Although this morning’s posting may not have much relation to the iPhone, iPhoneMalaysiaBloggers are compelled to write this article because it is important to get the Malaysian public to be aware of this high-tech scam that is happening in Malaysia(and many other countries). We have the opportunity to interview one of our close friend who was targetted by the internet phone scammers. We had interviewed our friend on what happened and he has provided us with all the details about the calls. Below is the story:-

Ricky(not his real name) from Penang got a call on his iPhone from a fixed line phone bearing the number of 03-22662222 three days ago. The person who called him identified himself as an “Inspector Chong” investigating a case involving the arrest of 2 Malaysians in Hong Kong by the name of “ABC” and “XYZ”(we are using ABC and XYZ since these are 2 fictitious names that the scammers have created). He has also informed Ricky that the conversation between him and the “Inspector” is recorded and can be used in court as evidence in the case. The “inspector” then proceeded to ask Ricky if he knows these 2 persons. Ricky said no and asked the “inspector” on how can he confirm or verify that he is a real inspector investigating this case. “Inspector Chong” then said that he is calling from the Bukit Aman Police Station and asked if he knows what Bukit Aman Police Station is. Ricky said yes but continued his question on how can he verify the identity of the police. “Inspector Chong” then asked Ricky to make a call to Telekom and verify the number himself before he calls him again later.

Ricky did the verification of the number via Telekom and internet directory and confirmed that the number 03-22662222(which appeared on his iPhone) was in fact the Main number of Bukit Aman Police Station. Later in the day, “Inspector Chong” called again and repeated that the conversation is recorded and that the conversation may be used a proof in court. Ricky seems to be a bit more convinced that it could be real now.

The “Inspector Chong” proceeded to inform Ricky that the Hong Kong Police have caught 2 Malaysians involved in forging passports and other documents by the name of “ABC” and “XYZ” and asked if Ricky knows about them. Ricky answered no. The” inspector” has then cooked up a story that he has just finished a call conference with the Hong Kong Interpol and from what he understood, these 2 persons “ABC” and “XYZ” had 40 photocopies of IC with them and one of them was Ricky’s. “Inspector Chong” said that the Malaysia Police is working with the Hong Kong Interpol to nab these people and Ricky is now one of the suspect in the case. He has advised Ricky to give a call to a police officer in Hong Kong by the name of “Inspector Lee” in order to record the statement as well as to clear his name. “Inspector Chong” then gave Ricky “Inspector Lee’s” Hong Kong Phone number. “Inspector Chong” has warned Ricky not to share this with anyone as they do not want others to know that Police is investigating the case as this may cause a “tipoff” to the bad guys to be more careful and alert.

Ricky called “Inspector Lee” and “Inspector Lee” identified himself and told Ricky that he is currently busy with some other cases right now and that he will contact Ricky tomorrow to get more information.

The next day “Inspector Lee” contacted Ricky and informed him that the call is recorded and he is calling to investigate the case of the arrest of “ABC” and “XYZ” in connection with the case of document forgery. He proceeded to explain that these two persons “ABC” and “XYZ” uses other people’s identity to make documents like ICs and Passports and insert “other people’s” photos into the documents and that this is a serious offence. There are 40 other Malaysians’ identity that they possess and “Inspector Lee” is checking if these 40 Malaysians are either their partners, victims or they sold their own identity for money. “Inspector Lee” then told Ricky that he needs his full details in order to classify him as either the partners, victims or someone who sold their identity for money(which is also an offence).

“Inspector Lee” then proceeded to ask Ricky about details of the banks that he has and how much money he has in the banks. This is when Ricky suspected something is not right and refused to divulge such information as he needed more verification. “Inspector Lee” said that he totally understand Ricky’s concern as there are many scams and frauds around and has asked Ricky to verify with “Inspector Chong” before proceeding.  Wow-another superb acting here!

“Inspector Chong” then called Ricky and ask him what his concerns are and warned him that it is important to assist the Hong Kong Interpol in the investigation or else he may be one of the suspects in the case. Ricky then informed “Inspector Chong” that he will only divulge confidential information if he can see a real Police Officer at a Police Station before proceeding. Ricky happens to know a Police Officer in Penang and has asked “Inspector Chong” to give this Police Officer a call and get Ricky to come in to the Police Station in Penang for further discussion. “Inspector Chong” agreed to call the Police Officer to contact Ricky but as you know the rest of the story….  it never happened.

This is a very high tech mobile phone scams which the public needs to be aware of and hence iPhoneMalaysiaBloggers have decided to publish this article as public awareness so that we will not be victims to these scammers.

From Ricky’s experience, these conmen are very good actors and really behave and sounded like Real Police Officers. Secondly, they are using technology to “mask” the number that appeared on your mobile phone in order to trick people into believing that the call was originated from Bukit Aman Police Station Main Line 03-22662222.

iPhoneMalaysiaBloggers have done some investigation on this technology. This technology is called “Phishing”

Phishing is a technique used to acquire sensitive information such as credit card details, bank account details, usernames, passwords by pretending to be a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication like email or phone(voice or sms). The Voice over IP(VOIP) technology allows this to be done.

iPhoneMalaysiaBloggers have also checked with the Police on cases related to this and have got confirmation from the Police that Statements will not be taken over the phone. All statements will be recorded in writing at the Police Station.

There are a lot of phone scams happening and one that is recently busted and reported in the Star is as follows:-

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/11/nation/8880995&sec=nation

Below are some of the learnings from Ricky’s incident:-

1.  Even if you receive a call from the Bukit Aman Police Station, it may not be the real thing as Phishing technology allow scammers to mask the phone number to be displayed on your mobile phone.

