How I Almost Got Scammed (with TIPS)

Hello readers! I hope your 2014 has started on a good note because mine has started on a fantastic note! Wanna know why? Read on! Now as ashamed as I am o admit this, I was almost scammed out of 1700 bucks. Yeah, that's a lot of money, but before you go all "how could you have been so stupid?!" on me, just remember that even the smartest people in the world have been tricked before. Being scammed once doesn't mean that you were stupid enough to fall for the scam but being scammed twice means shame on you, because the first time should've been a lesson.

Now, let me get on with my story. Firstly this all happened in the month of December after my brother had left overseas. I was all alone at home and had started my first job at a secret company which will not be mentioned for safety purposes. So, two weeks into my job and I had already received my very own salary (which was more than I have ever received in my life) and I thought to myself, "Hey, why not buy something useful with this money! Like a new phone since that bullshit HTC phone has started to fail you." OMG, the pain and struggle that has accompanied me from using that piece of shit called a phone! I cannot even begin to explain the many times I've smacked it, beat it and even let it die, all from the frustration it has caused me. And now because of this ONE DAMN PHONE I hate all HTC phones. I'll NEVER buy an HTC phone in my life. F*cking piece of shit!

So back to the story, I decided to do just that- replace my POS phone with another much better phone. Now I've always been a fan of Android simply because its easier to customize. I've used Apple before and though it's performance is indisputable but its really boring interface just stymies me every time. So in the end, it was the battle between the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5s. I decided to go with the 5s because I figured, now that I'm a career woman, why not, eh? So instead of being smart and going straight to the Apple/Mac store and buying if from there, I decided to surf the web in hopes of finding a more affordable ORIGINAL iPhone5s (*Gasp* I can never settle for an imitation!). So I did find one on this website called Locanto.com.my and seriously, the fact that the ad was too good to be true should've been the warning sign for me but my common sense was clouded by desire so of course, that didn't register one bit.

There was a number provided too, so I called the number and talked to the seller named "Jack"(I really don't know his real name, that was the name he gave me) and we came to an agreement. So then, I banked in the full amount which was 1700 bucks and waited for him to make the delivery. [Side Note: I have never ordered anything online for fear that something like this might happen to me. So that was also the day when I decided to make my very first online purchase] The asshole promised to make the delivery out on Friday which meant I should receive the package on Saturday or Monday as that's the latest. He gave me a tracking number (which then turned out to be fake) and I went to the post office to check it out.... only to find that it wasn't registered at all.

Monday approached and still no sign of my delivery. I called him frantically and wasted my credit on him. Still no reply. That's when it hit me that I had been scammed. Motherf*cker! I immediately felt stupid and ashamed because all the signs were there but my impatience seemed to cloud them. So instead of wallowing in my own sorrow, I decided to take swift action. I filed a police report and they advised me to go to the Consumer Claims council that deals with these kinds of cases and it was there that I had to fill in a form and then send a copy of that court order/summon form to the scammer's address. The problem was, I didn't have his address but I had the name of his Company. So I went to the Companies Commission and they gave me the address of the company. So I mailed the court order/summons and waited for the reply. Suddenly a few days after mailing the court order, I receive a call from an alein number and the caller sounded very frantic/

Turns out "Jack" was a labor worker in that company and he had scammed a lot of people. Luckily for me and those others, the money was deposited into the company bank account and so it was still there. So we made a deal that I would cancel the summons if he returned my money. Which brings us to today, when I check my bank account and the full amount was there. Now guys, let me simplify the entire process for you in the form of bullet points. Here's what to do if you have been scammed:

• File a police report
• Go to the Consumer Claims department in your country/area and file a complaint with them. They should give you two copies of a summons/court order document.
• Head on over to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (those living in the states), Companies Commissions in any country or any department that deals with company registration and then search for the company. You will have the address, registration number and etc.
• Then, go back to the Consumer Claims department and then get your court date. 
• After that mail one copy to the scammer's address (which you would've gotten from the previous step) and then wait. 
• On the day of your hearing, if the scammer doesn't show up, you automatically win and the government will refund whatever amount you were scammed off. If he does show up (in most cases they don't),  you are still likely to win because you have stronger evidence

Just remember to keep all bank transaction slips, text messages and any evidence that can be used against the perpetrator. Honestly I am one of the rare cases whereby I do get my stolen money back and I'm thankful for that. God is indeed great. And remember don't feel stupid if this happens to you because even geniuses get scammed. I hope this is helpful to you guys or anyone going through this. Share, because this could help someone. 

