December 5, 2008
Homebased Data Entry SCAM
I guess there’s time for another public announcement/awareness post before it call it a day.
Times are bad and people are desperate for employment. Please be vigilant about these companies requesting upfront processing fees for employment. The only technically legal job that i know of that you need to pay to work for them are multi-level marketing companies (technically legal, but i think it’s ethically wrong)
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I bet most of you guys that looked through the classifieds had seen quite a few of Job Providers providing homebased data entry or typist job which offers around RM 450-RM 750 per assignment.
Please do not fall into these scams.
I’m one of the victims that had been cheated by these type of company. I went to the company for the interview and was told that I need to pay them RM168 as a “Consultation and Documentation processing fees.” I was further informed that this fees will act as a security fees for them in case I didn’t finish or return them the assignments in time. Without a second thought I paid them the money because I was desperately in need of a part time job.
Never in my mind would I thought that this is a scam since I was given a original receipt and an agreement with their company chop and signature on. After one month with no phone calls from them, I’ve started to get worried.
I’ve called them up asking about the status and was given excuse after excuse on how they are currently facing some problems with the outsourcing companies and will get back to me once they settled the problems.
When I called again the second time, I was once again given the same excuse.
At the back of my mind, I know that I’ve been cheated so I googled the name of the company “Mega Concept Access Resources” and it brings me to this page –> http://asiaparttime.com/blog/asiaparttime/…-job-is-a-scam/
After reading through the comments, I’ve found out that many out there had been cheated too by various of so called job providers.
This thread is to spread this scam to everybody to avoid anyone from falling into it.
Here’s a list of company names and details that had been compiled earlier by http://asiaparttime.com/blog/scam/the-name…anies-revealed/
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Car Thieves in Kota Kemuning (Shah Alam)
I found this public announcement in LYN which i think it’s worth taking heed. Especially the modus operandi of these car thieves.
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I’m opening up this thread to warn those frequenting Kota Kemuning, Sri Muda, and basically areas near it. Car thieves active around shah alam, more specifically kota kemuning, and areas near it.
Suspects information:
1. Positively identified to be indian group
2. believes to be operating in no less than 4 person n at least 2 different vehicle.
3. modus operandi
- like to hit during lunch hour, but seems they move their hit time to later part of the evening.
- they will pry open your passenger key slot or boot key slot n take it to create a key.
- one or two guy would be near u watching your movement while the other
2 goes to create a key. the ones that go n create a key… one would be inside the shop on the handphone rcving info from the guy who is observing you, his other accomplice with him at the shop would be outside the shop either in the car or standing outside watching the surrounding.
- if the guy who is watching u sees u driving off the car he will call the hit off. like yesterday (pls read below)
- if they had made the key but couldn’t get to your car in time since u had driven it off they will possibly tail u n hit u, if u then stop nearby. (pls read below)
i rcvd a call from a shop owner yesterday 4/12/08 that a group of indians was in his shop attempting to duplicate a perdana key n he believes its the same group of ppl who had stolen my car back in june ‘08. this would be the group’s third appearance. 1st appearance - stole my car, 2nd appearance - tried to follow them with my collegues but they manage to cabut, 3rd appearance - which was yesterday they somehow also manage to elude us. the police mpv, CID, my collegues n myself was involved in the search.
chronology of events….
1. approx 1530hrs rcvd call from the shopowner that a group of indians was attempting to duplicate what seemed to be a perdana car key.
2. i called gerakan to make a report n got my collegue to contact the CID
3. less than 3 minutes later the shop owner called n inform that they had left. he overheard one of them telling the other that “itu orang sudah bawa kereta jalan” in tamil. the shop owner understands a little tamil.
4. i drove around the pos office and industrial area in kota kemuning to search for the suspects car positively identified as LIGHT BLUE WIRA SEDAN BEARING REG PDG 2913. after 25mins o so i turned back into the commercial shophouses area (near MBSA kota kemuning branch) n crossed path with the suspects vehicle. i was heading towards maybank block while the suspect was headed towards paramount (developer’s office) block.
5. i saw the police mpv slightly in front of me n stopped them to tell them that the suspect was heading the other opposite direction n proceeded to mcdonalds roadside n waited in case they try to cabut to KESAS.
the CID, police mpv, my collegues went around all the shophouses but couldn’t find the car. damn frustrating. it was so close yet so far. i was hoping that the police would catch them n shoot those bloody *censored*
anyway, i dropped by to see the shop owner who had called me earlier n got an even bigger shock. the stupid police mpv had went straight to his shop after i had called n asked in a rude manner “u kah yang but lapuran polis tadi?” the shop owner told the police that the indians had left but they just told him no need to talk much and ask for his ic to record down his details 
wahlau, what kind of police we have i’m wondering. public give u a tip n so stupid n direct go n see them instead of looking for the thieves. somemore kurang ajar! 
they never think of other ppl’s safety. we hope that those thieves did not notice the police arriving almost immediately after they had left the shop otherwise the shop owner could be in danger. the CID group was more tactful n discreet. all wearing civilian clothing n act like customers. when they later found out that the police mpv had went to see the shop owner, they also got pissed off n even cursed those stupid police in mpv, never use their brain.
