Are we by default leasing our home to domestic helpers?

I have a colleague who was shocked when she saw via real-time recording of her home CCTV that an unidentified man went into her house. That man was led in by her helper (without consent from the employer). That man came into the house when my colleague's 2 years old girl was asleep.
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That man knew his way into the house and which room to go to. He went directly to the helper's bedroom. The thing about real time CCTV is that there is no playback. You can press a record button (when you need to record) but the rest of the footage is not saved (unless you opt for pricier hardware that can accommodate recording for several days before it overwrite).
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Panic struck my friend and she had to leave work to rush home. Several calls were made and neighbour was alerted. My colleague's main concern was for the child. The neighbour was instructed to go into the house and retrieve the baby. Reluctantly, the helper let the neighbour into the house and told the neighbour that she had guest. The guest was let off and most importantly, the baby was safe.
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My friend decided to terminate the helper's contract. The agency advised my friend against reporting to the police because that will delay the replacement. To a family with working parents, my friend had no choice but to comply. The helper was sent home with high probability of returning to Singapore to work. That would be a disaster to the next household.
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After some thoughts, my friend decided to report to the police. After much deliberation, the police decided that there is no case against the helper and the "intruder". The police said that since the helper invited the unidentified man to the house, there is no criminal element to it. My friend insisted that the helper "invited" the man without their consent. To that, the police said that since the helper is staying in my friend's house, she has the right to invite people over.
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All in all, it would suggest that if a household hire a domestic helper, it is by default that the said household is leasing their home to the helper and thus, the helper has the rights to invite people over.
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I was shocked to know this!
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An advice to parents/employers who have to leave their babies at home with domestic helpers (especially without any other family members such as grandparents at home): -
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The next time you renew your helpers' contract, please include a term in the contract that forbids helpers from inviting people over to your houses (esp. without your consent). Having it written in legally binding contract will protect you from having to go through what my friend went through. I guess that would make the "invitation" illegal then.
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For now, the helper is already back to Singapore waiting for the next assignment.
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Just to share.

Tired of Private Number calling in at inconvenient time?

If you are tired of receiving spam calls from Private Numbers or any numbers, you have two choices.

First, register your mobile phone number with Do Not Call Registry at Personal Data Protection Commission Singapore. That will prevent unsolicited phone calls, SMS, and fax.

If you don't want to register to Do Not Call and would want to have more control, then the second option would be to utilize your reject list setting on your Android phone (I'm not familiar with other operating systems).

Here are the steps.

Steps taken to set auto reject to Private Numbers (or Unknown).

However, be warned that if you reject Unknown (or Private Numbers), you will not be able to receive calls made from Singapore public phone booths. Strangely, calls from public phones are under Private Numbers (or Unknown).

To add a specific number to reject list, it's easy - Just go to Call Log and touch on this number. A pop up will appear showing several options with one asking "Add to Reject list". Touch that option and the number will be added to the reject list.

To select a number from Call Log to be added in the Reject List. Go to Logs and select the number by touching it. A popup will ask for several options. Select Add to reject list.

The thing about Reject list is that even my three year old toddler can do it. My number was selected in my wife's phone and added to Reject list. When I wanted to call my wife, I would get the "Line Busy" notification. I never thought that my call was rejected until I tried numerous times. This had happened twice (palms on face).

Re: Video of passenger scolding taxi driver goes viral

Recently, a rude passenger scolding a taxi driver went viral in social media. The daughter of the taxi driver took action in order to seek "justice/respect" (or as an education to others about mutual respects) for her father by exposing the rude passenger's behaviour (without photo) to the masses. This caused the collective effort by the masses to start exposing (although she "pleaded" for netizens not do so) the rude passenger.
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The taxi driver's daughter who worked for the media industry pleaded that we should forgive him and that everyone makes mistakes. However, surely she should have known better that her action would inevitably cause the person on the receiving end damage (especially considering that we have a posteriori cases such as the Sim Lim and Anton Casey saga just to mention a few). What is there "to forgive" if her action caused devastation to that person (especially considering how eager Singaporeans are to destroy someone based on a single reported action).
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As expected, the taxi driver's daughter's action produced another internet "kill".
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First, the rude passenger was identified, then insulted/humiliated online (and it would have been worst if his Facebook account was still active). Subsequently, the masses dragged his family and friends into the picture. On top of all these comes the harassment and ridicules from the public (I guess).
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I would say that she (taxi's daughter working for the media industry) should know fully the consequences of her action (especially considering her profession and exposure) although she claimed that her action was just to get an apology.
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She was reckless in her action to destroy someone in social media by her action. What prior cases have taught us is that the people and the family will suffer the consequences of being demonized in social media (based on a mistake).

Father of rude passenger blames self for son's behaviour. Singaporeans should all be very proud by now (or are we equally guilty)?

