I am a victim of Card Skimming / Cloning

Orginally posted Dec 07

I have recently become the victim of card skimming and had money taken from my account to pay for mobile phone bills and prepay credit.

This has never happened to me before but I’ve heard a lot about it in the news. Obviously there’s never a good time for it to happen, but right before Christmas is a real kick in the teeth.

It worries me because I always use the same 5 or 6 machines and determining which one it was could be impossible. First of all, how do you tell if the ATM has been tampered with? I do look and see if anything ‘extra’ has been added but I’ve never noticed anything. Secondly, the offender(s) responsible may have moved the card reading device.

Luckily for me it looks like there is a good chance I will receive my money back. I do happen to have a pay-as-you-go phone with one of the companies and have asked them to see if anyone else is using my card details. They have verbally agreed to refund the money I have lost and I have raised a dispute with my bank. I should receive the money within 10 weeks. The phone company have promised to get back to me today (Wednesday 4^th December) with the name and address of the person. I will then pass these details on to the Police.

In the meantime my bank cancelled my card and is issuing a new one. They have also increased my overdraft limit considerably to cover me over the festive period. The problem being with that is I will be paying interest on the money I’m borrowing. I will have to recoup this money from the bank once my money has been refunded from the phone company.

Here’s a couple of useful articles about card fraud and how to prevent it:

http://www.safefromscams.co.uk/CardSkimmingFraud.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3256799.stm

http://www.cardwatch.org.uk/default.asp?sectionid=5&pageid=82

UPDATE: 04/12/07 12.15

I've spoken to the phone company and they have informed me that they cannot give me the name and address of the person who has stolen my card details because of the Data Protection Act.

The a**hole has forfeited their right to safety under the umbrella of the Data Protection Act after they stole my details! There is a certain degree of injustice about the whole thing. I know it's there to stop people taking things in to there own hands but I just want to make sure that this persons details get passed on to the Police. The phone company has assured me that the investigation conducted by my bank will involve the Police at the relevant stage. I really hope they catch this person.

UPDATE: 19/12/07 12.00

All the money that was taken from my account has now been returned to me by my bank. The Police had been informed but I will never know if the person(s) responsible (whom I wish great misery and torment) were ever caught. Bad Times. I'm extremely pleased however, that the matter has been resolved within two weeks. Good times!

UK Teacher arrested in Sudan - Over a Teddy Bear?!

Originally posted Nov 07

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days without a TV or internet connection then you will have heard about a British Teacher, Gillian Gibbons, being arrested in Sudan after her school children voted to name the class teddy Mohammed.

Yes, thats right, the kids in her class name their teddy the most common name in the world (ahead of John and Da Silva) and the poor woman is arrested for "insulting Islam".

I can't think of an exclamation that doesn't have some reference to religion right now and that wouldn't be appropriate!

If the kids want to name their bear Mohammed then surely that means Islam is a massive part of their lives. Either that or they all thought they wanted to name their bear after their Daddies. But as a result of this, their teacher gets arrested for nothing more than giving her children the freedom to choose a name.

The school has even been closed down until January for fear of reprisals from the largely muslim community. Who is that helping? Certainly not the kids. This teacher has moved across the world to help give children in Sudan a better education and she is rewarded with this unbelievably harsh treatment.

But who reported this poor lady to the authorities? The parents. The parents seem to blame the teacher for this 'outrage' but I wonder if they all disciplined their children? Afterall, they chose it.

She could face up to six months in Jail, a fine or even the archaic '40 lashes'.

I hope the local authorities see the situation for what it is, a complete and innocent mis-understanding, and release the woman with a full apology. I wouldn't be suprised if she left the region and returned home and that would be a great loss for the children in the community in Sudan.

It really does happen - Employers use Google

Originally posted Nov 07

What a wonderful tool Google is. You can type in a word and it will display, in a matter of seconds, a whole raft of potentially useful websites, articles, information (and blogs) for your viewing pleasure. Granted, you do get an inordinate amount of rubbish come up too but thats search engines for you.

