Credit Card Scam

DEBORAH TURNER
TID - TEAM LEADER - TEAM 2
HIGH TECH CRIME OPERATIONS

Tel +61(0) 2 62233555 +61(0) 2 62233555 Ext 163555 Mob +61(0) 438286895 +61(0) 438286895

www.afp.gov.au



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New Credit Card Scam

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

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it... This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card 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 'Master Card'.. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. You r 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 ?'

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 questions, 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 - 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 you'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 too 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 Master Card' 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, friends and neighbours.

H1N1 Vs Bible

A thought came to my mind today after seeing so many sick people around me. So I thought I would pour it out and see what you guys think?

Bible, in the book of Hebrews says

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

H1N1 says

If you're sick and come close in contact with one another, you are risking their health.

As we all know Governments around the world are asking employers to be kind enough to let their sick employees to take sick leaves, some even asked for unrecorded sick leaves to prevent the virus from spreading to other employees. Schools are closed down to prevent further outbreak, some major events are cancelled, etc.

But what about the church? Should we ask our members to rest at home and avoid church gatherings? Or should we say, we shouldn't stop gathering as that's what it was told in the book of Hebrews.

Is this a trial or temptation? Should I or shouldn't I? <-- materials from a couple of weeks ago. :P

If you go, you risk spreading the disease to others, which is often noted as selfish and inconsiderate.

If you don't go, are you contradicting the Word of God and use your own principle as a ruler? In those days, people risked their head to go to meet each other. Today, it's just a flu and we are finding excuses to skip meeting one another?

If you are saying on either way, where do you find the authority to decide or discern which is the right thing to do? Are we assuming so and so because "we think, I think, etc"?

Let's hear it from you...

Don't Do The Dash

If you're in the CBD this week, think twice before crossing the roads illegally. Police will be out there giving out fines.

Police will launch a four-day road safety blitz in Melbourne's CBD in a bid to reduce the alarming number of collisions involving cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists.

Officers will issue on-the-spot fines to anyone caught breaking the road rules.

Pedestrians who cross the road against a red light will be fined while cyclists who fail to stop at red light will be penalised $227.

Senior Sergeant Shane Pettingill, from Melbourne's traffic management unit, said the CBD had the highest number of pedestrian and cyclist collisions in the state - 358 over the past year - with injuries rising at an alarming rate.

Two pedestrians have died and 66 were seriously injured in the past 12 months.

"This operation has been designed to target our most vulnerable road users," Senior Sergeant Pettingill said.

"Too many people think 'It won't happen to me' when they run across the road or ride their bike through a red light. More

Not only for this week for that matter. We, as Christians, should ALWAYS abide with the law.

Some common rules in VIC where most people don't even knew about:

• Pedestrians must attempt to cross a road by the shortest and most direct route
  
• Pedestrians must not move suddenly into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard
  
• Pedestrians must not stand on a footway or carriageway in such a way as to inconvenience, obstruct, hinder or prevent the free passage of any other pedestrian or vehicle
  
• Pedestrians must not cross a road within twenty metres of marked crossings.²⁴¹

PDRM In Full Force

Another Malaysia Boleh day today on 7/5/09. The Polis Di Raja Malaysia (PDRM) are out in full force to prevent the PR supporters to create "trouble" in the country.

It all started with crossovers of a few politicians in Perak that causes the PR state government to crumble though not officially dissolved or voted with no confidence yet. However, the new BN Government seems to be playing foul and of course with the help of the Sultanate of Perak claimed their territory on Perak. So, basically Perak has 2 Menteri Besar (MB) now.

The court case is still in progress to determine who is the legitimate MB of Perak.

However, the "new" BN government called for an assembly today to try to remove the speaker and elect a new speaker of their own, which of course caused the protests of the PR and the people.

The PDRM, which should be neutral of course didn't act so neutral as that's their true colour. Early in the mornings, they have started their job. So EFFICIENT! I don't think any terrorists could be in Perak today! :P

6:45am Police seize more than 200 t-shirts with the words “One Black Malaysia” printed on them from a stall next to the Kampung Manjoi Baru surau.

If you haven't been to the Forbidden City, Perak is just like the Forbidden City now. You can't go near 500m of the assembly hall or risks being arrested.

Police yesterday set up roadblocks at the Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab-Jalan St John junction and near the Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman flyover.

They had obtained a court order to prevent illegal gatherings around the state secretariat and traffic police were on hand to divert traffic around the government sector in Ipoh.

The roads will be re-opened in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, police have started arrests, and at least five unidentified protesters have been detained.

But then, poor Wong was not released as planned

However, the police filed a second application yesterday evening to extend the remand, saying they needed more time for the investigation. Their request was granted by Magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham.

By the way, would the PDRM's watchdog been looking over the blogging world to look for "troublemakers"?