The Phone Age..The Life cycle of a Teenager's Cellphone

Hello readers. If you're expecting some travel and living documentary about the ergonomics and engineering of a cellphone then you're lost. This is definitely not the blog for you. This post is concerned with a very recent purchase that I made of a brand new phone (a certain HTC One series phone). So that got me thinking... why not write a blog post about our first phones and their slow transitions. I remember the days when I was in High School... Cell phones didn't really become a trend until we hit the 9th grade. That was when they became all the rage and those who owned one were the envy of others. Back in the days (the 1990s to be exact), only the rich kids owned a cellphone and cellphones that time were heavier that a brick (looked like a brick too) and they were the perfect revenge weapon (self defense too! Just give him one and he lands the top  spot in the emergency room). Trust me, for those who are unfortunate enough to be born in the 2000s, the phones were super huge! And the most popular brand was Nokia. For a little visual aid, just look at the monstrosity that we considered 'cool' back then!

These babies were thicker than some of our waistlines back then. It was ginormous! But being without one was like choosing to be a social pariah. That time my dad did not believe that "kids my age' (I was 12... -_-) should own cellphones (which didn't stop him from throwing his at our faces whenever he had the chance). His 'rational argument' was that, "Children like you should focus on your studies so that you can get into good collages after that. Not spend time SMSing your friends and boyfriends (he gave me a very evil eye at the word 'boyfriends')". Oh, Puh-lease dad! Like the college thing ended up great anyway. So during those two years, I was literally categorized into the social pariah group in the 7th and 8th grades. We were the sullen ones who mooned in the corner because we couldn't join into conversations that involved phrases like "text", "replied" or "credit".

Then from the 7th to 8th grade onwards it was all about camera-phones with high megapixels and that was when Sony Ericsson butted in and rocked Nokia's world. Everyone literally ran to the stores to purchase the latest phone with the highest megapixels and resolution (this was also the time that the "duck-face" photo pose was invented). The conversations transitioned from "He didn't text me today, what should I do?" to "How does this picture look?". All the social pariahs were now upgraded to loser status. Luckily for me and not so luckily for them, i officially resigned from the League of Extraordinary Social Inadequates and joined the League of Super Trendy Cellphone B*tches. Taking photos was the bomb! Everyone was so into it until it became an outdated thing and suddenly smartphones were the schizz.

And trust me, smartphones were not so great looking back in the days...they were large, bulky and weighed more than some of us these days. This was the time for Palm Pilot to shine. they were the biggest manufacturers of smartphones and they made teenagers around the world plenty happy. their Then Blackberry realized that they could also win this game... tenfold and so they cam,e up with their own version of the smartphone... one that allows another user of the same smartphone to chat for free, without any cost. Hence they devised the much thinner and more delectable QWERTY smartphones.Faster texting that is enough to outrun Usain Bolt and (finally) replying speed that is enough to give Michael Phelps a run for his money.

So then qwerty pads started to get annoying because they made this irritating clicking sound and they replaced it with the even more annoying touchscreen. the touchscreen then was not equivalent to the touchscreen now because the touchscreen then enabled teenage girls to outgrow their nails so they can be long enough to tap the screen with. This resulted in the threshold of annoyance, the redundant tip-tap-tip of girls on their cellphones. I believe this was also when O.P.I Nail Lacquer companies made their profits. Then loudmouth mothers and annoyed fathers complained to the phone companies and they finally came up with non-nail-responsive touchscreen phones (aka. they were more silent). They were also admittedly thinner, faster and kept you connected to the world!

So I believe that smartphones are not only a liability but they have made our generation-and I quote in meme terms- le stupid. Instead of making communications easier they have made our wallets emptier and our Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Kik more annoying. But still... who doesn't want a phone that is way smarter than them, eh?

And that, kids is how the mobile phone has evolved throughout time. Thank you all for tuning into the Tech Savvy and the Technology Illiterate show! I'm your host Jenny and we'll see you in a few days!

xx