporeans, were informed about the scammers but it seems like Facebook is too well-pampered by the extra fake count of users.

Fake Beggar Scam on Wheelchair

We have heard about a scam through "aunties-to-aunties story" regarding a male elderly. He usually loiters near Bukit Merah Polyclinic in a wheelchair to beg passers-by for money. There are a couple of very distinctive things he has done that may be very annoying to many people.

Incident one:
A kind woman sympathized with him and offered him $10. The next thing he did was to ask the woman to give him another $10.

We have seen quite a number of less fortunate people around in Singapore. Most of them will appreciate it even if you were to give them just a few coins. $10 is quite a big sum for a kind soul to offer to a stranger and this is the first time we have heard of a "beggar" asking for more.

Incident two:
The man stopped a group of students and asked them for money. The students rejected him because they were not well-to-do. However, he started asking them to chip in money together to offer him.

We believe this has been overdone to students.

These are not the reasons why we would label him as a scammer. We were told that policemen had managed to locate his house at Redhill area and his neighbour had claimed that the man would usually wear shabbily in his wheelchair out to do his "business", and then return home to shower and go out on feet.

This means that the man is simply taking advantage of others' kindness by pretending to be in a sorry state.

We cannot confirm the truthfulness of this incident. Kind souls who happen to drop by Bukit Merah Polyclinic can try to check out with the nurses and confirm with us - we will really appreciate the help.

We cannot allow such bad incident defer our determination to help the needy. However, we would really want everyone to know that there is always a proper way to help people.

You give someone a fish and you can save him from starving for a day, but if you were to teach him how to fish instead, you can save him from starving for the rest of his life.

Our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, has promised that he would never let anyone behind while our country progresses. Therefore, if you want to help someone, instead of giving him money, approach the appropriate welfare departments or organisations. If you are not sure whom to look for, simply visit at Reach.gov.sg or even the town council. You can also drop an email to the member of parliament in charge of the area.

Free Zoo Tickets Scam - Phone Scam

Recently, there are cases of people being rang up regarding free Singapore Zoological Gardens tickets. The caller has claimed that the owner of the phone number has won free tickets to the Singapore Zoo but they have to reveal their identification (IC) numbers and other details in order to get the tickets. Since the scammer may have taken the phone number from the phone directory, the scammer may also know victim's name, which make the scam look more convincing.

The Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which runs the Singapore Zoo has announced that the free tickets distribution is a hoax.

This could be either a prank to make the victims to go down all the way to the Zoo to collect their "free" tickets or simply a scam to steal their IC numbers.

We are not sure what can the scammer do with the name, IC and phone numbers of the victims. It may be useful in cracking SingPass since the login requires the user's IC number, together with a password, and the user may have used his/her phone number as the password. Similar to some Internet Banking, IC number is the login. The scammer may also collect the IC number before lying low temporary and strike the victim off-guarded - there are new scam methods emerging everyday and do expect the unexpected.

If this scam is purely a prank, the scammer has probably done the Singapore Zoo a big favour for the free marketing. McDonald's place advertisements every now and then to create an impression on the public and the Singapore Zoo will definitely need it as well and they get it for free this time. Victims may also lead their family members down to collect the "free" tickets and they will eventually buy the tickets since they are already there. Many families in Singapore are busy with work and will rarely find time to get together. We hereby represent Singapore Zoo and the affected victims to thank the scammer.

Nevertheless, we would like to urge the public not to be easily taken in by such phone scam. Do not trust a caller completely. If you have won a prize from a big company, they will mail you a letter instead. And also, a decent company does not even need you to verify yourself since it is not a guess-and-win phone game. Please feel odd when the caller starts asking you for sensitive information. Big companies will also not use private number to call you.

We would encourage the public not to take up any random street survey, which the surveyor may lead you to provide your details.

Scam Alert: Tagged Fake Profiles

Below are some Tagged profiles that are using non-Singaporeans' photos but they all claim that they are staying in Singapore.

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5453614060

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5412891925

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5410374143

We are not sure of their motives but they do not seem to be very active in Tagged anymore.

Do take note of them if you have them added as friends in Tagged.com or Hi5.com.

Phone Kidnapping Scam

Someone has requested The Online Citizen to pass on this scam alert to the public. We are not able to confirm the news.

From TheOnlineCitizen:

A citizen allowed us to share this information with the public

< My mum got a call 9:30 this morn fr no 0092357658. A man claimed he had jus kidnapped her daughter(me). Then follows a lady crying on the phone in mandarin "妈妈 妈妈 快救我 快救我 出事了 出事了＂the man then continue to say he had just killed someone and is on the run. He needs 20k to flee. He ask for my mum's location n if she's alone in the office. Later when he heard voices of her colleagues, he got angry and said "you lied that you r alone, now I am going to kill ur daughter. Come collect her body in 2 mins" >

The mum who received the call on last friday made a report on the night itself to the Singapore police. Do be advised on such scams and warn elderly parents who would need to be alert to such occurrences. Callers are from overseas and will get victims to do money transfer via western union which makes it difficult for police to track.

This piece of news arrives during this period of time when the police is still investigating the attempted kidnap reports but there is definitely no link between them.

It has been a known fact that such phone kidnapping scam has long existed. Even the recently ended drama show on channel 8 "Rescue 995" starred by Yvvone Lim, Fang Zhan Fa, Tay Ping Hui and Ou Xuan has a scene that Yvvone Lim's brother (in the show) tried to scam their grandma together with his friends.

This is a kind of confidence trick. The scammer would claim that his team has kidnapped the victim's child or grandchild. As the victim loses her calm, the "kidnapper" would make her "son" or "grandson" to cry for help. It is not easy to verify the voice over phone, especially when the source of screaming is a distance away from the scammer's phone. Moreover, when the victim is in a shock, there is a higher tendency that she would fall for the hoax.

People who are sharp enough would have tried to call the "hostage" to check. However, there are cases that the victims' relatives cannot be reached, they take in the scammers' words and hand over the "ransom".

It seems that the scammers are doing random calling to pick up their victims. We have heard from a targeted person staying in HDB flat that after she slammed the phone years back, the scammer did not bother to call her back. Her neighbour was, in fact, targeted within the same day as well.

Since the use of mobile phone is common, it is definitely easy for anyone to call her relative to check the status to confirm that the caller is a scammer. Everyone should remind the elderly at home about such kidnap hoax so that they will not fall for the trick.

New ideas would emerge everyday and the scammer may put in more "dressing" to the scam. Everyone should always stay vigilant.