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Now, are all of us saints?
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Did Singapore education system penalize us for the first mistake we made in tests (and hence the inexplicable eagerness of the populace to penalize a person for his/her first reported mistake while ignoring all else)? If not, why do we still judge a person by one mere action/mistake (or are we shallow or angry people nowadays)?
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People are rude, obnoxious and repugnant. That is unavoidable fact. But how do we judge a person? Based on a single action/mistake or based on the overall picture? Surely, lacking the latter shouldn't be an excuse to form biased judgement on anyone, yes!?
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If the education system is based on judging a student's intelligence based on the first response to the first question in a test, most students will be doomed to be called "STUPID".
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To the taxi driver's daughter (I have this to say):

1. Your father did well in this situation BUT you didn't. As a service provider, your father knew the concept of "Customers are always right (even though when they aren't)". 
2. In your line of work (based on your age of 27 yo I would gather that you have at least two years working experience), surely you have encountered unruly and rude bosses or superiors (or customers), no? For examples, superiors who demanded more of your work performance than you can handle and would be unreasonable and insinuative about your competency? Did you expose and demonize these superiors the same way as your father's "boss" (the rude passenger)?
3. People are rude but did it ever occur to you that there was a possibility that this particular rude passenger was "preconditioned" by previous/recent experience with a taxi driver (or few taxi drivers) who cheated him (and thus explained his irrational defensive behaviour and obsessive thought that taxi drivers are conniving and deceitful)? So, who are we to judge a person and what right do we have to expose this person to "netivultures" (netizen of vultures) when we are no better ourselves (e.g. failure to empathize or being more considerate)?
4. Are you proud of the result, to see the person who insulted your dad gets "justice"?
5. FYI, most people in Singapore are rude and sometimes we are rude too. We are trigger-happy to get emotional and angry at the slightest provocation, and we are impatient and reckless to form quick judgement on any other people. Probably being a too-educated-society has its disadvantage that we are becoming too demanding of society (and government) in terms of expectations. Sometimes, I think we should reflect on ourselves before seeing others in the same light.

 For the netivultures:

1. Did hiding behind IP addresses (or VPN) and anonymity shed our human-selves and reveal our true-selves?
2. To those who betrayed your friends/colleagues/neighbours/personal-data-protection-act by exposing people to netivultures, are you proud of yourself?
3. Lastly, to those involved in furnishing personal data of the above passenger, be prepared to face any legal consequences of your action for all the rules that were broken to expose the above person, e.g.

• By misusing the CCTV spy-camera mounted on the taxi clip of passenger (although the face of person wasn't shown) - I'm NOT sure if it had been a spy-cam or the regular CCTV on the road because these days, taxi are mounted with spy cams (which is invasion of privacy to me).
• By the action of taxi driver's daughter to upload it on the net (instead of handling them to police or making a police report or civil case), or
• By the taxi company in exposing certain clients' particulars (which is way serious than the rest).
• The above are all illegal (e.g. in breach of personal-data-protection-act) and legal action can be brought against those involved (especially the taxi company). If we wanted legal justice, the taxi driver's daughter or the taxi company should have brought a civil case against the rude passenger instead of putting the latter in harm/danger of public harassment (in which case you are legally liable if your action caused harm to this particular passenger). Legal definition of "harm" is broad and general and it could be defined as physical or psychological (e.g. suicidal) effect.

When will we learn?
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We shouted freedom of expression but when we got that, it doesn't come together with responsibility/moderation in our expression. If the passenger is rude, what makes the rest of us?
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Are we any better than the rude passenger? Read this.
I am sickly sad of the comments made in Yahoo News pertaining to Lee Kuan Yew

Sim Lim Square under a bad light again (this time involving coins)

Sim Lim Square is under bad press once again. It is due to a bad shop at Sim Lim Square that caused bad publicity for other shop owners operating under the same complex/building. According to The Real Singapore, the shop mentioned was Mobile Air Pte Ltd (Reg. number 201327396H; ACRA). What happened was that a woman shopper was tricked into opting-in for in-house warranty for iPhone product, which cost SGD2400 (for a two year warranty) whereas her phone only cost SGD1600. She wanted a refund and failed to get it. She went to Small Claims tribunal for help and the shop was supposed to refund her the money owed. To her surprise, the shop employee handed her a bag full of coins of different values. The customer had to spend hours counting the coins and all the time enduring harassment by the staffs.

A snapshot taken from The real Singapore. For more pictures, visit the New Paper too.

A check at Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority Singapore (ACRA) Bizfile showed that there are two shops with "Mobile Air" business name, e.g.

1. MOBILE AIR PRODUCTS (SINGAPORE ) PTE. LTD (Reg number 197200673H) at Penang Rd that was no longer active
2. MOBILE AIR PTE. LTD. (Reg number 201327396H) at 1, ROCHOR CANAL ROAD, #01-41, S188504 (at Sim Lim Square) which was active

 There are two entities with "Mobile Air" business name.

To find out the business owner, you have to fork out minimal SGD5.50.


To find out who is the owner of the business, one has to pay SGD5.50 (which is not expensive but not cheap if consumers need to check multiple companies belonging to the same owner). The information (or business profile) is not sufficiently informative and relevant. I'm saying this because, although the name of business owner is available in the business profile, there is no mention of other business names registered under that particular/same person (or am I wrong?). Furthermore, the online search form does not allow search by individual/owner's name. The only option is to search by business name or registration number.

There is no search option to find out how many other business names a particular business owner owned/registered.

