Thursday, January 26, 2006

Credit Card Scam

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the
information, except the one piece they want.

WARNING...New Credit Card Scam.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.
This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA
&MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared
to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from "VISA", and I was
called on Thursday from "MasterCard".


The scam works like this: Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm
calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number
is 12460 Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and
I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued
by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for
$497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona?" When you say "No",
the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your
account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range
from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most
cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you
your address), is that correct?"

You say "yes". The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud
investigation. If you have any question s, you should call the 1- 800
number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for
Security.

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you
a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?"

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says,
"I need to verify you are in possession of your card". He'll ask you to
"turn your card over and look for some numbers". There are 7 numbers;
the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security
Numbers' that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the
numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have
the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After
you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just
needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you
still have your card. Do you have any other questions?" After you say

No, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back
if you do", and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the
Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back
within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA
Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a
new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story made short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA
account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is
the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them.
Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for
verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will
never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information
since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN
Number, you think yo u're receiving a credit. However, by the time you
get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and
by then it's almost to late and/or more difficult to actually file a
fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a
"Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA
scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police
report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several
of these reports daily!


They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is
happening.

Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By informing each
other, we protect each other.


Regards
Shek

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

christy~bell, your career personality type is INTP

That means that based on the standard measure of personality traits, brainstorming and creating new concepts is one of your strengths. You are an out-of-the-box thinker and come up with great ideas. You are one of those people who absorb seemingly disparate pieces of information and turn them into one brilliant and coherent thought. In other words, you see connections between ideas where others cannot.

Your inquisitive nature makes you a life-long seeker of knowledge. Your excitement comes from developing the concepts and ideas, once you know that your idea works, you are on to the next challenge. Your mind moves so quickly that you surround yourself with a strong team to finalize the ideas you conceive.

The reason employers and recruiters might be on the lookout for you is that only about 3-4% of the U.S. population shares the unique characteristics of your personality type. Research shows that businesses succeed when employers create a good balance of personality types in the office. And since only 3-4% of the U.S. population shares your type, that means employers are looking for you.



But, to truly show employers what you have to offer, you need to understand a little more about traits that make up your type.

Friday, January 20, 2006

ff12 trailer!!! nice theme song by angela aki. i can't wait!!

lots of thoughts running through my head...

first off, even if you feel that you are better than your seniors, does that give you authority to disrespect them, humiliate or laugh at them? no matter what, seniors are still seniors, and i do respect them unless they totally failed the job.

and secondly, if kendo is turning you into such a bakemono who lusts for blood, wouldn't it be better for you to quit it? (there is NO visible blood shed with any one of your hits anyway)

kendo is discipline. if the men alone shields you from differentiating right and wrong, friend or foe, then you have not the discipline yet.

lastly, we would definitely support your decision to keep silent as we won battles after battles, because you are not even fit to be called part of us. and yes, laugh if we fall, because it won't even be worth a notice for us.
hey guys take a look at the memoirs of a geisha link i put up! damn funny... ahahahah

Sunday, January 15, 2006

just completed magna carta tears of blood. it's that feeling you get when you look so much to completing and you've done it, then you've got nothing to look forward to anymore. the ending of it was pretty satisfying, though short, and all the graphics were worth the patience!

watched memoirs of a geisha yesterday too. kinda disappointing for a show i looked so forward to. the book is definitely much better. the story pace is SLOOOW (seems to be the norm for everything i'm looking forward to nowadays), i almost fell asleep and the subtitles were so bad that i couldn't really catch what they were saying. it's fortunate i've read the book, else i won't have an inkling of what the hell was going on. i'm suprised dad didn't fall asleep. when it was around 1.5hours i thought the show was past limit, it felt like 3hours had past.

muscle ache ever since i got back from kendo. the strain on my shoulders - OUCH. guess that's the price you pay for trying to be independent. and i can't believe my calf muscle aches too. first time i'm haing pain all over. dakara, mochiron watashi can't go for today's morning training... (not to mention it's so darn far away and i've to wake up when the sun's not up) sorry guys, guess you can't put too much faith on me for the competition, and sorry SMU kendo club, you'll have to be embarrassed again...

and hey i've to get back to FA already! watched a lame show called madagascar, completed my stuff so enough fooling around, i gotta be back on track yeah... oh wait... there's still dinner... hmmm FA can wait hahaha - no way i can't repeat my MA mistakes again... (-_-`)

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

stop dousing in self-pity. get up and walk on. from now on, you will not depend on anyone.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Tomoko Tane - Broken Wings

I know this will not remain forever
However it's beautiful
Your eyes, hands and your warm smile
They're my treasure

It's hard to forget

I was still with this solution
Don't spend your time in confusion
I'll turn back now and spread...

My broken wings...
Still strong enought to cross the ocean with

My broken wings...
How far should I go drifting in the wind?
Higher and higher in the wind

My broken wings...
Still strong enought to cross the ocean with
My broken wings...
How far should I go drifting in the wind?
Across the sky just keep on... Flying