the shop owner later related to me that a waja was also stolen right before his very eyes n in front of the owner’s eyes 2 weeks ago. the waja guy had alighted from his car to go makan at an indian shop. the indian shop is located quite near his shop. after the waja guy went in to the shop the thief within a few minutes came from behind n opened his car n drove off in front of everyone. it was around 8.30pm at that time. the shop owner said the waja guy n others threw chairs but didn’t kena cos the guy so damn fast. they believed that they had already duplicated the key n since they didn’t manage to steal it off immediately they had to follow the owner to the shop n took it from there.
these devils r so bold to come to the same place 3 times (possibly more) in such a short time. they dare to even do it in full public view. so guys n gals, pls be careful esp if u frequent the areas i have mentioned. the devils may not just be active here. i believe they move from places to places. kota kemuning is just one of the areas under their ’schedule or program.’
i would strongly advise u guys to call someone u know, prefereably CID when giving tip. i’ve related to you how the uniformed police handles this kind of case…. no use brain wan. we wouldn’t want to endanger the person who tip us off would we.
the cars we have positively identified before are as below:
1. black wira sedan with spoiler at the back - BHM 7187
2. (cannot remember where i wrote it down)
3. light blue wira sedan - PDG 2913
i believe that the number plates, esp the first one could be the real car owned by one of those thieves cos a CID told me that he had traced the registration plates i have given him n they were not reported stolen. one plate no. was traced to an address at sunway mentari while the other traced to the northern part of kuantan, o kelantan i couldn’t really remember. the third plate number cannot be verified whether fake or real cos just got it yesterday. i couldn’t remember the second plate no. will post it once i can remember where i wrote it down.
be on the alert when u r around this area.
1. always look around your surroundings when walking towards your car or before alighting (esp those who drive honda, toyota, beemer, etc) they r likely to hijack those driving these cars cos perdana, waja, satria less complicated to steal.
2. those who drive less complicated cars pls observe your passenger door handle and boot area when walking towards your car. if it has been pryed open quickly call for help and someone to accompany u to make a police report. they could be nearby n may tail u since u r faster than them.
3. if ppl bang u from the back, safest is to drive to a police station or anywhere where there r a lot of ppl n ask for help before inspecting for damage n to talk to the person who hit u. esp if u see from the rear view mirror that the ppl who hit u r indians.
4. on weekends, if u r going to the bank atm or some restaurant to eat be alert to your surrounding. if not many ppl or cars around, be even more alert. they were cases in the past ppl go n cut hair n eat breakfast kena hijack right at the parking lot.
5. use additional safety devices for your car. esp very visible ones. while steering lock n other kinds of lock r not theft proof they deter the would be thieves from targetting your car. time is ‘precious’ to them. ask yourself if u want to steal a car, u go for the easy ones of those where u need to cut n saw the steering/ lock. it takes an average of slightly less than 10 mins to steal a car. well co-ordinated hit may take an even shorter time. my car was stolen in less than 15mins.
while installing captor, i-mob is great for those who can afford it, the fact is it a little out of reach to the majority. so to those who can’t really afford these high tech tracking systems pls be alert n don’t take things for granted. don’t think it won’t happen to u. i can tell u this cos i once thought like that. insurance claim for this kind of cases take at least 3 months (the fastest i’ve heard) unless u r some kind of influencial or powerful person then maybe can get sooner. some cases drag on to nearly a year or so. it really depends on the insurance company. u will also be compensated based on the current market value of your vehicle at the time it was stolen or your sum insured, WHICHEVER IS LOWER.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE. i didn’t have any additional safety devices on my car. not even a steering lock. only standard alarm. don’t be like me.
example of market value or sum insured, whichever is lower.
u insured your car for 100k
u read motortrader n star paper ppl selling for 70k
u’ll be quite fortunate to get 70k or more. some insurance company will compensate less than 70k, depending on the loss adjusters report or research. if u get 70k only n your loan full settlement is 80k, then u have to top up the difference. u can talk to the bank to pay the difference in installment if u can’t afford to pay one lump sum. n in case if you’re wondering whether u need to service your installment while the police is investigating your case the answer is a resounding YES!
i didn’t have much help with my claim process n had to basically learn them along the way. i’m posting my experience as a guide to others who may not know where to start o what to do.
disclaimer: i am in no way saying that the following below is the correct, or actual procedure and is applicable to all situations. results may not be the same or as told.
1. report to police
2. notify your insurance company n bank
3. insurance company will send you a set of forms to fill in (looks complicated but its not)
4. get a copy of your car registration card cos when u send back the insurance forms to the insurance company u will need to attach them.
5. send back all the forms your insurance company sent to you. at this point they will ask you to surrender your car keys.
6. follow up with the progress of police investigation on your stolen vehicle at least every 2 weeks. get your IO (investigating officer’s name n contact)
*tip- although the inurance company or police will tell u that it usually takes 2 months o more to complete their investigation u can push your luck after a month n ask them for a report on the outcome of your case. give excuse la say you really need a car for your line of work o something else. i got mine in a month - on the dot (my insurance company say usually 2 months) if i listened to them i would have waited another month for nothing.