For example, if a "Wong Ah Kiew" registered ten business names, and one of them, e.g. "Mobile Shitty Service Pte Ltd" was currently under bad press, consumers would be unable to shun (or avoid) the nine other businesses under the same "BAD" MANAGEMENT. Also, if the owner can swiftly change multiple business names at ease, it would be difficult for consumers to keep track, esp. considering that updating such information would require frequent purchasing of business profiles (from ACRA) that lacked information regarding other business names the same owner registered. If I'm Wong Ah Kiew, I would register several backups (if it's not too hassle). If that's easy, no wonder business owners can afford to be shitty, no?

I believe, if ACRA helps to list down businesses owned by an individual, that person will have to think extra hard before smearing his/her business with shitty services (because it would be easy to find out all other businesses he registered). Alas, for the time being, owners are able to change names whenever they fancy and consumers have difficulty keeping track of these changes. Probably that's a major motivation for businesses at Sim Lim Square having the audacity to roll out shitty services.

Just a thought.


References

• Sim Lim Square shop refunds woman $1,010 in coins (the New Paper).

Sim Lim Square, scams, contracts, consumer protection, misrepresentation and lack of help

Malaysian diver who performed badly during a game blamed his bad experience at Sim Lim Square while buying two iPhone 6s at doubled the price (> SGD4,500; that included exorbitant, misrepresented, ill-informed, contracted in-house warranty). The Commonwealth gold medalist Ooi Tze Liang was so much affected by the experience that he lacked concentration for the dive afterwards.

Sim Lim Square is a place full of vultures. That's the ugly side of an actually wonderful place to hunt for electronics (but the best is still IT Fairs, Electronic Fairs, and the likes). We are more careful and smart (after several past lessons) when dealing with Sim Lim Square salespersons. Alas, for the visitors to Singapore, they are more susceptible to being conned. They should have consulted TripAdvisor before heading to Sim Lim Square (but unfortunately, some was directed there by hotel staffs instinctively upon being asked, especially Sim Lim Square is known by many as a place for electronics minus its bad reputation). Also note that Lucky plaza is another retail place known to "con" tourists (read reviews before visiting any place). If you are a tourist and need internet access, you can access Wireless@Sg for free with one-time registration (for more information about registration and the hotspots available, visit Singtel Wireless@Sg page). With an internet access, study the review of any place before visiting them.

Next, to deal with the salesperson at Sim Lim square, one important attribute buyers/visitors should NOT have is to be FRIENDLY and SMILEY. Wipe that look away from your face. You don't have to be rude, but you must not be too friendly and smiley (which will be your Achilles' heel). Be serious with your buy and let the other person know that "I'm here for a bargain and everything is about PRICE". Ask about the NETT price (inclusive of 7% GST [tax]) constantly.

What to look out for:

1. STARetailer is a label to identify shops at Sim Lim Square that are less risky. For more information, visit Sim Lim Square Star Retailer.
2. Behaviour of salesperson in a shop. If they are persistent, aggressive, unfriendly, and act in a pack (like wolves), say "bye bye".
3. If you spot that most of the items are not price-tagged, say"bye bye". It is really sad to know that in Singapore, tagging items with price is not mandatory. In Malaysia, if any product is found to be untagged with a price, the business entity will be FINED. At times, I wanted to report to the authority about the lack of price tag in certain shops, but I'm clueless as to where to make such report. I haven't consulted CASE for advice. Probably someday.

How you are tricked:

