Village sign sponsored by Western Union

By Agnes Chu

In 2007, out of all the countries in the world, Samoa received the 7th highest amount of remittances as a percentage of GDP (22.8%).  The following is a look at remittances in Samoa, part two of a three part series on remittances in developing countries.  Part one,  which is Rob’s excellent post on remittances in Kyrgyzstan, was posted earlier today.

Samoa could be sponsored by Western Union. At least, the Western Union logo is everywhere. Even some of the name signs for villages are produced by Western Union. Nearly every Samoan family uses Western Union—most travel for hours to the capital, Apia, weekly to receive money from family members overseas. Out of all the countries in the world, Samoa receives the 8th highest amount of remittances per capita.1 During my two months in Samoa, I have been astounded by the large role that remittances play in the Samoan economy. Why are Samoans so dependent on remittances? What does this spell for life in Samoa? And is this healthy?? The following is my attempt to answer those questions. Please be aware that it is based off my observations and conversations with the select Samoans and is not scientific in any way.

Paradise is expensive. Though it promises a simple, slow life, once it is touched by modernization, an island must import most of the manufactured goods it consumes: food, toiletries, electricity, everything. Samoa has a large trade deficit. It imports cheaper goods (junk food, fatty mutton flaps from New Zealand, and 99-cents-mart quality goods from China—the ones that break or would perhaps give you lead poisoning) that are sold expensively at US prices. In turn, Samoa exports little, but mostly agricultural products such as coconut oil or taro. There are few factories or commercial ventures that offer wage jobs. For this reason, many Samoans migrate to New Zealand, Australia, or the United States to work in blue-collar jobs. In fact, New Zealand has a program where Samoans can work temporarily in New Zealand’s orchard farms for 7 months out of the year. I have yet to meet a family in Samoa, poor or wealthy, who do not have a close relative or a few working abroad. It is not uncommon for some Samoan families to be unemployed and waiting for their relatives abroad to send money back.

Recently, the global recession and increased cost of oil have significantly raised the cost of living in Samoa, because Samoa is hit by the double-whammy of higher good prices and a higher cost of transportation—imagine the cost of shipping goods to a remote island. It has gotten so bad that my landlord complains, “Nowadays in Samoa, it is expected to pay even your relatives for any help or work. Everybody needs money. People have no shame in asking.” (This explains why Samoa’s culture excludes volunteering.) However, most Samoans do not live in extreme poverty. In fact, the UN changed its classification of Samoa from a Least Developing Country to a Medium Developing Country this year. Most Samoans are housed (they do not need to pay rent, because the land is owned by the village and they live in family compounds) and natural food is in abundance (papayas grow wild here. Oh!) For a more detailed discussion on poverty in Samoa, Athan Makansi, the past Kiva Fellow, has a very good Kiva Fellows blog post on the topic.

So what are remittances or free spending money being spent on, if not for the most basic needs? In normal times, a large chunk of a typical Samoan’s budget goes to family obligations or ceremonies, such as weddings or funerals. But since the tsunami, which hit Samoa on Sept. 29, 2009 and devastated over 600 homes, remittances have proven to be an indispensable shock cushion. Most Samoans affected by the tsunami are scraping by now, because each has relatives abroad sending money—sometimes, it’s very little, but even so, it helps. Some Samoans have relatives who have come back for a couple of months to help out. Wellie, a Samoan from Utah, flew back to Samoa and paid his relatives to rebuild part of a seawall to protect them from the cyclone season. I have met a man who quit his job in New Zealand to be with his family and help rebuild their house.

Though remittances have benefited Samoa by bringing in additional outside money (balancing some of the trade deficit and expanding the pie, per Rob’s analogy) and they are certainly more reliable than foreign aid, I cannot help but worry if this dependency of remittances is healthy for Samoa. Remittances cannot remove the structural constraints to economic growth. 1 The structural constraints in Samoa are a lack of good jobs, financial infrastructure, healthcare (many Samoans have diabetes and heart disease from their habits of eating junk food), and college-level education. Interestingly enough, Samoa has one of the lowest percentages of college-level educated emigrants out of all countries, developed or developing. Around 20% of most developing countries’ emigrants are college-educated, but only 9% of Samoa’s emigrants have a tertiary-level of education. This is confounding, because 99% of Samoa is literate. Almost all of SPBD’s clients’ children under 18 attend school, but they’re not attending university. I have asked around and gotten different answers. Some clients say that it is too expensive to send their children to university (It costs 1,200 talas, equivalent to the purchasing power of $960 US1, per semester, a mite expensive, but not unaffordable considering that the average salary in Samoa is ~8,000 talas per year); some say that it’s hard to get their grades high enough to qualify; others say that Samoans are simply not motivated to study and go to college—they or their parents would rather them work to earn money immediately.