For instant update, go to The Star

Great Ocean Road Crash

As some of you might know, we went to Cape Otway National Park near Lorne on Easter Monday for some photography outings. Now that's not the point for this post (will post photos later).

While on our way back towards Melbourne, we saw an ambulance rushing its way towards the west directions followed by an SES truck not too far behind. Initially, we thought someone has drown or a shark attack.

As I was reading through the news today, guess what I saw...

A PASSER-BY who tried in vain to save a woman from a fatal crash on the Great Ocean Road has spoken of the horror and frustration at being unable to get a mobile phone signal to call emergency services.

Student Mohit Virmani was forced to drive 2km to a nearby farm to raise the alarm after coming across the fatal accident near Apollo Bay on Saturday afternoon.

"It was really horrifying," he said. "It was frantic, everyone was trying to get a signal to call for help, but there was no mobile network in the area."

A woman died and two other people were taken to hospital after their Toyota sedan lost control on the popular tourist route and slammed into a tree.

Mr Virmani, who was driving back to Melbourne with a group of friends after a trip to the Twelve Apostles, was one of several motorists to discover the car shortly after the accident.

Eventually Mr Virmani and Mr Lobo and other passers-by managed to remove the woman from the backseat and a fellow motorist performed CPR until the ambulance arrived 20 minutes later.

The woman, in her 30s, died at the scene. The woman in the front seat was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition and the male driver was taken to Geelong Hospital.

A spokesman for the Major Collision Investigation Unity refused to comment on speculation that long skid marks at the scene of the crash suggested the victims had swerve to avoid collision with an overtaking vehicle. More

Oh gosh! It was that deadly accident that claimed lives! We were just less than 30km away that time! Luckily we didn't end up going to Apollo Bay as the guys in the Information centre told us the waterfalls there are pretty much dried up too. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here now.

We pray for the victims and their families. Such tragic end to Easter......Sigh.....

The reason for the accident: Overtaking!

Bloody idiot! Great Ocean Road is known for its' winding roads and what's an extra 30 minutes behind a slower car would do to you?! @$$!!

On another news today:

POLICE say they're shocked at the number of drivers nabbed over the Easter, catching more than 600 drink-driving and nearly 5000 speeding.
In the only fatality for the Easter holiday season, a woman in her thirties died in the Horden Vale crash, just west of the Cape Otway National Park, near Apollo Bay on Saturday, after the car veered off the Great Ocean Rd.

Crap~!!~!~!~!~

I'm Watching You

Trying to break into a house and thinks nobody is home or nobody is watching you?

Most people would be saying God's watching, yes that's right but normally God doesn't intervene or prevent it from happening right away. God deals with the judgment later.

Are you "safe" at the present time because apart from God, nobody is watching?

Think again.....

With today's technology, someone can be 1000 miles away but they're still watching every corner of their house!

US authorities say a woman checking her video surveillance system from the internet while she was at work caught four people robbing her house.

Police say Jeanne Thomas logged on to the $US250 Wilife system and saw a person standing in her house. She quickly called 911. While talking to the operator, Thomas saw several other people. She pleaded with the dispatcher to send police, and 18 officers arrived and surrounded the house several minutes later.

Officers arrested Curtis Williams, Scott George, Jonathan Cruz, all 20, and 19-year-old Steven Morales. They were charged with burglary and attempted grand theft. More

Good Friday Dramas

Everyone got out of bed in time to get to the 10am service in Docklands on Friday. To their shock, they saw people rushing out the buildings as if the service has already ended around 9.50am!

Sirens starting to deaf people out, flashing red & blue lights blinding the eyes! Oh no, the MFB are on their way! So is the police! You can hear people screaming down their throats and running in all directions. Mummies carrying their babies around tight, not letting them go astray!

The men in the brown yellowed vests started to rush into the buildings to check out the mess. Soon later, another two MFB trucks have come on scene to give a hand. Man, it looks like some serious stuff going on!

The scene started to look like an auction where people crowding near the entrance to watch the auctioneer perform but man, this is supposed to be a fright, not show. Anyway, after a few minutes, the MFB came out and inform us of the damage in the building......

How bad is it.....?
Oh man......


It's just a false alarm! But it's gonna costs about $1500+ for the 3 MFB trucks callouts! Ouch!!!

Conficker/Downadup - WARNING!

Release Date: March 30, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today the release of a DHS-developed detection tool that can be used by the federal government, commercial vendors, state and local governments, and critical infrastructure owners and operators to scan their networks for the Conficker/Downadup computer worm.

The department's United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) developed the tool that assists mission-critical partners in detecting if their networks are infected. The tool has been made available to federal and state partners via the Government Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (GFIRST) Portal, and to private sector partners through the IT and Communications sector Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs). Additional outreach to partners will continue in the coming days.