1. Price or lack of. When you parted your credit card without asking to see the itemized bill (or receipt) first, what comes later in credit card bill can be scary sometimes... that's when you ask, "what happened to the price we were talking about?". Even if the darn salesperson printed the credit card bill for your signature, you can ALWAYS say NO. Just say "I want to cancel the deal, the price is not right". Note that the final bill can be bloated with "sale taxes" that is not itemized on the bill. In Singapore, Goods & Services tax (GST) is only 7% and will be printed clearly as such. If the final bill lacked itemized bill for price of item (negotiated) and GST at 7%, just refuse to pay! Note that for tourists, the GST is refundable in Changi Airport. For more information, visit Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) for GST refund.
2. Contract signing, in Ooi Tze Liang's case. If the contract didn't state the price or coverage for the services provided (e.g. in-house warranty) and the price came out too much for you, you have the right to void the contract and SCREAM, MISREPRESENTATION!!!!! FRAUD!!!! That will grab attention... but seriously, if the contract was pushed to you and they did a lousy explanation about the price and the coverage (due to non-disclosure, or deliberate omission of facts), you have the rights to void the contract. Call for help, e.g. police or Sim Lim management, especially when they refuse to return your credit card or hold you hostage. BUT NEVER PAY THEM FOR "DAMAGES"/BREACH OF CONTRACT. It's better that the police come to the shop and "arrest" (I prefer to see it as rescue) you rather than to let the police inform you later that, "this scam has happened to two tourists before you" suggesting that it's normal thing to happen in Singapore.
3. Cooling off period and rights to cancel a contract. Don't let unscrupulous salespersons scaring you off by saying that contract cancellation on the spot will subject consumers to paying for compensation for breach of contract. Recently, with amendments to Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) (Cancellation of Contracts) Regulations 2014, consumers are more protected and there is a cooling off period to cancel contracts. Refer to Ministry of Trade & Industry Singapore (MTI) Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act for detail.
4. Selling consumers defective, used or refurbished (resold), mismatched (e.g. items sold is different from advertised), reduced (e.g. removal of some parts to compensate for price reduction without informing buyers), Frankensteined (e.g. mixing old components or cheaper generic alternatives into products) goods, and other unacceptable practices. We tend to find out about the problem after some time and by then, the salesperson or shop will not entertain us for refund. However, Singapore Lemon Law provides a protection to consumers against such deceptive practices by business owners. However, Lemon Law only covers products. It does not cover services (I called CASE to find that out). Refer to CASE for FAQ on Lemon law. Refer to CASE for Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA) & Lemon Law.
5. Selling buyers items at exorbitant price.
6. Selling fakes. Note that Kingston now has an genuine labels using Phantom and Colour-shift technology. Alas, there are other products that can be easily imitated and sold as genuine. Some provide product validation online, but most still lacked this security measure to protect consumers.
7. Charging items with additional "service fees", e.g. "unlocking fees" for game consoles, hence increasing the amount of the final bill.
8. Huckster behaviour, e.g. harassment, aggressive sale tactic, throwing "freebies", begging, insulting, etc. to pressurize customers into buying. We don't have to feel pressurized to buy anything (even if there are three to four salesperson hogging to talk to us at one time). Don't feel bad about wasting anyone's time or effort. Just say, "I will consider". Never be FRIENDLY! We are not going to Sim Lim to make friends! Don't let our friendliness be our Achilles' heel.
9. Upon inspection of the item and deemed satisfactory by the potential buyer, this item is then swapped/switched during transit from customer's hand to the cashier. When the buyer realize this, some might have already boarded their flight and heading back to their country. An easy prey would be those buyers who disclosed to the salesperson that the item purchase is "actually a gift for someone" (which will only be opened by that person).
10. Misled buyers into buying "cheaper alternatives" that ends up useless, below par, defective product. For example, buyers being misled into buying "generic" camera lenses (instead of original) that end up having super blurry effect. Worst, the alternative is way cheaper than a factor of five elsewhere, e.g. sold SGD500 when it could be bought at SGD100.
11. Overpriced in-house warranty being hard sold to buyers. Sometimes, buyers are tricked into signing a contract for this useless item (without proper consent). It is akin to installing freeware in which the installer tricks user into opting-in for all the bloatwares.

What you can do:

1. Don't go down silently, file a complaint with Sim Lim Square and Consumers Association of Singapore. Write a review on TripAdvisor, Google, Straits Times newspaper, Stomp, Singapore Tourism Board (hotline from 9am to 6 pm 1800-736 2000), or blog it. You will need the receipt and other necessary information for the above action.
2. If you have not parted money or signed your credit card bill, because you are surprised by the amount stated on the bill, you have the right to void the deal. That is when your lack of FRIENDLINESS and SMILE comes into play. You don't have to explain, but if you want to, just say "the price is not right".
3. Visit the place with someone. Let the other person be the "bad guy" who will spoil the deal by saying, "I don't like it, let us go elsewhere". You will be the person who will ask about the product, the price, the promotion, the freebies etc. while your friend will pull you out from the deal if you give the right signal to abort. If the salesperson insist on knowing why, just say that the item is a gift for someone and my friend knows best! Just leave the place if the salesperson is still persistent.
4. Don't pay in cash. Allow all transactions to be paid by credit card. If the salesperson take your money, it will be very difficult to get it back if the deal turn bad. At least by credit card, you are well protected.
5. Get the product first with warranty before making payment. Trust goes both ways, and the shopper should ready the item and place them in front for you to inspect and ready to take away before you part your money. Allow the time you part your money/make payment the very last step of the deal/transaction, just right before the "thank you and bye bye". If there is any "activation" or "messaging" craps, just withhold the payment until that is settled. Keep your card/money until the "activities" stop and your product is finalized and ready-to-go before making payment.
6. Don't sign any paper/invoices/contracts until you get the final bill. Even after getting the final bill, always be very reluctant to sign anything, except for the credit card bill. There is no logic in signing anything extra.
7. If you can't find any review about a shop on TripAdvisor, tread with caution because name changing by shoppers is as easy as paying SGD 26.75. This suggest that the bad press associated with the shop name can be removed by changing to a new name for the shop. Refer to Asiaone news on "Shamed Sim Lim Square retailers change signboards".
8. If you refused to pay and being held hostage, CALL THE POLICE (999). Don't pay, just get "arrested" (or rather, rescued) for "failure to purchase at Sim Lim Square".
9. Ask for refund if you felt that the item was not what you wanted (or defective). Shops that carried the Staretailer are obligated to refund buyers if they are not satisfied with the purchase (or the price sold to them are higher than it is supposed to be). See Staretailer pledges.

Safety nets:

1. Contact Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) at +6561000315 (hotline) for assistance and enquiry.
2. Call Sim Lim Square office at +6563383859 for assistance if you are in a predicament at one of the stores
3. Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA) & Lemon Law.
4. Call the police @ 999. Police are not authorized to force business owners to refund money paid by buyers. However, the police surely is able to help customers to leave the shop without being forced to pay (especially if customers are being held hostage). Hence, buyers should not part their money easily except until they received their items in good order and receiving the final itemized bill for the payment.