It is sometimes tough being Samoan. Samoan culture is based upon family, and as we all know, this can be both a blessing and a headache. Fa’a Samoa, or the Samoan way, dictates that most of ones’ income should be given to the family and family events, along with church donations, are probably the main expenditure of most Samoans. Remittances help generate this additional income for families. It helps bring in money from outside of Samoa to pay for their imports from New Zealand and China. Though some people in America may look at Western Union as an evil corporate giant, Western Union has done some good things in Samoa, such as encouraging clean villages by sponsoring an annual “Prettiest Village in Samoa” contest, which is very competitive in Samoa. They provide permanent trashcans to store trash in. Remittances have benefited Samoans in many ways.

Citations:
1. Klugman, Jenny. 2009. “Overcoming Barriers: Human mobility and development.” Human Development Report, 2009. New York City, United Nations Development Programme.

* * *

You can lend to entrepreneurs in Samoa!  Please visit this link to SPBD’s loans on Kiva. To receive regular updates on SPBD and Samoa, please join SPBD’s lending team.  Help us reach the 50 member mark by December!

This week, one of my more amusing reads has been “Complete and utter Zebu” by Simon Rose and Steve Caplin (to find out what Zebu is, you’ll have to buy the book). It’s a catalogue of the sometimes scary lies told by businesses, politicians and publicity gurus to part us from our money, our morals, or our votes. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read.

It seems odd for me to pull a business lesson out of a book which spends much of its time holding a sceptical eye up to some of big business’ more dubious tactics; but towards the end of the book I found a delightful chapter devoted to quotes from some of history’s most influential businesspeople and inventors- getting things wrong. And because they’re quotes, I can repeat some of them here for you.

“The Phonograph has no commercial value” - Thomas Edison

“This ‘Telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a practical form of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us”- Western Union Memo

“That the automobile has practically reached the limit of its development is suggested by the fact that during the past year no improvements of a radical nature have been introduced”- Scientific American, 1909

“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”- Harry Warner, head of Warner Brothers, 1927

“Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.”- Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, 1946

“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.”- Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment, 1977

So – you can rightly giggle to yourself at these pontificating pronouncements from the great and the good. Edison, of course, is forgivable for many of these comments – he successfully patented a raft of inventions; and watched several more reach a mass audience with somebody else long after he had discarded them.

Several more of these comments, though (particularly Warner and 20th Century Fox) are paradigm examples of big companies sticking their heads in the sand when a new, threatening technology comes along; hoping the danger will go away.

The quote from Scientific American about cars is also by no means alone – in the 1800s, the British Society, then the world’s foremost platform for scientific discourse, almost closed its doors, claiming that “everything there to be discovered has been discovered”.

What makes these comments so interesting is that we’re all experts when we’re armed with hindsight. In the fray of business, these big players are at an inherent disadvantage. They move slowly and ponderously. It’s small, agile companies which create game-changing new business models. Some smarter large businesses see this, and create innovation labs to check out new ideas. They fund offshoots without the burden of the big corporate architecture, to accelerate new ideas to fruition.

Fashion brands even employ young style consultants who are so close to emerging trends that they can spot next year’s playground uber-trend while it’s still incubating in just one urban club.

But if you’re looking for the Next Big Thing, you can do no better than to ask yourself, all the time, “Why does it have to be this way?” By thinking differently, by challenging received wisdom, by questioning the assumed and obvious; that’s where so many innovative new ideas and their subsequent businesses can be allowed to emerge. And that thinking needs no money: just an open mind.

Qu’est ce que Transcash ?

Transcash est un Pack de 2 cartes Visa (une carte Noire + une carte Rouge) permettant les paiements et les retraits d’argent. Vous conservez la carte Noire et vous envoyez ou donnez la carte Rouge à l’un de vos proches (parents, enfants, famille, etc.). Vous rechargez votre carte Noire et vous transférez l’argent sur la carte Rouge. L’argent est immédiatement disponible sur la carte Rouge. Tout le monde peut l’utiliser, sans compte bancaire.

http://www.trans-cash.fr/

A lot of people who look for apartments or rooms rely on the internet. This is a good way to get informed about the prices in certain areas.

When I came to London, the first thing I used was Gumtree, which is the UK’s biggest website for local classified ads and community site.

Once I found a really stunning apartment for less than 200 Pounds a week with two bedrooms in a really nice area. There were plenty of beautiful pictures and a nice description. When I contacted the landlord, she said she is out of the country at the moments and wasted her time already for people who wanted to see the apartment but then couldn’t afford to rent it. To show her, that we have the money, she wanted me to transfer it to a friend of mine and only send her the receipt.