Department cyber experts briefed federal Chief Information Officers and Chief Information Security Officers today, as well as their equivalents in the private sector and state/local government via the ISACs and the National Infrastructure Protection Plan framework.

"While tools have existed for individual users, this is the only free tool – and the most comprehensive one – available for enterprises like federal and state government and private sector networks to determine the extent to which their systems are infected by this worm," said US-CERT Director Mischel Kwon. "Our experts at US-CERT are working around the clock to increase our capabilities to address the cyber risk to our nation's critical networks and systems, both from this threat and all others."

In addition to the development of this tool, DHS is working closely with private sector and government partners to minimize any impact from the Conficker/Downadup computer worm. This worm can infect Microsoft Windows systems from thumb drives, network share drives, or directly across a corporate network if network servers are not protected by Microsoft’s MS08-067 patch.

US-CERT recommends that Windows Operating Systems users apply Microsoft security patch MS08-067 (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx) as quickly as possible to help protect themselves from the worm. This security patch, released in October 2008, is designed to protect against a vulnerability that, if exploited, could enable an attacker to remotely take control of an infected system and install additional malicious software.

Home users can apply a simple test for the presence of a Conficker/Downadup infection on their home computers. The presence of an infection may be detected if users are unable to connect to their security solution Web site or if they are unable to download free detection/removal tools.

If an infection is suspected, the system or computer should be removed from the network. In the case of home users, the computer should be unplugged from the Internet.

Instructions, support and more information on how to manually remove a Conficker/Downadup infection from a system have been published by major security vendors. Each of these vendors offers free tools that can verify the presence of a Conficker/Downadup infection and remove the worm:

Symantec:
http://www.symantec.com/business/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2009-011316-0247-99

Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962007
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx

Home users may also call Microsoft PC Safety hotline at 1-866-PCSAFETY, for assistance.

McAfee:
http://www.mcafee.com/us/threat_center/default.asp

US-CERT encourages users to prevent a Conficker/Downadup infection by ensuring all systems have the MS08-067 patch, disabling AutoRun functionality (see http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-020A.html), and maintaining up-to-date anti-virus software.

In addition, US-CERT recommends that computer users and administrators implement the following preparedness measures to protect themselves against this vulnerability, and also from future vulnerabilities:

• Keep up-to-date on security patches and fixes for your operating system. The easiest way to do this is to set your system to receive automatic updates, which will ensure you automatically receive security updates issued by Microsoft. If your system does not allow automatic updates, we recommend that you manually install the Microsoft security patch today through Microsoft Update at http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate
• Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software and keep them up-to-date
• Enable a firewall which will help block attacks before they can get into your computer

To access the alerts for this vulnerability and for additional information on cyber security tips and practices, please visit www.us-cert.gov.

The Stranger

The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Victorian town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mum taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger - he was our storyteller.. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the Melbourne Olympic Games. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mum would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honour them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home. Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures

His name? . . . .













We just call him 'TV'.

(Note: This should be required reading for every household in Australia !)

He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'

Melbourne A 24 Hours City

Source: Herald Sun
Date: 6/3/09

ALL-night public transport, midnight soccer and cash bonds to force pubs to behave are part of Mayor Robert Doyle's vision for a 24-hour city.

While Cr Doyle wants Melbourne to become a round-the-clock city, don't expect the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas.

"I don't mean by that just blazing lights and open all hours," Cr Doyle said. "It means there's activity in the city 24 hours a day, and that's where I think we'll end up."

A report on Melbourne as a 24-hour city will go before council on Tuesday, calling for all-night public transport, permanent breathalyser stations and even self-defence classes for young people.

The report, by council's community and culture department, also calls for the MCC to investigate:

COMPULSORY food service when alcohol is served.

FREE film nights aimed at young people.

SLOW zones where classical music is played.

Safety is a priority. The report includes ideas raised at the council's City Safety Summit in 2008, which involved more than 80 people from government, community groups and business.

Cr Doyle said he supported cash bonds for licensees, who would lose money if they broke regulations.

"At some point we are going to have to demonstrate that we are serious about licensing being a responsibility.

"If we have venues that continually flout the rules we will be forced to move to take their licence away, and I would support that," the Lord Mayor said.

People coming to a city that never slept needed a way to get home safely, he said, and that meant improving transport.

"One of the things I have suggested is the taxi rank, (but) one of the long-term strategies that has been suggested is 24-hour transport, which I think would be an excellent innovation for our city," Cr Doyle said.

He supported the concept of self-defence classes for young people in the CBD, but this was about keeping people fit, not just about learning defence skills.

Midnight sports events such as street soccer were another option for the CBD.