Just a thought.

 Great references

• Yahoo "Scams at Sim Lim Square: How to shop smart" by Elizabeth Soh.
• Travelfish dot org "How to avoid rip-offs at Sim Lim Square" by Tanya Procyshyn.
• TripAdvisor rating shows 128 out of 202 votes is unsatisfactory with Sim Lim Square.
• Asiaone news on "Shamed Sim Lim Square retailers change signboards".
• Ex Chersonesus Aurea "Where Singapore scammers, scoundrels and scumbags are: Sim Lim Square".

What were you thinking Google YouTube, for allowing the video thumbnails to be misused to show graphic sex scene?

I don't understand. 

Google YouTube please think. Whenever someone uploaded a video, why did you allow them to "deviate the content" by adding whatever thumbnail they deemed fit? For example, I can upload a kids MTV song and add whatever thumbnail I wished by searching for the "best image" on my computer. What if I decided to add a graphic sex to the kids' song? How about adding a thumbnail with violent beheading in action? Can you see the irrationality? I don't really care if you had validated their accounts prior to allowing them to use the thumbnail function, or that you would promptly remove/inactivate their accounts if any violation had been detected. I only care for the safeguard that you will be implementing to ensure that thumbnail function is not being misused anymore. Why not allow thumbnail to be derived from the video being uploaded instead, and how about showing randomly selected thumbnail from the uploaded video (and minimising user intervention)? When a thumbnail for a video can be misleading, then the use of thumbnail is defeated, and thus, I don't see the point of using thumbnail, do you Google?

Now, as a parent yourself, can you see the risk of me keying search term, "Kid song" and end up with thumbnails in some results showing graphic sex, demented action scene, violent beheading snapshots, grisly ghost shots, and all in front of my toddler? Although the thumbnail is small in a 17 inch LED monitor, it ain't so when you are using YouTube with your Smart TV that might be 40 inch or more.

So Google, please do the right thing before YouTube ends up with more complaints than views.

Just a thought.

K box leak could be due to human error and biggest culprit, the management

Own experience, two cents' worth.

I had to go to a private clinic to get an x-ray done, for the purpose of employment. Everyone should have done that one time or another, especially in Singapore.

At the counter, a lady (or the customer service staff) was serving many customers. In front of her was a computer terminal that was used to input customer personal data and medical reports/results. To get into the x-ray room, you will be walking right pass this customer service staff. What I saw when I walked out of the x-ray room to the front desk was that she was updating herself with Facebook on the computer terminal that was also meant for sensitive/private data.

Since the K box saga, it led me to think that the easiest way hackers can get into a server and its data would be to fool the staff manning a terminal to the server. By phishing (or spear phishing), staffs are the easiest to fool. By fooling the staff to divulge their login and password, hackers can easily get the key to the server. By fooling the staff to download and execute an attachment (or link), usually with sensational/sexy feeds, people can be easily fooled to click them and compromise the security of their network (and ultimately server containing sensitive data).

For a staff at the clinic, the sensitivity and privacy of patients are at risk and at the mercy of the staff manning the terminal. The management is mainly at fault, because the management allowed (by not preventing) the staff to use the company's property for personal use that could jeopardize the privacy of many patients who entrusted the clinic to protect them.

We are all guilty of wasting companies' time by idling in front of computers and doing things that are not beneficial to the company (nor customers), but rather for personal reasons. For example, the guy blogger who landed in a libel suit for maligning another person was using his healthcare provider company's time and property to write blogs and doing "research" on his blogging material (this can easily be proven by studying the entry time for the blogs he posted/updated). Instead of reading more about how to improve his service method, or studying his patient files diligently so as to provide personalized care to patients, this healthcare provider-cum-blogger was busy with something else.

In my opinion, phishing is still the easiest and effective method to execute. By just sending spam claiming that the person receiving the email has won SGD 10,000, a low but significant number of people receiving this email will click on the corresponding link. A webpage will appear and trick that person to divulge his/her company email login and password. The subsequent prompt, "Congratulation, you will receive a call from us soon", will not raise any alarm to these gullible people. What comes next will be very unpleasant, normally the IT department will call the staff, ask to meet him/her. The IT dept will explain to them that thousands of company's staff data (e.g. email, name, phone number, designation, etc.) have been compromised. This is on top of having received spam/phishing emails from this staff on the company's email network. Normally, the IT dept would suspend the staff's email account for good (or until the staff completed proper awareness course on network security).

However, if management is flawed, don't blame any staff for the compromised/lax security. Onus is still on the company rather than staff.

Just a thought.

Re: K box customer personal data leak a wake up call for businesses

More than 300, 000 members of karaoke bar chain K Box leaked and made public due to hacking of K Box (or "inside job"). Regardless of how it got leaked, the weaknesses of K Box to protect customers' personal data is against Personal Data Protection Act (enforced on July 2, 2014), and is liable to be punished with a fine of up to SGD 1 million. The official website of K box is down for Personal Data Commission investigation.