Anyway, being a user of social networking sites (don't bother asking for my name so that you can look me up because i'll never tell!) i've wondered if there were any implications in doing so. I thought the worse that could happen would be to make a fool of yourself in front of your friends by posting various likes/disklikes or divulging information to people that you thought couldn't view it.

However, there appears to be a much larger issue. It appears that employers are actually 'Googling' potential employees during the selection process. Now this may not be a new concept for some, but for others it may prove to be a bit jarring. Below is an article published on the New York Times website in 2006. Its an interesting two page read. It might make people think, but then again, if people profess to 'smoke blunts' or like to shout to the world about there sex lives then perhaps it won't make a damn bit of difference.

Please have a read and make up your own mind.

Article is here

More trouble in the Winehouse

Originally posted Nov 07

This article made me chuckle.

“Troubled soul singer Amy Winehouse kicked off her 17-date tour with a shambolic performance that saw fuming fans booing and marching out, reports said Thursday.

The concert at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, was a chance for the 24-year-old to get back to singing and put her woes behind her.

Winehouse has had “health issues“—widely reported to be drug and alcohol abuse—and her party-loving husband Blake Fielder-Civil is being held on grievous bodily harm and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice charges.

But Wednesday’s gig at the NIA, which can hold up to 13,000 people, was slammed by angry fans as a “disgrace” after she turned up late and stumbled about the stage.

When punters started jeering, Winehouse snapped: “Let me tell you something. First of all, if you’re booing, you’re a mug for buying a ticket.

“Second, to all those booing, just wait till my husband gets out of incarceration—and I mean that.”

The Birmingham Mail newspaper’s music critic Andy Coleman said it was “one of the saddest nights of my life”.

“I saw a supremely talented artist reduced to tears, stumbling around the stage and, unforgivably, swearing at the audience,” he wrote.

James Dyas demanded his money back, according to London’s Evening Standard newspaper.

“She came on stage half an hour late. She managed four songs but was slurring her words and swaying all over the place,” he said.

“She fell into the guitar stand and dropped the microphone—it was atrocious. The song dedicated to her husband was so bad it was like swinging a cat round your head.”

An, from Birmingham, commented on The Times newspaper’s website: “Her singing was awful, out of tune and slurred. She sang for around 50 minutes—drinking throughout.

“I have never seen so many people leave a show. ‘Valerie’ was my favourite song—she massacred it!”

Pete Massera, from north-west England, added: “It was an absolutely atrocious gig. I, like many others in the audience, got our coats and left before she even finished the set.”

Gary Atwell, from nearby Rugby, said “streams” of fans walked out, according to the BBC website.

“I went out for a sneaky cigarette half way through and at least 40 people left, just in that five minutes,” he said.

“Valerie”, the closing number, descended into chaos when Winehouse stopped singing, dropped the microphone and walked off stage.

Winehouse, named best British female solo artist at the Brit Awards in February, has rarely been out of the newspapers in recent months due to her lifestyle issues.”

Why, oh, why can this thing not happen to Pete Doherty. It amazes me how these two people have become successful. Amy Winehouse may be talented (although shes not my cup of tea) she should have no place in the public eye. Like Doherty she needs to seek help. She isn’t helping herself by being married to that prat who’s recently been charged with perverting the course of justice. My girlfriend won’t like me saying it, but he’s a complete waste of oxygen, in the same vein as the Babyshambles front man. I guess you can’t help who you fall for.

The bottom line for her is that she needs to sort herself out to save her career.

As for Doherty, im just worried that once he’s killed himself through drugs, he’s going to become even more famous and that, frankly, would annoy me.

This one is a Christmas Cracker

Originally posted Nov 07

Here’s another quality article that has appeared on yahoo news.

“Santas in Australia’s largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas’s traditional “ho ho ho” greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.

Sydney’s Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say “ha ha ha” instead, the Daily Telegraph reported.

One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use “ho ho ho” because it could frighten children and was too close to “ho”, a US slang term for prostitute.

“Gimme a break,” said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids.