Above all, he said, people who lived in the CBD must be protected
====================================================================

It seems the new Mayor has great vision and sound leadership to lead the way. It's good thing John So decided not to run for Mayor again and gracefully gave way for new leaderships.

For CLMC, almost the same situation. The new pastor has clear directions ahead and know what's important and good.

It seems Melbourne and CLMC will be enjoying a good run for in the near future.

Thank God for that.

CFA vs MFB

Source: The Age
Dated: 20/02/09

THE Country Fire Authority has been accused of blocking city firefighters from helping fight Victoria's horrific fires.

Leaked emails accuse the CFA of blocking Metropolitan Fire Brigade management and CFA professional firefighters, and incompetently handling the fires.

The United Firefighters Union will tell the royal commission on the fires that the CFA panicked and was ill-prepared, despite knowing conditions would be the worst in Victoria's history.

The taxpayer-funded firefighters, who are better trained than volunteers, say up to 1200 of them have sat around during, and since, the blazes of February 7 — while overseas and interstate crews have been flown in to help.

The CFA and MFB deny the claims and say the firefighters and equipment were used "appropriately".

The union claims CFA managers, or incident controllers, blocked MFB crews from fighting fires in at least two areas.

Union secretary Peter Marshall claimed one incident controller told an MFB crew: "Over my dead body are we going to use you."

"The MFB commander went back and briefed the troops and said, 'This is the attitude, they don't want to use us'," he said.

At another location, an MFB taskforce was not deployed by the CFA incident controller "because of parochial issues".

"When they actually got in there the CFA said: 'Where have you been? … we've been waiting for you for ages, we needed you'.

"This is dynamite. It's hard to say it cost lives, but resources that have been paid for by the community in the form of fire appliances and personnel sat idle while people lost their houses and indeed their life."

The union has been swamped with emails from members frustrated at not being sent to fight the fires. One says: "I look at the news footage and see volunteers dead on their feet … we are sitting on our arses."

A paid CFA firefighter said he was one of about six professionals who sat doing nothing at a station in Melbourne's outer north when the fire started.

"We listened to the events, including guys getting burnt out, but we were not deployed," he said. "We contacted the duty officers and said: 'We are here.' I don't think they knew.

"There are 200 (CFA) career firefighters who are disgusted about it but too fearful to put pen to paper or stand in front of a camera over it because of their careers," he said.

Another firefighter from near Geelong said professional firefighters were prevented from joining the fight.

He said CFA management wrongly thought that no professional firefighters were available.

Parochialism and politics are the worst problems, the firefighters say, with CFA managers viewing the MFB as rivals for funds, bolstering arguments for merging the two.

Some CFA volunteers also do not want outsiders fighting fires on their turf.

CFA chief officer Russell Rees said all firefighters had been used appropriately during the emergency. "There's no question the MFB were used appropriately and are still being used in specialised areas such as victim identification," he said.

MFB spokesman Simon Breer said the brigade had provided up to 1000 personnel. He said he did not believe there was a problem with its involvement.

VS

====================================================================

When the bush fires caused so much damages and lives, I knew something was not right. It was all over the news that it's going to be the worst fire heat ever, which also means worst risk of bush fires ever.

With common sense, we would be deploying nearly 95% of all our available resources to tackle the issues to minimise the impact.

I suspected that this time, they're ill-prepared and underestimated the bushfires. Guess this article proves that I'm not wrong after all

Pride & politics, the divider of mankind. How pathetic!

Just because of funding and power, more than 200 lives have gone from this earth, billions of money lost.

Who are they going to blame next? God seems the more likely. Even though it was human at fault.

God have mercy upon us!!

112 - Emergency Number

UNMARKED POLICE CAR WARNING!

This number actually exists here in Australia . Read this and then send it to all your friends! I never even knew about being able to dial the number 112 feature! This actually happened to someone's daughter.

Lauren was 19 yrs old and in university. This story takes place over the Christmas/New Year's holiday break.

It was the Saturday before New Year's and it was about 1pm in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on.

Lauren's parents have 4 children (high school and university age) and have always told them never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather wait until they get to a petrol station, etc. So Lauren had actually listened to her parents' advice, and promptly phoned the number 112 on her mobile phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there was a police car where she was, and there wasn't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back-up already on the way.

Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.

I never knew that bit of advice, but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a 'safe' place.

You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge them i.e., put on your hazard lights, or call No. 112 like Lauren did. Too bad the mobile phone companies don't give you this little bit of wonderful information.

112 IS THE NUMBER TO RING IF YOU CANNOT GET SERVICE ON YOUR MOBILE

IT'S LIKE 000.

====================================================================
My colleague sent me the forward email. Not sure how accurate it is though!