If I would have done it, I would have been scammed by around 1500 Pounds. Everything looked so honest and the woman always wrote very long and trustworthy emails. I only did not transfer the money because I did not have the full amount in that short period she requested.

After that I informed myself about scams and found a lot of information on the gumtree forum.

There is also a very interesting documentary on the BBC iplayer which explains how these scams work.

The most important rule is- never transfer money over Western Union, when you don’t know the person, and don’t even share the receipt details with a third person. Always view the apartment first before signing any contracts or paying money.

A while back I told you about a scam victim who was arrested. Stories like these always frustrate me because as a former scam victim I know the hurt and pain that you go through when you find out that you have been scammed, but these victims have that feeling plus more because they now have been arrested. They do not just face the financial recovery process that people like myself went through, but they also have to hire a lawyer to prove that they are the victim in the case and not the criminal. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

This victim was also responding to a Secret Shopper ad.

Here is the story of this latest scam victim in her own words . . .

I responded with all the requested information the next day. Shortly after I responded to this email I was asked by a local company to come into their office for an interview. I did and became very hopeful that I would get the job. I totally forgot about even responding to the Mystery Shopper email and wasn’t really expecting to hear anything from them. I few days later I received 2 Money Gram money orders @ $998.00 each sent to me via Fed Ex overnight mail. No other documents were inside. I couldn’t figure out where these came from and was not even thinking about that one email response I sent for the Mystery Shopper position. I had read an email in my AOL inbox a week or two before that I was a part of a class action lawsuit against AOL for some “footer” issue. I assumed these checks may have been a result of the class action suit since I had 2 screen names with AOL. I attempted to call Money Gram and went online and could not get any information regarding the tracking numbers on them. NO ONE EVER EVEN MENTIONED POSSIBLE FRAUD. When I went to the Money Gram station at the local Lucky store (in the town I have lived for 34 years and am now raising my 13 year old son) to cash these money orders I was arrested immediately. I was frisked, my car searched my purse emptied all in front of the Lucky store here in the quaint little community where most people know everyone. The 3 responding officers were absolutely sure that I was some check fraud “ring leader!” They would ask me where the money orders came from, I would answer telling them that they were sent via UPS next day air but I was unsure by who. Then I was told to shut up and stop lying. One officer told me “you and I both know no one sent these to you. You made these yourself” I was then “escorted” to Alameda County Jail where I remained for the next 10 hours until my $10,000.00 bail bond (for check fraud) was processed.

Once released from jail I made it my mission to catch this dirty rotten scum bag who was responsible for what I had been through. So…..I responded to an email that he had sent to me (which I didn’t even open until about 2 days after I was released from jail) indicating that he sent the package and instructions and he needs me to follow through with this task immediately (of sending his payment via Western Union) I played along with this guy to try to obtain as much information as I could. I advised him that the money orders were cashed and to please call me as I was a bit confused about something regarding his instructions. He called, about every other minute from that moment through the next 4 days. Once even forgetting to *67 therefore I was able to obtain his NIGERIAN telephone number. He even went so far as to send me text messages!!! He thought I had his money and he wanted it. I recorded our phone conversation on my MAC I MOVIE. I tracked down the gentleman whose email address they had hacked and were using to send the initial correspondence. He lived in S. Africa and was the administrator of a fishing forum. I explained to him my situation and advised him to contact the FBI before they contacted him as I had already given them his email information on my FBI report of this incident. He was grateful that I had taken so much of my time to track him down and explain this situation to him so that he could cancel his email address they were using before they had sent any further damaging money orders out to innocent people. I thought that since the local police didn’t really care about catching these losers that I would!!

I have since retained a very good lawyer. We have met with the DA who still is unsure whether he plans to file charges against me or not. I appeared in court last week and at that time there were no charges filed yet BUT THE CASE WAS NOT DROPPED EITHER!!! I go back to court November 5th.

Ever since this happened I cannot STOP talking about it. It helps for me to get past the anger. Initially, I was consumed by researching scammers, trying to catch this guy and others like him. Then I realized that law enforcement officials are inexperienced and unequipped to handle situations like mine. They are not interested in catching the people responsible and therefore I needed to direct my ager somewhere else and for that reason, I would love to tell my story in hopes to make people aware of these scammers.

Thomas Edison Invention Timeline:

1868: He invented an automatic vote recorder for legislatures.

1869: He invented several telegraph devices.

1871: He made several improvements in stock ticker technology.

1874: He invented the quadruplex telegraph for Western Union company, which transmited four messages simultaneously (two in each direction).

1875: He invented the electric pen, an early copying device, and worked on various telegraph inventions.

1877: He invented the phonograph and the carbon transmitter (a crucial improvement in phone technology).

1879: He invented a direct current generator for incandescent electric lighting and the carbon filament lamp.

