Credit Card Fraud

Bank Negara Malaysia would like to caution members of the public to be vigilant when receiving any calls or SMS claiming that it is from Bank Negara Malaysia or any commercial banks.The facts are:There is no department called "Unit Kad Kredit Palsu" in Bank Negara Malaysia, 8659-XXXX is not a Bank Negara Malaysia telephone line.

Bank Negara Malaysia will NEVER request for personal banking information through SMS or telephone calls.Based on recent complaints received by Bank Negara Malaysia , there has been an increase in incidents of fraudsters making such calls and sending SMS to unknowing members of the public in order to fraudulently obtain their personal banking information, with the aim of siphoning monies from one's account.

From Bank Negara Malaysia 's investigations, the modus operandi of the scam is as follows:
Victim receives SMS or telephone call: Requesting victim to confirm a credit card transaction for the purchase of goods or services purportedly charged to the victim's credit card.When victim calls the telephone number provided in the SMS, the fraudsters identify themselves as agents of a commercial bank, and again, ask the victim to confirm whether the credit card transaction had taken place.

When victim informs the fraudster that he has no such credit card or transaction, the fraudster will start to sound concerned and will advise victim to lodge a report with Bank Negara Malaysia 's "Unit Kad Kredit Palsu", or with the commercial bank's "credit card management department".

The fraudster will provide the victim with the telephone number for the "Unit Kad Kredit Palsu".When victim calls the telephone number provided, they are greeted by a automated voice message which identifies the company as Bank Negara Malaysia, and the call will then be answered by someone claiming to be a Bank Negara Malaysia officer.

This officer will request for information relating to the victim's banking and credit card accounts under the pretense of lodging a complaint on behalf of the victim.

The fraudsters now have sufficient information to illegally transfer funds out of the victim's bank account.

Members of the public are reminded not to disclose their personal banking information to any unknown party without verification.

For further information, enquiries or complaints, members of the public may contact or visit:
BNMTELELINK (Customer Contact Centre)
Tel: 1-300-88-5465
Fax: (03)2174 1515
Email: bnmtelelink@bnm.gov.my

Xenta Absenta

I'd like to kick off my first post after a long absence with a hearty "SELAMAT HARI RAYA" to all my Muslim readers and I'm sure it was a much appreciated break for all non-Muslim kakis as well!
The Chinese 7th month is a busy month for us with all the prayers everywhere and temples to visit. It's blitzes past kinda like after having absinthe... It's just as blurry and hallucinetic.
Secondly, I'd like to thank my "brother from another mother", Ben, for the excellent bottle of Absinthe from Ukraine!
Let me take you back to the start of the 7th month... We started off with prayers in the office, as usual, for the first day, fifteenth day and the last day of the Chinese 7th month. As we were waiting for a couple of fellas to arrive, we thought it'd be fun to fool around with the new RM50.00 bill.

This one's a little off...

And Perfect-o!

But I still think Wei was the funniest match up.

The offerings, and our eventual dinner, had arrived and setup was crucial.

The prayers going on and Silver's sound system was used as a makeshift "ko tai" playing Hokkien songs all evening.
Our Manager chopping up some roast pork for us, which I eventually took over the job... Since all the best bits go to the one chopping. Hehe..

Our resident "sai gong" doing his thing!

Then back home to have prayers at home to honor and thank our ancestors, kinda like thanksgiving, in a morbid way.Our family heirlooms of beautifully handcrafted batik porcelain.

Baba Nyonya dishes all laid out in rows.

Fast forward a couple of days.. My girl worked up some courage and modelled for a hair show, organized by Penang Hairdressers Society (or something like that :P). The Northern Touge group was there for support and it was a PRETTY fun event for us save for a couple of guys that kinda look like "not guys". *Hehehe*
"Pai seh" for the lousy pic, I was seated wa-a-a-a-a-y back, and you can see the crowd that was present! Dang!!!
After that loud and deafening event, I decided to spend a serene weekend away from it all. I went home to my parents' place for a couple of relaxed and zen days. But a BBQ was inevitable as everyone was around this weekend. So we gathered at granny's and had a fiesta.
KL Unc's excellent Angel Hair Alia Oglio.
Big Aunt's zingy Tater'N'Egg salad

Mom's superb lamb chop... You ain't never tasted anything like this!

Our spread of standard food items for the pit... Zero level of customization here, and naturally, last to go and only after all the "specialties" were done with.

The entire family was out enjoying ourselves downright silly... And yes, Silver was utilised once again for the sounds.

We also had garden salads and a variety of finger foods for the children.

After a fulfilling meal, I went around roaming one on of my relaxing drives and came across a beautiful example of a Volvo. This has got to be one of the best one I've seen so far.

This is actually the first Volvo I've come across that I couldn't get my eyes off it!!!

I fealt unappeased somehow, then it struck me, I hadn't ridden Silver yet. I picked up my reins and "hey ho Silver, away", for a cruise along the beaches. I met a 911 Turbo along the drive and after turning into one of the newer developed areas, I caught sight of a beautiful 430 Scuderia! At which point my air conditioning "konked" out on me. But a few timely pics were called for.

Rear end raucuous, check out those pipes placement!

So I sped off to RPM, I can't live without air-conditioning (not in Penang anyway), to find that everyone was there as well. I spent a lazy afternoon at RPM only to diagnose that it was just a loose wire. Phew!
Soon was fixing some leaks and Daniel helped Soon clean up his engine bay. Daniel couldn't stand the sight of a dirt encrusted bay.

Ewe Jin was just hanging and doing some DIY on his new toy....
Which he damaged by disconnecting the air gun without holding on to it.. Hahaha... Er.. Oops, I mean... Aww.... *sad*

Finally, we had a peaceful, and thankfully, uneventful sunday relaxed and just plain chillin' at Kiong Lee's

It has been an exquisitely long post this time around and I'd just like to close by sharing with you, my dear readers, what I found at Prangin Mall a couple of months back.
A donut stand called Bloggers! How cool is that?