The hackers collectively called The Unknown posted personal data, such as name, contact numbers, email addresses, NRIC numbers, dates of birth and marital status of innocent people. This act allowed unscrupulous people with ill-intent to manipulate/misuse such data to commit fraud, intimidation, threat and others on these victims (e.g. as experienced blogger Alfred Siew with a "loan shark" reported in Straits Times, Home B8, Sept 20, 2014).

The Unknown, if indeed an activist group, failed miserably in their effort to draw public support (akin to shooting at your own foot). They failed in their effort when they hit the wrong cord and stoked peoples' anger towards them, especially when they purposely exposed innocent people to vulnerability to malicious attacks (by anyone who can get hold of the "free-for-all" data, especially extortionists/frausters). If they wanted monetary gain, they again failed to "bargain" with K Box. Note that K Box is liable to a fine of up to SGD 1 million under Data Protection Act, and not to mention that this episode has tarnished its reputation. Also, why punish hundreds of thousands of innocent people, which The Unknown can't gain zilch, when the party deserving punishment is K Box for the lax in their server security?

Finally, I do believe that no hacker is really invisible in the internet nowadays (or soon anyway), especially when there is international cooperation (to combat/counter terrorism) that see participation from numerous countries (which will also cast wider net on combating hacking activities). This cooperation will soon be a death knell for malicious hackers, unless if they work (via zombies, bots, or the likes) in countries not supporting such international collaboration (or if they are Edward Snowden given special protection by the country). With cooperation and cross-border extradition agreement, it is easy to bring hackers (from different nationals to any country where they committed their crimes).

For those wanting to know why it's not possible to arrest "Anonymous" group, the answer can be referred in this exchange (from Stackexchange). Briefly, it's very possible to arrest any members of Anonymous group (who can be anyone with any misdeed, especially those with malicious/criminal deeds). But to arrest all members of Anonymous group would be improper as it would be akin to arrest all employees of Enron (which is illogical) considering that only a few of Enron members/bosses are guilty of crime/fraud (Enron Scandal). That is why, it's uncalled for for the arrest Anonymous group (a collection of people).

Anyone interested to read about how hackers are able to attack and how they cover their tracks (in order to be invisible), there is one article which is enlightening (from Scientific American). There is ongoing effort to try to minimize and penalize malicious hackers (via international collaboration and the establishment of a "trace-back" system to catch bad hackers). Furthermore, if national security is breached, Singapore with its internet service providers (ISPs) can at any time blacklist and block IP addresses originating from certain countries (which is neither a member nor supportive of international collaboration against cyber crimes or terrorism), and thus prevent hackers from using bots/zombie machines from these countries to attack Singapore. However, it is still dependent on the extensiveness of the bot network and compromised computers, with huge network being unfavorable to law enforcers (I don't think hackers will want to share their network just to see it being shut down by "misuse"). See DNS-based Blackhole List (DNSBL) or Real-time Blackhole List (RBL) by Wikipedia.

For now, I'm as excited as anyone to know how the whole episode will unravel. For example, will K Box be fined for negligence and being incompliant to the Data Protection Act and how much is the fine? Will the culprits who hacked and leaked personal data of innocent Singaporeans be caught and brought to justice, similar to the fate of James Raj Arokiasamy? How will the other businesses in Singapore react to this episode? I guess a huge fine for K Box will serve as deterrent and wake up call for other businesses to enhance their securities (which will be good news to many customers).

Just a thought.

Other articles
1. Identifying bots/zombies, filtering, stopping (or catching/caching) them (by distilnetworks).

Streetdeal and the likes cheap tricks exposed

I'm referring to the article "Customers complain about StreetDeal Singapore ‘trap’, company responds" (by Yahoo News). I thank the prudent and tech-savvy customers who exposed the cheap trick by such online companies using unscrupulous method to trick customers to OPT-INTO their membership subscription.

A streetdeal Singapore spokesperson said, "Premium charges are clearly stated twice on the payment page, first in the offer itself, second in the legal T&Cs right before customer confirm their purchase. Customers might not pay attention to the offer when they purchase a deal; at no moment the offer is misleading. They can unsubscribe without any charge in one simple click in their account. If you require a refund, no questions will be asked we will process refund within seven working days".


Let us judge for ourselves, okay.

• First, for the promotions, there are the premium only and usual promotions (such as Gucci Key holder)

• At the payment page, the spokesperson claimed that the "Premium charges are clearly stated twice on the payment page" (where the heck was this or these indicated on the payment page???? Oh, the checked box stating Premium membership $88 quarterly (hmm...12mo/4 = 3 months; or ~$33/mo).

 

 

• At the payment confirmation page, there are the general and membership T&C (but there isn't any indication of what I'm confirming to, except perhaps for  payment to the price listed, especially if I might once in hundredth occasion forgotten to uncheck the subscription!!!!!). There should be a pop-up to remind users that they will be charged membership fee once confirmed, especially when users might accidentally forgot to uncheck the default OPT-IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheap stunt.

• I've read the general T&C (it's approximately 10 pages in Times Roman New 12 point font in A4 size). The summary is the usual:

1. Intro and definitions (standard)
2. Personal Data Protection Act
3. Exoneration/limitation of liabilities/Disclaimer of warranty
4. Self protection regarding copyrights and trademarks
5. Compliant to Rules and Procedures established by SIAC ("Rules and Procedures") within Singapore Arbitration Act
6. Streetdeal as agent, not merchant of "goods or services".
7. Streetdeal member subscription linked to other page.