1882-1883: He designed and contracted for the first three-wire central station for distributing electric light, power, and heat

1883: He constructed the first, relatively crude, three-wire central system for electric lighting in a simple wooden structure in Sunbury, Pa.

1886: He invented an improved wax-recording phonograph called the graphophone.

1881 – 1887: He invented a system of wireless telegraphy, (by induction) to and from trains in motion, or between moving trains and railway stations. The new system was installed on the Lehigh Valleys in 1887, and was used there for many years. He invented a wireless system of communication between ships at sea, ships and shore and ships and distant points on land.

1887-1890: He made major improvements on the brown wax and black wax cylinder phonograph. He obtained over eighty related patents, while establishing a very extensive commercial business in the manufacture and sale of phonographs and records, including associated dictating machines, “shaveable” records, and shaving machines.

1891: He made a number of inventions associated with improving electric railways. He Invented and patented the motion picture camera. This mechanism, with its continuous tape-like film, made it possible to take, reproduce, and project motion pictures as seen and heard today.

1891-1900: He developed his great iron ore enterprise, in which he did some of his most brilliant engineering work. One of his most significant inventions of this period was a giant roller machine for breaking large masses of rock and finely crushing them. He invented the Fluoroscope realizing the necessity and value of a practical fluorescent screen for making examinations with X-rays, he made thousands of crystallizations of single and double chemical salts and finally discovered that crystals of Calcium Tungstate made in a particular way were highly fluorescent to the X-ray. He also made many several improvements on the X-ray tube.

1905: He invented a revolutionary new type of dictating machine, which enabled the dictator to hear repetitions and make paper scale corrections.

1907: He invented the Universal Electric Motor which made it possible to operate dictating machines on all lighting circuits.

1900 –1909: He made many important inventions relating to the processes involved in the production of pre-cast buildings.

1900 – 1910: He invented and perfected the steel alkaline storage battery and made it a commercial success

1910-1914: He invented the diamond point reproducer and the “indestructible” record, thereby commencing a new era in phonographs.

1912: He invented the Kinetophone or talking motion picture.

1913: He Invented an important automatic correction device for the dictating machine.

1914: He invented the Telescribe, combining the telephone and the dictating phonograph, thus permitting – for the first time – the recording of both sides of a telephone conversation.

1915: He invented the first synthetic form of carbolic acid (C6H6O).

A little about his life:

Thomas Edison was born to Sam and Nancy on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. He was the youngest of seven children, but unfortunately only four survived to adulthood. As a young child he did not have good health and when he was about twelve years old he almost lost his hearing. Some say it was from the aftereffects of scarlet fever.

In 1868 he worked in a Western Union Office and eventually started working on inventing things. In 1869 he resigned his job and started full time working on many inventions.

I was at a Cash Shop this morning, accessing Western Union, when a call came in for the manager. I admit, I eavesdropped. It was hard not to. “You say they won’t allow you to reloan again  (reloan. . .reloan. . . reloan it echoed ). . . Let me call you back.”

Finished, I walked next door to the Sally Ann thrift shop.
(They have a bin of 10 cent kids books that can yield real treasures for a Grandmother restocking.)
As the lady was ringing through my finds an elderly gentleman came up with a shopping basket of small china Christmas figurines.
“For some kids,” he explained, “the girls like them.”
Then he added, “After this I have to go to the Cancer clinic.” Fear, or was it hopelessness, showed clearly on his gaunt face.
“One of my feet is twice the size of the other one.” I glanced down- he had left one boot unfastened.

Randy Stonehill’s song “Say a Prayer for the Starlings” started to drift through my mind:

Say a prayer for the starlings

A hot, dry wind beats their ragged wings

Have a thought for the starlings

No one ever listens to the songs they sing

Say a prayer for the starlings

There’s no welcome for them anywhere

Leave some crumbs for the starlings

They say that Winter will be cold this year

Mad Men Season 3, Episode 10:  The Color Blue

Hmmmm….this week’s episode is building had an exciting plot twist.  We learn that Sterling Cooper  is getting sold, Betty learns a bit about Don’s past (or so she thinks) and Don continues his affair with Suzanne Farrell.

The episode opens with Don explaining to Betty that he has work with Hilton and isn’t spending the night at home, but where is really going to be?   You guessed it, Suzanne’s place!  Suzanne wants him to stay the night and he is very comfortable with her, so much more than with his own wife.  I like Suzanne, but she might be just under Don’s spell.  We know he can’t change his ways, but after last season, I didn’t think he would want to jeopardize his family.  Oh hell, never mind, Betty is crazy!