Stop The Traffik

Went to Crossway again today for the Sunday service at 11am. Guess who is the speaker today? Steve Chalke, yes it's him! It's almost unbelievable to see him in person in such a personal way. For most of us from the Chinese background, we wouldn't have a clue of who is this Steve Chalke. Maybe we know Steve Jobs from Apple more. Here're some brief info about Steve Chalke from Wikipedia:

Steve Chalke (MBE, UN.GIFT Special Advisor on Community Action against Human Trafficking) is a prominent, and often outspoken, Christian leader and social activist based in the UK, and an ordained Baptist minister. He is best known as the founder of Oasis Trust and Church.co.uk. He is the author of numerous books and articles as well as a regular presenter and contributor on television and radio programmes. In 2004 he was awarded an MBE for his services to social inclusion by the Queen.^[1]

He was raising awareness for us about human trafficking. He's really a good speaker, perhaps one of the best I've listened to so far. You don't feel tired listening to him, in fact, you're hoping that time would slow down for him to speak more. Stop The Traffik is one of the organisations that he founded.

One of the good points that he made was about how the church has been made redundant by the governments around the world in terms of "providing the service" to the people. The government has been getting all the professionals to replace most of the works that churches have started. However, government today are struggling to cope or keep up the service and are looking to give back some of it to the churches. Well, this particularly happens in London where he's from. The point is, churches are not made to be confined by the 4 walls, we as Christians should be out there in field providing love and service to the needy. Without that, we are not doing what God has told us to do. Felt so relief that the message he brought today was the same message I've been trying to convey to my fellow church members though I think I'm not as influential as Steve, so my message went to deaf ears! :P

I felt more and more burdened as the days gone by. I think I've told some of you that I was going to plan to start an organisation or movement myself if our church didn't have a change of pastor in 2009. Now that we have a new pastor, the burden is still great in my heart. Not sure whether I'm capable to start a ministry on my own or with a few friends at the moment. Most likely I'll be joining an organisation very soon and start to get involved in the field rather than sitting in churches playing bible quiz! Perhaps will be looking more into the International Students fields. Not 100% sure yet! Hoping some of our church members will have the same burden & passion!

One of the reasons for my blog is also to raise awareness to my church members as well as my blog readers. Since I've about 1200-1500 visitors on average each month, I sure hope the message will get to you all.

Now, let's look at some of the information about human trafficking.

A definition:

“Trafficking in human beings” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

• At least 12.3 million people are victims of forced labour worldwide. Of these 2.4 million are as a result of human trafficking. A global alliance against forced labor, International Labour Organisation, 2005
  
  
• 600,000-800,000 men, women and children trafficked across international borders each year. Approximately 80 per cent are women and girls. Up to 50% are minors. US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2005
  
  
• An estimated 1.2 million children trafficked each year. UNICEF UK Child Trafficking Information sheet, January 2003
  
  
• The majority of trafficked victims arguably come from the poorest countries and poorest strata of the national population. A global alliance against forced labor, International Labour Organisation, 2005
  
  
• Trafficking is the fastest growing means by which people are caught in the trap of slavery. Anti-Slavery
  
  
• Human trafficking is the third largest source of income for organised crime, exceeded only by arms and drugs trafficking. UN office on drugs and crime
  
  
• It is the fastest growing form of international crime, already generating 7 billion dollars per year in criminal proceeds. There are even reports that some trafficking groups are switching their cargo from drugs to human beings, in a search of high profits at lower risk. UN office on drugs and crime
  
  
• People are trafficked into prostitution, begging, forced labour, military service, domestic service, forced illegal adoption, forced marriage etc.
  
  
• Types of recruitment; include abduction, false agreement with parents, sold by parents, runaways, travel with family, orphans sold from street or institutions.

Plus, an event not to be missed if you are in Melbourne!

Australia's Largest Chocolate Fondue Party!
January the 18th 10.30am-12.30pm

Federation Square, Melbourne

Everyday thousands of trafficked children are forced to work in the cocoa industry. This must stop.

Come and learn more about the trafficking occurring in cocoa production and enjoy in some Fairtrade chocolate fondue!

A Cop, So What?

Recently, Malaysia was hit with the headline news of a cop who got attacked in his own house. What made it more amusing was he wasn't an ordinary constable or lance corporal, he was the Tawau Acting Police Chief Superintendent! Very pangkat one you know! If he has retired, then can understand why nobody is scared of him anymore but that's not the case.

How much more proofs do we need for those politicians or police "head" to know that Malaysia isn't as safe as they hoped! No civilians are safe on the streets or their houses, no children are safe playing in playgrounds, not even policemen are safe outside their police station!

KOTA KINABALU: A massive manhunt is underway for five men who broke into the home of Tawau acting police chief Supt Ramli Ali Mat (pic) before stabbing him early Saturday.