• I've read the member subscription T&C and have several comments

1. Automatic renewal ((fees incurred)): You agree that StreetDeal will not provide You with any notices prior to each renewal payment ((charge you for membership fee)). You must cancel the Services before the renewal date to avoid being billed for the renewal ((can be done at My Account page)). This is completely UNTRUE, StreetDeal should remind subscribers to OPT-OUT especially if the SUBSCRIBER had no idea HE/SHE was accidental subscriber. The ONUS should not be placed on users solely (especially considering that no reminder/confirmation was given regarding CHARGED membership subscription during checkout payments (unless email was sent to notify consumers, all else is void). Let us try to remember the cheap tactic to charge unsolicited credit card to users for membership fees for failure to opt-out of the service...... nostalgia?
2. Trial period offers ((after which fees incurred)): If you are taking part in any trial-period offer, you must cancel the Services by the end of the trial period to avoid incurring new charges, unless we notify you otherwise. If you do not cancel your Services at the end of the trial period, we may charge you for the Services ((according to CONSUMER PROTECTION (FAIR TRADING) (OPT-OUT PRACTICES) REGULATIONS 2009, Streetdeal should remind subscribers to OPT-OUT at least a week before they start charging users. In other words, users should be given sufficient time to OPT-OUT...........)).

 Summary

1. Premium charges are clearly stated twice on the payment page, first in the offer itself (but not very clear to me on the non-premium offers with default check-in box for subscription), second in the legal T&Cs right before customer confirm their purchase. I disagree, the premium charge is inconspicuous to me and I'm not sure of what I'm confirming myself into except for the payment for the price of the item (there is no reminder if I had forgotten to uncheck the automatic opt-in TRAP). Imaging one time failure to remember to uncheck the "auto opt-in membership" on my hundredth and one-th transaction (pull hair and bite toenails).
2. Customers might not pay attention to the offer when they purchase a deal; at no moment the offer is misleading. I disagree, the offer is not intuitive and although it's not "misleading", it is not "leading" as well, i.e. not easy to comprehend or understand what most users are getting themselves into, sometimes by accident/forgetfulness to the opt-in TRAP.
3. They can unsubscribe without any charge in one simple click in their account. Most shitty spams and unsolicited services can be unsubscribed too. To prevent bad feelings, good companies always ensure that there isn't any accidental subscribers by providing sufficient warning popups notifying users of extra charges prior to proceeding to payment.
4. If you require a refund, no questions will be asked we will process refund within seven working days. I hope it's as breezy as accidentally having to pay for it in the first place.

 Fortunately Singaporeans are prudent and mature users. Just a thought.

To StreetDeal, your promotional items are good. But remember that your greatest assets are your HAPPY USERS. If 5% of your users are unhappy and growing each month, soon, you will have more than 5% unhappy users. Once your assets are leaving, don't hit yourself on the head for being stupid and greedy.

Singtel Lite data plan exceeded 2Gb charges extra SGD 10

My Singtel Lite plan with 2Gb data plan was exceeded (at 2.01 Gb) three days before the end of the month. I tried to cap my usage at 2.1G so that I don't overuse it. However, when the monthly bill came, my 2.1039 Gb data usage was charged at SGD 10. It means I am paying SGD10 for 104 Mb of data usage.

I called Singtel Bill Enquiry at 1688 and talked to the person on the line. He said that no matter how much data you used, the first 1Gb block (after the free 2Gb) costs SGD 10. It means that if I used 2.0001 Gb, I still have to pay SGD10 for the 0.1 Mb of data. I was disappointed at Singtel for being unfair to people like me. Instead of charging consumers pro rated for the data used exceeding the free 2Gb, Singtel is forcing consumers to take up a minimal of 1 Gb (data block) once they exceeded the free 2 Gb data. That is how Singtel is making sure that they earn a minimal SGD 10 for each gullible consumer like me that exceeded their free 2Gb and thought that the subsequent data charge is pro rated.

The saying, "Once bitten twice shy" (When something or someone has hurt you once, you tend to avoid that thing or person) applies here. The bad news is it does no good to Singtel, in term of its reputation, customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction. Such distasteful tactic by any business doesn't work for long and will backfire most of the time.

 Anyway, for those who are not very sure how to avoid the excess usage of the free 2Gb, here are several ways you can minimize data usage.

(1) Go to setting and touch data usage.

 

(2) Under data usage, click on "set mobile data limit" (a popup will appear, just touch ok), then set the data limit that warns user if data usage has exceeded this amount (e.g. 1.8 Gb shown here as orange line). Next, set the data limit in which when data usage reaches that amount, mobile data connection will be disabled (e.g. 2 Gb shown below with red line; to be safe,  set the number to 1.9 Gb). The data usage cycle (can't be seen here) can be set manually to reflect the period when service providers calculate the monthly bill.

 

c 

(3) When you are either outstation (to avoid higher outstation charges) or at a hotspot/home with Wifi, then you can disable Mobile data under Setting > Data Usage, and uncheck the Mobile Data (as shown here)

 

(4) When the Mobile Data is unchecked, turn on Wi-Fi. 