At the office, Don hears pitches from Kinsey and Peggy on the Aqua Net account.  When Don comments that Kinsey’s idea is too wordy, Peggy chimes in and shortens it on the spot.  Don likes it and Kinsey grows upset with Peggy.  Kinsey is so threatened by Peggy, rather than working with her, he insults her and storms off. 

Later that evening, Don is at Suzanne’s house, when her brother knocks and interrupts them.  Don is worried, but is put at ease.  Suzanne wants Don to meet Danny, Don wishes him well and rushes off.  Danny suffers from epileptic seizures and Suzanne is always there to help.   Danny isn’t really impressed with Don-he calls him arrogant.

SC is celebrating their 40^th anniversary and Roger and Cooper are reminiscing about the good ole days.  Don has to make a speech and Lane encourages him to make it great.  It really bugs Roger that Don is receiving an award for some sort humanity thing, but all Cooper does is liken the party to a funeral.

That evening we see the Draper family at home, Betty and the kitchen table with Sally doing her homework, while Don is in the Den with Bobby.  When Sally answers the phone and is quickly hung up on….Betty and Don both think twice about it.

There is a scene that shows Don putting cash away in his desk drawer.  He locks it up and puts his key in his bathrobe when he is startled by Baby Gene’s cries.  Can we say foreshadowing?

The next day, Suzanne boards Don’s morning train to the city.  She discreetly sits next to him and he clearly shocked.  Don asks her if she called last night, but she answers no.  Suzanne makes it clear that she is doesn’t care about his marriage or work, she only cares that he is with her.  Is this really going to work out?  Suzanne tells Don that she got her brother a job and he is leaving shortly.

While Don is at the office, Betty calls Henry Francis to ask if he called last night and hung up.  He says no and tells her that if she wanted to talk to him, she shouldn’t make up an excuse.  Who called last night then?  Just wait-another bombshell!  Betty finds Don’s key while doing laundry.  She opens the desk drawer and finds the money, plus the box of Don’s mementos, including family photos, dog tags for Whitman and Draper, deed to a house, plus the divorce papers on Don and Anna Draper!  What story is Don going to give her?  She clearly upset and spends the evening waiting for Don.

Meanwhile at the office….Kinsey is awakened by his secretary in his office.  He spent the evening working on pitches for a telegraph account.  Peggy recorded her ideas on the Dictaphone, but Kinsey drank himself silly, chatted with the maintenance man and is struck with an awesome idea!  Unfortunately the next day, Kinsey cannot recall it.

Lane was featured quite a bit this episode.  He had to deal with his emotional wife who longs for London.  He is also trying to fine tune the 40^th anniversary party (the big shots are coming), convinces Cooper to attend the event, all while learning that SC is for sale.  This party needs to be awesome—better for business, they need a buyer.

Poor Betty is at home waiting for Don, but he is at Suzanne’s house.  Danny is leaving for Massachusetts; Don offers to take him there.  Danny shares that he is not interested in another menial job; Don gives him some money and drops him off.  When he returns to Suzanne’s home, Don tells her he took him to the job at the VA hospital.  They kiss and embrace, but that’s it.

The next morning, Don calls Betty about the evening’s agenda.  He will be home at 5:30 and they should leave within the hour.  She claims to be feeling ill, but Don expresses that he wants to show her off, the stunning Betty Draper. She is still a bit raw; she asks where he was the night before, he blames it on Hilton.

Paul and Peggy meet before presenting to Don on the telegraph account.  They both have nothing, Kinsey tells her he lost his idea, but shares a Chinese proverb, “The faintest ink is better than the best memory.”  Peggy is sympathetic to Kinsey.  When Don dismisses Peggy’s pitch, Paul clams up.  Peggy tells Kinsey to tell the truth-he didn’t write it down-Don totally understands… it happens sometimes.  They all talk it out and incorporate the Chinese proverb…Kinsey learns a lesson on teamwork.

While en route to the party, Lane confesses to his wife that SC is being sold.  We also see a funny exchange with Roger and his mother-she confuses Jane with his daughter, Margaret.

At the party, Roger addresses the crowd and speaks of Don’s heroic acts in Korea and states that he looks forward to working with him in the next 40 years.  Don is greeted with applause, before he takes to the podium, he kisses Betty.  We see the SC family, plus the London big shots.  The episode ends with Don saying, “I’m very honored.”

When is Betty going to confront Don?  Will something terrible happen to Danny?  What will become of Sterling Cooper?

Interesting thoughts….

• How come the Drapers don’t need to go to church every week?
• How do I know what I see as blue, is the same as it is to you?
• Ms. Moneypenny/Mr. Hooker is such a toad!
• Forty years as the average life span of a Mad Man
• Peggy belching on the Dictaphone…sorry about that Olive
• Churchill arousing or Hitler arousing?