Supt Ramli was alone at his Taman Ria 5 house in this Sabah east coast district when the intruders broke in at about 2am. He was stabbed once in the left abdomen after he challenged the intruders. Despite his injury, he managed to alert the Tawau district police headquarters on his walkie-talkie.

Police rushed to the house and Supt Ramli was taken to the Tawau General Hospital and admitted into the intensive care unit there. More

Now that the police are on a manhunt for the culprit, it certainly doesn't seems to be a good news for him. All the district's police force will be on a lookout for him!

It's not something unexpected as we would normally advise our friends not to offend the authorities, especially cops! They can all come right at you for whatever reasons! Suspect this lah, suspect that lah, held arrest for 24 hours lah, bla bla. They can be very "personal" if you know what I mean.

In this case, is this an emotional personal revenge against the culprit or is it the police are waking up to enforce law & order? Well, unfortunately, the first option seems more realistic! You can imagine all the angry faces now scolding bad words like Cilaka! Kurang ajar! Budak sial! etc etc. They are looking for a revenge for their big brother (dai lou). For most people, police are just gangsters with license.

Some people asked me, what can we do? I say we need smart policemen. Come to think of it, with the current situation or environment, smart people wouldn't want to be a policeman!

When will PDRM or M'sian Govt realise this problem and start solving a simple crisis faced by their people? Major reformation & restructure is needed here.

Where's The Good Samaritan?

Don't Do The Dash!

A woman is dead after a high-speed smash between a commuter train and a car this morning. Emergency crews were greeted by a horrific scene after the woman's small white Hyundai hatchback and a six-carriage Connex train collided near Dandenong at 7.20am.

Victoria Police Acting Inspector Michael Talbot told reporters at the scene the train was travelling at 110 kmh and there were no skid marks to indicate the driver tried to brake. He said investigators were considering several scenarios, including the possibility the female driver was using a phone, blinded by the sun, or simply didn't see the crossing. More

Not the best sight! Just reminds everyone not to do the dash! Don't think you can beat the lights!

It doesn't hurt to wait for 5 minutes unless you wish to see God earlier.

Tang's Storm

Queensland just got hit with the strongest storm in 20 years yesterday, which is coincidentally the day the Tang family visited Gold Coast! He he! You guys sure know how to make an entrance! :P

BRISBANE has been declared a natural disaster area, as soldiers help repair damage caused by one of the biggest storms to hit the city in two decades.

More than 32,000 properties across Brisbane, Redcliffe and the Gold Coast were without power yesterday after Sunday's storm brought hail and wind gusts of up to 130 km/h, unroofed homes and toppled power lines and trees. More

Ms Bligh said some people would not be able to return home for weeks. She also warned of more storms to hit the region on Thursday. The Queensland capital has been declared a natural disaster area, as soldiers help fix damage done by the wild wind and rain. More

The Movieworld & Seaworld trip might be in jeopardy! Hope you guys still can make something out of nothing lah! Most importantly, safe trip!

The place is hit pretty bad. Perhaps you guys can take some photos for us? Don't forget to keep them in our prayers!

Oh by the way, Citibank is going to slash 50,000 jobs worldwide! Crazy! Everyone hold on tight to your job!

Holy Sex Offender?

Let's look at http://truthofgodministries.org. It looks nice & tidy. Nobody would have doubt anything was wrong with it if we don't read carefully. Found an article regarding it today on www.wired.com

A convicted pedophile who turned up in MySpace's 2007 purge of sex offenders faces new charges of bank fraud for allegedly running counterfeit checks through a bank account he established for his online church, TruthOfGodMinistries.org.

It's not clear whether Courtright got any donations from his ersatz missionary work, but the indictment, filed in September in federal court in St. Louis, charges that he used the same computers on which he made child porn to produce $3,100 in counterfeit donation checks payable to his church. In February of last year, he allegedly deposited the checks and cashed them out through ATM and Visa Checkcard transactions before they were rejected.

When Regions Bank asked him about the apparent fraud, he wrote a letter as Pastor Carl assuring the bank that he'd cooperate in the investigation, and was looking forward to a continued business relationship. "Last year alone, our operating budget was $987,436.00," he boasted. More

Guess who is the founder? Pastor Carl A. Courtright a.k.a Carl Courtright III

Ouch! So don't simply believe in everything you see on the Internet! Some may argue and say he's repentant now but I wouldn't be so sure.

Another nice example of how God & religion has been abused by people for their own benefits.

By the way, we always think that Christianity has lots of cults & sects. What about others? Saw an Islam cult today from The Star newspaper.

Among the teachings of this cult is that the more members they pull in, the more solat (prayers) they can “settle”. Members would not need to pray or fast as they were considered “pure” for following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad. However, new members are required to pay RM2,000 each to the preacher to help them settle the prayers they need replaced. A follower who only wanted to be identified as Norah said members who did not bring in more members were labelled as “great sinners. The preacher asked me how many sins I had, and I said ‘a lot’. After calculating, he said the amount I had to pay was RM28,800. How­ever, I was given a discount. So I only had to pay RM2,000,” she said.