7. after u get the report from police (if they have ‘tutup’ your case) quickly hand over the report to your insurance company. they will likely to make an offer for settlement 2 weeks to a month from the date you submit the police report o them.
8. at this point u will need to have in mind the fair compensation amount u r willing to accept. if u read the earlier part of my post they will compensate you based on the market value of your vehicle or sum insured, WHICHEVER IS LOWER. some ppl after their car stolen quickly get valuation from the dealer or manufacturer, newspaper, motortrader, other media. it helps although if the insurance company is ‘keras’ they will fight until need an arbitrater, n go to court. damn messy until the judge have to decide what is fair. during one of my research, one guy was offered a settlement where he needed to fork out some 30k difference, althought the car was insured more than sufficient. both parties fight all the way to court. can’t remember how much the guy was compensated in the end. (if u r prepared to fight, need to consider, cost, time, effort, etc.) remember, installment still need to pay wan.
- this is where we also need to know our car market value so we don’t over insure in the future. no use insure so much but cannot get the amount insured when we need it. pay high premiun get lousy compensation.
9. the insurance company may initially try to offer a ridiculous amount as in my case. don’t panic. write back to them n protest. try not to be overly threathening in writing your letter. a little balance of threat n appeal should do better. this is where u may want to attach whatever valuation or evidence to support your claim that the reasonable amount u r prepared to accept is RMxxxxxx. state your acceptable amount a little higher cos they may still offer a lower amount, as in my case. if the amount they offer although lower makes little difference if u were to seek legal recourse then it makes sense to accept it.
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December 4, 2008
There is no Thunder in this Tropic Thunder
This is one of the movies that gets you all excited during the trailer/teaser only to let you down when you are snug comfortably in front of the silver screen. I have no idea where went wrong. They have a great cast, I like them all, the jokes are good, storyline that doesn’t slaughter the original movie that it spoof and yet when the credits are up, it was meh. I find myself laughing harder watching the trailer/teaser then the actual movie itself.
December 3, 2008
Pozer Gauges
This is just a followup on the so called performance gauges that i’ve installed a month ago on the center dash. And I’ve also labeled it as “this is why we can’t have nice things” which is a nicer way of saying shit list. yes, these gauges are a piece of crap.
1) After only one track session, the oil temperature gauge started acting up. Oil temperature will read 150∘C under hard driving then drops to 0. This 0 and 150 fluctuation happens throughout the open track day. And yes, it’s 150 or nothing, no in between. Normal drive on the road seems normal.
2) Pressure readings are off the scale. During the journey towards Sepang International F1 Circuit @ 160kmh, the reading was temp 75∘C, pressure, off the scale (about 120-150). I was revving way above 4500RPM at half throttle (vacuum reading 0). This is probably why I got these 90∘ gauges cheap for under RM100 each. The highest pressure reading is 100psi! They are no different then water temperature gauge on the stock dashboard which is just an indicator without accurate readings. Higher spec gauges have a 270∘ reading for accuracy all the way to 150psi
3) Smoked screen are not meant for day time driving. This is probably the telltale sign of a pozer/ricer/ah-beng in car gizmo. sure, it looks cool at night when the only luminance are those gauges, but during the day light intensity outside the gauge is much higher then the cheap pathetic luminance they use to light up the gauge reading and needle. looking at the gauge reading during the day is like trying to peer into a heavily tinted agong/hakim/VIP car. all you see is your reflection and probably a glimpse of a ghostly figure at the back seat.
December 1, 2008
3:20
That’s how long it took for me to complete one lap at Sepang International F1 Circuit during yesterday’s track day (High Performance Challenge). 3.20 is not fast, if i compared with a the same car tuned by Proton race engineers, R3 and driven by their best driver who clocked 2.58 !!!
There are lots of room for improvements, most of it is me. Driving without supervision sets my average time at 3.32 and with an instructor got me from 3.26 to 3.20 in just correcting my racing line in turn 3-4-5 which is the easiest, high speed bends on the track. We could’ve gone for more laps, but it just wasn’t our day when another incident triggered the red flag. The last two sessions were interrupted by at least 10 minutes. i’m not sure what caused the first red flag in group2 session 2, but i did see a smoking car after turn 2 during group2 session 3.
During the flag off during the first session, I’ve noticed my rear left tire was under inflated at 12psi (cold). Since i was minutes form flagging off i just carried on with the open track instead of driving out to the nearest petrol station 1km away and setting the right tire pressure. And my last camber adjustment was a year ago, on normal street settings (-0.3 front -0.5 rear) I know i was suppose to get these done a day before the event, i got lazy.
Furthermore, I was running with full bulk in the trunk, spare tires, clutch lock, collapsible stool, and an umbrella. I had at least 5kg of drinking water, socket/wrench tools magazine, another umbrella removed prior the race.
My sweetheart was with me during the entire event. Thanks for being there for me 
Anyways, enough talk, here’s the pictures
rolling out from the pits (taken by Jennihsurf)
me with my instructor, kee (in full face helmet) (taken by Jennihsurf)