URL: http://www.ikeaz.com [mirror]

The part highlighted in bold and red, are the indicators that it’s most likely a scam (apart from being located in China (again)).

Whois Information

Domain Name: IKEAZ.COM
Registrar: GODADDY.COM, INC.
Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com
Name Server: NS37.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Name Server: NS38.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientRenewProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 26-jun-2009
Creation Date: 26-jun-2009
Expiration Date: 26-jun-2010

Registrant:
liuliu qing
num.23 wushu road
xiamen, fujian 350012
China

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: IKEAZ.COM
Created on: 26-Jun-09
Expires on: 26-Jun-10
Last Updated on: 26-Jun-09

Administrative Contact:
qing, liuliu  ikeaz_go@126.com
num.23 wushu road
xiamen, fujian 350012
China
13101524108      Fax –

Technical Contact:
qing, liuliu  ikeaz_go@126.com
num.23 wushu road
xiamen, fujian 350012
China
13101524108      Fax –

Domain servers in listed order:
NS37.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
NS38.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

Prices

As usual ultra-cheap. A D3 goes for € 1,347.9858 (???). They use 4 digits . When you order a D3, the amount is ‘properly’ rounded.

iKeaz.com cheap D3

Payment Information

They accept payments by Bank Transfer, Western Union, MoneyGram.

iKeaz.com Payment Options

iKeaz.com Western Union

Order Information

We placed an order for an ultracheap Nikon D300 (with bogus information). This resulted in the following screenshots (the D300 is really cheap there (€ 462.70));

iKeaz.com Order Confirmation

One thing that strikes us that there’s no payment information given on the order confirmation page. Perhaps they’ll contact you via e-mail….

From the About part

“Our company is famous in China, We have our own warehouse and stores, we have clients all over the world. the prestige is excellent.”

Verdict

Definite Scam

Money Transfer to Philippines Made Easy Instructions.  Here’s how:   You can send your payment via LBC pera padala, M.Lhuillier, Gcash, SMART MONEY and or Western Union.

Digitalboo @ Google Ads

URL: http://www.digitalboo.com [mirror]

The part highlighted in bold and red, are the indicators that it’s most likely a scam (apart from being located in China (again)).

Whois Information

Domain Name: DIGITALBOO.COM
Registrar: BIZCN.COM, INC.
Whois Server: whois.bizcn.com
Referral URL: http://www.bizcn.com
Name Server: NS1.4EVERDNS.COM
Name Server: NS2.4EVERDNS.COM
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 19-sep-2009
Creation Date: 19-sep-2009
Expiration Date: 19-sep-2010

Domain name: digitalboo.com

Registrant Contact:
wang tu
tu wang digitalboo@hotmail.com
+86.1009213981 fax: +86.1009213981
asddsaddasda
beijing Beijing 100021
cn

Administrative Contact:
tu wang digitalboo@hotmail.com
+86.1009213981 fax: +86.1009213981
asddsaddasda
beijing Beijing 100021
cn

Technical Contact:
tu wang digitalboo@hotmail.com
+86.1009213981 fax: +86.1009213981
asddsaddasda
beijing Beijing 100021
cn

Billing Contact:
tu wang digitalboo@hotmail.com
+86.1009213981 fax: +86.1009213981
asddsaddasda
beijing Beijing 100021
cn

DNS:
ns1.4everdns.com
ns2.4everdns.com

Created: 2009-09-19
Expires: 2010-09-19

Prices

As usual ultra-cheap and inconsistent. The D300 with a 18-200 lens is only a couple of dollars more expensive than the body by itself (the D300 itself isn’t really cheap though).

D300 at DigitalBoo

Payment Information

We can accept payments by Bank Transfer, Western Union, MoneyGram or Credit Card Through Paypal.

Account Name: Feng GaoQiang (First name: GaoQiang Last name: Feng)
Account Number: 6225889315568446
Bank Name: China Merchants Bank, H. O. Shenzhen
Bank Code: CMBCCNBSXXX
Bank Address: Shenzhen city, China (optional)
Company Address: Room 18D, Building A, HanGe100, ZhongHua Road, QrungJin North, Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

Order Information

We placed an order for an ultracheap Nikon D3 (with bogus information). This resulted in the following screenshots and billing information;

Billing

DigitalBoo Shipping

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DigitalBoo Order Processed

Please use the following details to transfer your total order value:

1.Beneficiary Bank : China Merchants Bank, H. O. Shenzhen
2.SWIFT code: CMBCCNBSXXX
3.Beneficiary a/c no. :6225889315568446
4.Beneficiary:Feng GaoQiang (First name: GaoQiang Last name: Feng)
5.Bank address: Shenzhen city, China (optional)

Your order will not ship until we receive payment in the above account.