Norah said the cult had ambitions of setting up a true Islamic government known as the Mahad Al-Zaiton in Indonesia by 2015. More

This cult uses a tactic like "direct sales" method, which is quite creative! Heheh! Similar method has also been used by Christians in the dark ages.

The question for intellect Christians out there would be: why would we see cults in other religions as well?

Give you a clue to where the question is heading: As Jesus said, "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?"

Will U Plz Shut Up?

Thanks to the ever growing modern technology, now you can use your Blackberry or mobile phone on certain Malaysia Airlines flight! I believe it's the first in the world for any airlines to allow the use of mobile phones on board.

PETALING JAYA: Passengers travelling on certain Malaysia Airlines flight will be able to use their mobile phones and Blackberry devices effective immediately.

MAS has teamed up with AeroMobile, the world’s leading in-flight mobile phone operator, to become the first carrier in Asia to offer inflight mobile phone and data services.

The lightweight system was installed on one MAS Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The service will cover selected European routes, Australia, and across the Asian region including China and Japan. More

The main reason for not allowing the use of mobile phones on flight is not because of "safety- it might affect navigation panels and computers in the cockpit". It was mainly the cost of international roaming and also messing up the billing system for the mobile provider!

Do they really think we can be fooled that even up to today's technology the Boeing & Airbus planes couldn't come up with a technology to shield the cockpit from the mobile interference? What's the difference between using a mobile while inside the plane body and inside the departure hall (normally staffs workers who is on mobile chatting)? Will the mobile wave recognizes that "oh, you're in the plane body, so I'm going to interfere with the system. Oh I'm in the building, so I can't interfere"? It doesn't make sense. (Maybe I'm ignorant..haha). I'm not denying the mobile radiowave can affect the systems or 2-way radios used by pilots though. I'm just saying, they should have figured out how to shield radiowave from the cockpit.

Imagine the plane traveling at nearly 900-1000KM/hr, how many different satellites or mobile exchange towers would it have gone through in just a minute? Not sure? Say you travel in your car, if your mobile shows you which areas you are in, it'll display the mobile exchange you are using. For example, "Melbourne, Carlton, Royal park, Footscray, etc". How fast can you switch from different exchange to another? That's travelling at an average speed of 60KM/hr. Imagine how messed the system would be with 200 travellers cruising at 1000KM/hr with their mobiles on. If the exchanges are all local to a single operator, it's fine but not international unless prior agreements were made.

In addition, mobile companies say using phones on planes can play havoc with their ground networks, because the antennae can't cope with relaying the signal from a phone which is travelling at 500mph. More

Hence why this part explains it all:

All four Malaysian mobile operators have agreed to allow their customers to roam internationally on board the aircraft and users would be billed on their regular phone bills as with any other international roaming call.

The GPRS data feature exploits AeroMobile’s unique capability to operate BlackBerry and other e-mail services using Inmarsat’s Swift64 satellite system, which has been added to the trial B777 aircraft.

Sounds amazing huh? NOT. Imagine all the uncles & aunties chit chatting with their kids, talking loudly, non-stop all the way through your flight! How are you going to sleep? Have your peace & quiet enjoyment? Nowadays, for a few babies on board, you'd be scare of not getting any sleep. What about 200 travellers talking on their mobile? Ok, maybe it's over exaggerating, let say 20% talks on their mobile? That's also 40 people talking! Imagine in a tram where only 1 or 2 people talk on their mobile, how annoying can it be? Everyone would look at the person straight into the eye, some may even "SSshhhHHhhh"!

I would be really worried next time I get on a MAS airplane from Melbourne! 7 hours of annoying chit chatting & ringtones! Maybe even repeating the same thing, "I'm on a plane". Sigh....Perhaps MAS should create a special room to talk mobiles in! Like how they did for smokers.

MAS is still struggling to be a profit making airline. Will this move gives more advantage to MAS or disadvantage? With more passengers more concerned about safety & comfort, I believe this will strongly disadvantage MAS.

Soft Porn?

From this month Australian airports will have a new technology to play with, the "Virtual Strip Search". It's a practise that's banned in Europe however being trial currently in US, Netherlands, etc.

What does this thing do?

The system works by using millimetre wave technology that projects a low-level radio frequency energy around the passenger, creating a three dimensional image of their body.

The device strips away all layers of clothing, revealing an idealised holographic image of the person, making visible any concealed objects such as weapons or explosives.

Sounds like superman with the "see through" superpower. It's really amazing how human developed their technology! What else is impossible in the future?