2.  They are targetting people outside of Kuala Lumpur or Selangor as these people cannot go to the Bukit Aman Police Station to verify the identity of the Inspector. Also, they may use other ranking officers like ASP, DSP, Chief Inspector or whatever title. Irregardless of who calls you, do not reveal any personal or confidential information over the phone.

3.  The example given above is just “one” of the many version of stories that they are using. We believe the scammers are also doing some data collection and testing on which versions are the most effective at getting their victims to reveal as much information as possible. Irregardless of what stories or threats that are being cooked up, remember your rights as a citizen. You are innocent until proven guilty not the other way round.

4.  Scammers seldom work alone. They normally work in pairs or groups to make it look more real. Even if it seems to be supported by “others”. These people may be their own gang and never trust them.

5.  Scammers normally want the victim to keep things to themselves because once the victims start sharing with others the chances of others believing it as well is very low so they may give threat that this is a highly confidential operation and ask the victim not to share it with anyone else including those close to the victim. When you hear this, be even more alert and aware that this is a possible scam. Only trust the “police officer” if you see him in person at the Police Station.

6.  Scammers normally take advantage of 2 of our weakest human emotions i.e. Fear and Greed. In the example above, the Fear tactic was used. There are a lot of scams that involve Greed like “winning a lottery”, “inheritance”, “lucky draw” etc. Be aware of these as well.

In view of the sophisticated technology being used and the great acting by the scammers, iPhoneMalaysiaBloggers feel that many people may actually fall victim to such an act. The only way to prevent this is by increasing the awareness about such a tactic and educating the public and hence why we have decided to make this posting.

Please share this with your family and friends so that they are aware of such the phishing technology and this type of scam that is happening in Malaysia and around the world. Together we can fight this!

Have you played the Angry Birds app? If you have not, you should go and try it. It is the number games app on the iPhone. It is available on most platforms including the iPad, Android and other tablet PCs. Recently, it was also made available on the Google Chrome browser. It is quite an addictive app.

The question is “Have you played a real live Angry Bird game?” T-Mobile has recently put up a live structure in Terrassa, Spain(a town near Barcelona) hooked up to a smartphone for fans of Angry Birds to play the game complete with flying birds and exploding pigs.

This is really awesome. Since it was put up a few days ago on Youtube, it has already garnered millions of pageviews. Check out this cool video below:-

Kudos to T-Mobile for coming up with such an interesting live game and advertising gimmick. This is what we call great advertising that have viral effects. Wonder when Malaysians will get the chance to play this game live. Maxis, Celcom, Digi?

Cloud computing is and will be the next big thing in the computing world. Everyone is talking about the power of cloud computing and how it will change how we run our lives in the future. In line with the future of Cloud computing, Steve Jobs has announced Apple’s next big thing at Apple’s WWDC called the “iCloud”. This will be Apple’s next big thing that will differentiate Apple’s products even more as compared to their competitors like the Android or Blackberry.

iCloud’s ability to automatically and seamlessly integrate and synchronize not just data, but the applications across various devices is likely going to impress the already loyal customers to the Apple products.

Once you are used to having your contacts, calendar, emails, music and apps managed through the iCloud, it’s going to be awfully difficult to change or make a switch to a different platform. This is how Apple intends to make sure an Apple user becomes a hardcore Apple fan.

In addition to that, all this comes with a price point that is pretty difficult to resist – free. This feature is also not easily duplicated as well since the Android platform is much more fragmented. Moving forward, with the iCloud, all data will be stored and backed up, songs, photos, emails, calendar, contacts and other info will be updated wherever you are. Let’s wait till Fall 2011 to see if iCloud is as good as mentioned……  :-)

For the summary of the coverage of the iCloud at WWDC, please view the video below:-

This new story isn’t a hoax as what we have reported in our earlier story about “Bigfoot caught on iPhone”. This is a real life story of how a Chinese teenager is willing to sell one of his kidney(right kidney) in exchange for an iPhone and an iPad 2. Xiao Zheng, a 17 year old Chinese teenager sold off one of his kidneys through a broker from an online transaction that valued his kidney  at 20,000  Yuan(or £1,825) so that he could get enough money to exchange for an iPhone and an iPad 2.  The Chinese teen, who lives in the south-eastern province of Anhui apparently met the broker on the Internet. The broker has arranged everything for him, and all he need is to travel to Chenzhou, a province in central China to have his kidney was removed in a hospital.

His mother was very very devastated when she found out what her son has done. She was quoted as saying…

“When my son came home he had a laptop computer and an iPhone.  Where did all that money come from? Only when he could bear it no longer did he tell us.  He said, Mum, I sold my kidney.  When I heard it I felt like the sky was crashing down on our family.”

Xiao Zheng’s mother then reported the incident to the police but unfortunately the police were unable to locate the broker.  The police also investigated the hospital where the kidney was operated on and found that The hospital was not authorised to perform transplants of any kind and that no official record of the surgery has taken place. This is truly a well planned organized crime involving body parts for sale.

This is indeed a very sad story about a teenager who is willing to sacrifice his kidney in exchange for some cool gadgets. This served as a reminder to all parents to properly educate our children to not succumb to this kind of peer or cool gadget pressure. This has certainly breached the moral and ethical values that we can tolerate. May these brokers be put behind bars soon and may this trade be stopped immediately.

Say NO to body parts trading!