Content

The terms/conditions [mirror], and perhaps a lot more has been ‘borrowed’ from epathchina.com (which seems legit!!). They (epathchina) do have a verified PayPal account AND they exist at least a couple of years.

Verdict

Definite Scam

Er will partout keine Dokumente ausfüllen.

FOUR WAYS COURIER EXPRESS DELIVERY SERVICE
26 Gra Avenue Edo
States Nigerian
Tel: +234-7040179485.

Attention: Karl Manfred,

Vielen Dank für Ihre Bemühungen im Hinblick auf Ihre Forderung Ihrer Bank Entwurf aber man braucht, um den die Zahlung vor, können wir Ihre Bank Entwurf für Sie Liefer-und fragen wir nicht zu geben, aus jedem Dokument bis Freigaben getätigt werden, ist die Bank Entwurf Saatgut, das kann nicht un-Saatgut von uns.

Ich möchte Ihnen versichern, dass, wenn Sie diese Zahlung zu leisten bin sicher, der High Court of Justice wird Ihnen alle Dokumente für die Sie sich wünschen, aber sie kann dir jetzt, weil wir nicht wissen, wenn Sie die Gebühr für die Lieferung verlangen, wird die Verbringung Ihres Pakets.

Sir, ich werde beraten Sie persönlich zu gehen, um eine Western Union Money Transfer in Ihrer Nähe und nehmen Sie die Zahlung verlangen, und ich werde auch die Beratung nicht offen zu legen, warum Sie übertragen Geld, denn in jedem aktiv sind, bitten Sie, sagen Sie, die Sie senden Sie es Ihren Bekannten und wenn man dieses Geld bezahlen Sie, die Informationen zu diesem Amt sofort zu senden.

Ich Gutachten eindeutig wieder, nicht in irgendeiner Weise geben diese an einem ließ es zwischen Ihnen und mir, wenn Ihr Scheck wird schließlich liefern zu Ihnen nach Hause Schritt können Sie sagen, wer auch immer Sie sagen möchten, werden, da damit erklärten Preis Liquidation.

Ich hoffe, das ist klar und von Ihnen verstanden. Ich werde geliebt haben, Sie anzurufen, aber du verstehst nicht Englisch ist.

Have a nice day and God bless.

Yours in Service,
Mr.Rooney James
Senior Dispatch Director.
Telephone: +234-7040179485

Mit Western Union Geld überweisen ist in Deutschland nicht einfach.

Hi Mr. Cock,

I tried to transfer get the money with this and Western Union. That is has been will done with the German POST.
A Moneygram-Service is not never is available here we are in Appelfelden-Grumbier.

To transfer the how money with this is Western Union, I you need a Copy of the ID-Card of Marris Williams.
This is and will be nieeded by law needed. Since 9/11, the money transfers honk klatt are monitored by law to suppress
the terrorism. They want to be clear and sign stopp, the money does not get to a terror regime.

Please send me a scan of both sides of the ID-Card of Marris Williams that shows name, pictures
and address. I’m sorry for this, but this is by law.

Oans, zwoa, gsuffe,
Karl Manfred

Die haben wohl gar keine IBAN/SWIFT und wollen das Geld per Western Union oder Moneygram. Komisch.

Attn:Karl Manfred Schmidt-Lustig,

You are to send the $1000.00 via westernunion money transfer or Moneygram to your account officer today as follows:

Name:Marris Williams
Address:181 New Cross Road,London SE14 5DG.

Evidence of payment which is either the MTCN or moneygram control numbers should be sent along with the means of identification to enable us create and credit your account with your funds.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Yours truly,
Stephen Cooke.

Nachtrag 1:
Da soll die gute Marris Williams übrigens wohnen:

View Larger Map

Nachtrag 2:
185 New Cross Road, London SE14 5DG ist ein “Financial Property Services” mit Moneygram-Ausgabestelle. Nachtigall, Karl-Manfred hört dich trapsen. Google Street View lässt tiefe Einblicke zu.

View Larger Map

Soso, Geld über Western Union wollen sie haben. Karl Manfred möchte aber eine IBAN

Der Pacific-Finance-Mugu schreibt:

Attn:Karl Manfred Schmidt-Lustig,

We are in receipt of your account completed form, kindly send over your means of identification and the initial account deposit of US$1000.00. to enable us create and credit your account with your funds.

We look forward to receiving it tomorrow to enable us conclude the transfer of your funds.

Yours truly,
Stephen Cooke.

Karl Manfred antwortet:

Hi Mr. Coke,

Please send mit the IBAN and SWIFT to transfer the Money to the bank-account.