 

When business entity/service provider can't place customer (best) interest at heart, the only way customer can do is protect themselves. We should learn from other customers on how to protect ourselves from being taken advantage of.

There are several other distasteful method Singtel and probably other business entity uses to force unsolicited services onto customers. For example, the "bundled" free SMS services or other unless services that customers have to unsubscribe (after few days of getting the mobile plan) in order to opt out from these "packages". 

Luckily not all services are of such nature in which if the customer doesn't initiate an opt-out request (at certain time), then they (are considered to have agreed to the service offered) and will be billed accordingly. Fortunately, Singapore has sufficient Act to protect consumers. According to the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) (Opt-Out Practices) Regulations 2009, Singtel should give reminder to customers at least 3 days (or 14 days) before the end of the unsolicited service free trials. If a customer felt that he/she is made to pay for unsolicited services and wants a refund, he/she can still do so by contacting the service provider to request for the refund. If the provider failed to satisfy customer's request, the affected customer can get help from Ministry of Trade & Industry Singapore (MTI). For more information, see FAQ for consumers. Consumers can also contact Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) for help. However, for cases pertaining to Lemon Law, it seemed that Lemon Law only applies to tangible products and not services. Having said that, if consumers felt that they have been taken advantage of by service providers, especially in the opt-out practice by business entities, CASE will be able to help.

In my case, I think there isn't much I can do about it. A lesson (costing SGD10) learned is definitely worth it considering that I won't be getting into the same disadvantage.

Rega ceiling fan life-time warranty with CAVEATS

A good product has longer guarantee without need for warranty. A bad product will give limited lifetime-warranty. As a prudent shopper, we must choose wisely.

Going to buy any ceiling fan in Singapore, or especially Rega brand? You have to realise that warranty for Rega is context-dependent with fine-lines that penalize customers. Its motor has lifetime-long warranty, but other parts are not. What we don't realise is that motor is just copper-coil with magnet and of course they are durable. Often, things that break are those 'other parts'.... and even if motor is intact, fan won't work.

Refer to this article on Rega life-long warranty with caveats.

Firefly updates - amendment to flight information

Tried the ticketing office again to inquire about amendment to flight information. Our helper no longer work for us and we had to change name for a replacement helper on the ticket.

The staff informed us that name change on the ticket is no longer permitted. When pressed for suggestion or alternative, there is none - suggesting that the ticket we are holding is as good as garbage.

I called CASE Singapore to ask about protection under Lemon law. Unfortunately, Lemon law covers only goods but not services.

All in all, consumers are left handicapped in a lopsided airline vs consumer deal.

Fakes in Ebay. Is there anything you can do about it?

Fakes are sometimes blessings, while other times - they might just kill you. Some people like to buy fakes while others clueless-ly bump into fakes. There are fake medicines, batteries, jerseys, watches etc. Believe it or not, the first two can kill you!

As we go for shopping, we tend to let our guard down (which is forgivable), when we are in respectable shopping malls. We are more alert when we shop for stuff in a night market (or "pasar malam" in Malay). The latter is a place of bargain and also full of fakes. But how about ebay??

Let's see, ebay is a place where everyone can be a seller and vice versa a buyer. Ebay is just a virtual venue for people to gather and look up for stuff and make a deal when everything is okay. Money is transferred and item sent afterwards. A hassle-free transaction I would say. Ebay earns from the sellers most of the time and sellers are eager to list in ebay because there are just lots of buyers registered with ebay. Imagine a market place with plenty of buyers waiting for sellers to list their items! What would go wrong??

Unlike conventional market place, buyers don't have the advantage to check the item(s) before purchase. All is not lost though, ebay came up with "feedback score" to guide buyers into deciding which seller is trustworthy (based on reviews by previous buyers). Ebay also provide a platform to resolve issues regarding unpaid items, returns, undelivered items etc... but with limitations (see below).

Limitations:
(1) Limited time for lodging a complain/case. To report/lodge a case, buyers have to do so within 45 days.
(2) There is no revision of reviews/feedbacks after first review (unlike android marketplace). Once you give 5stars, there is no turning back - even when your item breaks down, explode or killed you after several weeks later. For sellers who sell goods that breaks after a month, you can't do anything about it. There is no way to warn other would-be buyers as well.
(3) Review/feedback option is only there for limited time. If you decide to wait before feedback/review, you have to make sure you post the review before the "expiry date" or else, you won't get to input your review. How is it possible for buyers to review items at limited time? What if you bought a seed for a flower and start planting it to find out that after 2 months, the flower is not the one you asked for?? Or a battery to a camcorder explodes on your face after few weeks or several times of recharging?
(4) Tolerance for fakes. Ebay seems to tolerate sellers selling fakes. There is no option to report against sellers selling fakes. Beware then, if you are buying toys for children, you might be killing your babies. If you fancy an electronic item, it might kill you with a shock of your life.

As for me, I have learnt my lesson. Fortunately, I didn't have to spend a fortune or my life to learn that ebay is just another "pasar malam" worthy to be alert about. Ebay is just a place full of big bargain alongside fakes and shits. If you want to shop stress free, then visit Amazon or B&N and the likes. If you want a bargain, risk getting one and hope it's not a fake.