“We are talking about little kids who do not understand that “ho, ho, ho” has any other connotation and nor should they,” she told the Telegraph.

“Leave Santa alone.”

A local spokesman for the US-based Westaff recruitment firm said it was “misleading” to say the company had banned Santa’s traditional greeting and it was being left up to the discretion of the individual Santa himself.”

Has the world gone mad? It seems that those bored people who have nothing better to do than think of ridiculous ways to alter tradition in favour of political correctness, aren’t confined to this country.

Our former colony seems to harbour similar individuals and their latest pearl of wisdom is aimed at dear ole Santa.

This Julie Gale seems to have hit the nail on the head so there isnt much more for me to add although I will say so far i’ve heard no reports it in this country.

One thing that does spring to mind though is children aren’t allowed to sit on Santa’s knee anymore (this has been the case for a number of years i know). Apparently this is to deter Paedophilia, a massive issue of course, but i think it benefits the Santa too!

I mean, you have to have the patience of a saint and a heart of gold to put up with screaming, whining, spoilt kids for several hours (there will be some lovely kids mixed in obviously), but to not have them sat in your lap will ease the burden of these men. I’m sure their isn’t a Santa out there who would miss the squirming, non toilet trained critters on their knees.

Think-tank says 'downgrade Christmas' - You cannot be serious?!

Orginally posted Nov 07

Below is an article that I've read on Yahoo a couple of weeks ago.

“Christmas should be downgraded unless other religious festivals are marked on an even footing, a Government think-tank has said.

The Institute of Public Policy Research has suggested various ideas to make the UK more multicultural.

It also wants “national culture” barriers to be torn down to help immigrants settle into the UK.

In a report due to be published in coming weeks, the organisation said: “If we are going to continue to mark Christmas - and it would be very hard to expunge it from our national life even if we wanted to - then public organisations should mark other major religious festivals too.

“Even-handedness dictates that we provide public recognition to minority cultures and traditions.”

It emerged in 2006 that three out of four employers were not putting up Christmas decorations in the workplace for fear of offending staff of other cultures.”

Few things really aggravate me enough to post messages like this but this one has compelled me to do so.

What on earth is this ‘institute’ trying to do? Do they think this is going to solve the cultural divides that exist in our cities, towns and villages? The answer is no, it will make things worse.

Britain is, largely, a Christian nation. Christmas is a national holiday not only celebrated by Christians but also the British as a people. Immigration, it seems, has spiralled out of control under the current government and for some reason the evil monster called ‘Political Correctness’ has reared its ugly head again and inspired some utterly stupid reactions.

The victim in this possible scenario is the ‘downgrading’ of Christmas. Why? For fear of offending our Muslim, Jewish, etc friends. Why should we change our holiday practises to satisfy a minority who have come to live in our country?

Why would a Muslim find Christmas decorations offensive? If they don’t believe in the birth of Christ then that is fine, but they must respect that others do. The bottom line is, if a person of a different religion decides they want to live in this country, then they should expect to experience the religious celebrations of the country. They don’t have to take part but happen they must.

Do you think that the Muslims would downgrade their religious celebrations to satisfy Christians or Buddhists? No, absolutely not.

I have absolutely no problem with any religion (with perhaps the exception of that new one, what do they call it? sci-fi-ology? :-p) and I believe they should be allowed to celebrate their holidays as they wish, but certainly not at the expense of our own. I, myself, am not a religious man. I don’t go to church, and I have no idea if Jesus existed or not) but my family have celebrated Christmas my whole life. It’s a time of joy and goodwill. It promotes the bonds between family and friends if the religious aspect is not acknowledged.

I would like to know who pays the wages of the Institute of Public Policy Research and if it’s their full time job. Do they sit in a little cramped office sharpening pencils whilst they think about what research and statistics they can generate? Maybe they have a spreadsheet and everything?

Perhaps they should be conducting research on why an increasingly large amount of young boys are leaving school with little or no qualifications? Or why youths view ASBO’s as badges of honour?

I think the Institute of Public Policy Research should focus their efforts on worthier issues rather than Britain’s public holidays!