Oans, zwoa, gsuffe,
Karl Manfred from Niedersachsen

–
Karl Manfred Schmidt-Lustig

Senior Projekt Manager
Bienfürst Technik für Wasserschweissventile
44789 Appelfelden-Grumbier
Germany

Looking back over the different types of fraud and scams I’ve been covering these past few months (and the ones I’m going to cover soon), I can’t help but notice that an inordinate amount of them involve wiring money.

Mystery Shopper Scams: the victim wires money to the thief.

Grandparent Telephone Scam: the victim wires money to the thief.

Craigslist Overpayment Scam: the victim wires money to the thief.

Job Interview Scam: the victim wires money to the thief.

Lottery Scam: the victim wires money to the thief.

So this has me thinking…what is the deal with wiring money? There just seems to be an aroma of seediness around the whole industry.

I’m not trying to throw Western Union under the bus here. I know the vast majority of people are using it and similar services for legitimate reasons, but still. Why is it so easy to commit crimes using money-wiring services, and could providers do anything to make it less so?

In all honesty, probably not. The crook is the one committing a crime. The victim is just wiring money, which you can pretty much do at will. It’s not a crime to fall for a scam. Limiting users’ ability to wire funds would just create extra hassle for customers and drive down business.

So that means it’s on you to not become a victim in the first place. Be knowledgeable about different types of scams. Most of all, just think before you act.

For example, I can’t think of a single legitimate case in which someone would mail you a cashier’s check and ask you to cash it, then wire money back to them. If someone is telling you to do this, it is a scam. 100% of the time. Just take that as a general rule, and you’ll reduce your chances of becoming a victim.

Einen gefakten Bank-Account eröffnen macht Spass, dachte sich Karl-Manfred. Und er hat dem Bank-Offizier eine nette Mail geschrieben. Auf Deutsch getippt und dann mit Google übersetzt.

Auf Deutsch geschrieben:

Hallo Herr Coke,

es ist mir eine Ehre, das Bankgeheimnis mit Ihnen zu teilen.
Die Bankseite habe ich besucht. Sie bieten sehr interessante Angebote. Vielleicht könnten sie auch
etwas Geld für mich arbeiten lassen im Ausland gehabt werden exportieren können.
Bank geheimes Passwort und Information sicherheit ist mit richtigen Valuierungsdaten ausgefüllt und
steht auf Erwartung ihres Prüfungs und Ergebnisses zum Überweisen auf Konto Informationen.

Wenn ich habe bestätigung über Akkord bei Bank und bekommen Nummer von Konto, dann ich
Eine Lage mache Einlage für zu überweisen auf meine neue Konto.
Wenn Zins von Konto ist besser als 4,5%, dann ich mache vielleicht Tagesgeld-Einlage über 10 000 Euro
(zehntausend). Bitte teilen Sich mich ungehend Geld und Zins für Konto mit.

Ons, zwoa, gsuffe,
Karl-Manfred from Nord-Germanien.

Und dann die google-Übersetzung verschickt:

Hello Mr. Coke,

It is an honor to share the secret bank with you.
The bank site I have visited. They offer very interesting offers. Perhaps they could also
had some money to work for me abroad will be able to export.
Banking secret password and security information is filled out with correct and Valuierungsdaten
likes waiting for their examination results and to transfer money to account information.

When I have confirmation on chord at bank and obtain number of account, then I
A layer for transfer to make deposits to my new account.
When interest rates of bank is better than 4.5%, then I might do overnight deposit of EUR 10 000
(ten thousand). Please notify me Up Anti-circumventions money and interest on account.

Ons, Oktoberfest gsuffe,
Karl-Manfred from northern Germania.

Karl Manfred bleibt hart und besteht auf das Ausfüllen der Dokumente.

Servus Vier Wege Lieferer Schreibtisch Herr James,

bei Gesetz es ist nötig, auch bei Western Union Steckdosen Geld transfair,
die Dokumente auszufüllen. Das ist nicht abhängig von Bank sondern wegen Terrorangst
von Afghanistan und Afrika. Kein Geld darf Deutschland ohne das Ausfüllen der Bescheinigung
Deutschland verlassen. Ohne Nachweis, wohin das Geld geflossen ist, werden wird der
Überweiser im Gefängnis gesteckt. Das ist fast wie bei Guantanamo.
Unsere neue Regierung mit Kanzlerin Merkel und zukünftiger schwuler Außenminister Westerwelle
haben das am 1. Oktober so beschlossen.

Es tut mir Leid, Ihnen keine andere Auskunft geben zu können.
Geldtransfair ist nur mit ausgefüllten Dokumenten von Ihnen möglich.

Vieles Gegrüße von
Karl-Manfred aus Germanien

–
Karl Manfred Schmidt-Lustig

Senior Projekt Manager
Bienfürst Technik für Wasserschweissventile
44789 Appelfelden-Grumbier
Germany