What will this thing produce?

The faces are automatically blurred and ... it's only a chalk-style outline, it's not as invasive as some of the other equipment that we've got, the security officer that's looking at it is located away from the screening lane, so there's no comparison of the person walking through and the image. The images are not saved, you literally walk through, the screener hits a button to say clear and the image goes.

However, many are not convinced yet. They worry their body image might be on Facebook! Or even get laughed at by bored security officers in a room who has nothing else do to except looking at chalk like images!
So, is this virtual strip search really necessary? Let's look at how many aeroplane suicide or used in terrorist bombing. On average, there're about 2-3 cases each year in the US. Over the 15 years, there're about 30+ reported cases.

That's quite a substantial figure! Let's compare with car bombing. The reports can be found here.

As we can see, the number of car bombing cases greatly outnumbered the air plane bombing or suicide. At the moment, I don't think we have a solution for car bombings yet! Perhaps just dogs sniffing?

The attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad should tell us a couple of things: For a start, no one and nothing is safe from a car bomb. Or, as in the Marriott's case, a truck bomb. As hotels go, the Marriott was a fortress. It had fairly good "standoff" — the distance between it and the street; luggage and guests were X-rayed before entering; the hotel was located in one of the best policed capitals in the world. The only thing that could have been done to make the Marriott even safer was to have completely shut down Islamabad's traffic — something obviously not practical. Pakistan is as dependent on the internal combustion engine as any other city. More

Perhaps, the super smart geniuses should create something to prevent car bombing too? We might be able to save more lives and make the roads safer!

However, looking at how things are going in the world, morals plunging, crime rates increasing, terrorist activities as active as a volcano, the trial just came at the right time to prevent something really bad from happening in the future! So, I think the Australian Government made a good move to start the trial phase for it now.

The key to success would be to prevent abuse of this system. Proper selection of staffs and training is a must.

I don't mind to get scanned the next time I pass through Melbourne Airport! Might be cool!

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Translation by Google:

从本月澳洲机场将有一个新的技术发挥， “虚拟地带搜索” 。这是一个信奉这在欧洲被禁止但是目前正在试验在美国，荷兰等

这是什么东西怎么办？

该系统使用的作品毫米波技术，项目，低水平的无线电频率能量客运周围，建立一个三维图像的机构。

该设备带以外的所有层面衣服，揭示了理想全息图像的人，使有形物体的任何隐藏，如武器或爆炸物。

听起来像是超人的“看穿”的超级大国。这真是令人惊叹人类发展自己的技术！还有什么是不可能的未来呢？

什么这件事产生？

脸上会自动模糊...这只是粉笔风格的大纲，它不是作为侵入的一些其他设备，我们有，安全人员是看它位于远离筛选车道，因此没有比较的人走过的形象。这些图像无法保存，你走过字面，筛分点击一个按钮，说清楚，不用的形象。

然而，许多人不相信没有。他们担心自己的身体形象可能会在Facebook ！甚至让笑的无聊保安人员在一个房间里谁也没有别的做，除非看粉笔一样的图像！
所以，这是虚拟脱衣搜查真的有必要？让我们看看有多少飞机自杀或使用的恐怖爆炸事件。平均而言，即将有2-3例，每年在美国。 15年来，有大约30是报告的案件。

这是相当大的数字！让我们比较汽车炸弹爆炸事件。该报告可以在这里找到。

正如我们可以看到，一些汽车炸弹爆炸案件大大超过了飞机轰炸或自杀。此时此刻，我不认为我们提供了一个解决方案汽车炸弹爆炸事件尚未！也许只是嗅探犬？

攻 击万豪酒店在伊斯兰堡应该告诉我们几件事：首先，没有一个与安全无关的汽车炸弹。或者，在万豪酒店的情况下，卡车炸弹进行袭击。至于去酒店，万豪酒店是一 个堡垒。它已相当不错“对峙” -之间的距离，并在街头;行李和客人是X光检查才能进入;酒店设在一个最佳首都治安的世界。只是，本来是可以这样做，使万豪更加安全是完全关闭伊斯兰堡的 交通-这显然不切合实际。巴基斯坦是依赖于内燃机任何其他城市。更多

也许，是超级聪明的天才应该创造的东西，以防止汽车炸弹爆炸事件吗？我们或许能够拯救更多的生命，并使道路更安全！

然而，在研究如何事情在世界上，道德下降，犯罪率增加，恐怖活动活跃的火山，审判刚刚在合适的时间，以防止不好的东西真的发生在未来！所以，我认为，澳大利亚政府提出了很好的举措，开始在审判阶段，现在。

成功的关键是防止滥用这一制度。选择适当的人员和培训是必不可少的。

我不介意扫描得到的下一次我通过墨尔本机场！可酷了！