Is this a phishing scam?: a bogus KwikSpar online shopping site… or is it?

I was browsing the GetValue.co.za site for some great (South African) shopping tips, and read the comment from John K Weber here (johnkweber on August 20th, 2009 at 10:26 am):
“
Just a rather interesting fact about online shopping. There is an Spar online shopping site at http://www.computersource.co.za/Listing.php.

What’s weird is that when I contacted the owner of Spar he told me that it is not their online shop.  Rather weird that someone would go through all the trouble of impersonating a Spar online shop.  This is a bit scary though because it might just be a scam to get your credit card details and your money. mmm be very wary when shopping online.

One has to distinguish between being wary and paranoid.  Some trusted sites really do good and deliver good service but one has to beware that you are not being ripped off by some unknown entity.

Apparently the Spar head office has tried to get the online shop squashed but to no avail. They can’t seem to figure out who owns the site.
”

The http://www.computersource.co.za/Listing.php site has an “About us” page which lists telephone number and email addresses as:
“
Cell number: 083 290 7734
e-Mail:  kwiksparstrand@saonline.co.za
Contact: CONLYN
”

John K Weber called the manager of the KwikSpar (using the cell number above) who confirmed that it’s not his site.

John K Weber also said that the prices were extremely good – further enticing people to “shop” there and perhaps enter their details (credit card) on the site.

Looking at the source of the web site, I see: “Author content = SA Online: Ken Hubbard and Luke Borg”

I haven’t actually tried to purchase anything on the site… what do you think???

Or, maybe the site is real – but then why would they put incorrect contact details on the site – so, on second thoughts…. people, beware, be very aware, of this type of phishing scam.
What’s even more scary, is that Spar Head Office haven’t tracked down the owner and shut the site down.
So, maybe it’s legit – hell man, I’m going around in circles here – so, let leave it for now, until Spar, or the site owner or his/her customers come forward and defends the legitimacy of the site.

Then we can all shop there and save some money on groceries, and hopefully www.priceisright.co.za can include their prices in their groceries database for comparison!

Stop theft now! Register your cell phone for free and your laptop for R50 per year

Register your cell phone for free here: http://www.itcrimes.co.za/cellreg.htm
Register the rest of your household goods for free here: Tagga
Register your laptop for R50 per year: http://www.itcrimes.co.za
This web site collects all sorts of information from your laptop e.g. Mac address, HDD serial number, motherboard serial number, and more….

When stolen laptops are recovered, the hardware is scanned and matched with the database and returned to the rightful owners.
This initiative was founded with the aim of eliminating the theft of computer equipment throughout South Africa.

By partnering Government, South African Police Service, Insurance Companies, Second-hand Dealers and YOU the Taxpayer, ITCrimes have made it their mission to declare WAR on Computer/Laptop and Cellphone THEFT...

See here for more Tagga posts: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/search?q=tagga

Tagga, click away crime is now free! TAGGA your goods and help kill the *illegal* second hand market!

It's official: Tagga is now free! No annual subscription fee. No catch - it's now a genuine community service with no fees to register nor search for stolen goods.

Do your bit to help kill the illegal second hand market and register now. If everyone registers and updates the system then it will be more difficult for the bastards to sell your stuff and profit from crime.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that you could also win R10,000 if you have that matching serial number: Click here to find out more: R10,000

From Tagga web site when registering:

"

TAGGA can be used FREE of charge. We are supported through various advertisers as well as the proceeds from our online shop.

So please support our sponsors and browse around our online shop.

Donations are also welcome.

Thank you for your support.

"

For more info see my previous blogs here:
http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/02/anti-theftanti-crime-web-site_05.html
http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/02/update-anti-theftanti-crime-web-site.html

Neighborhood watch goes hi-tech: WAP cell phone query for suspicious and stolen vehicles

Join your neighborhood watch and you too can assist by looking out for suspicious and stolen vehicles. The BKM watch (http://www.bkmwatch.org.za/) [Bergvliet, Kreupelbosch and Meadowridge] has just launched their latest high tech innovation: query their system using your cell phone while you're driving around, shopping, waiting for your wife/family, putting in petrol, etc. Access is via WAP over GPRS and is extremely cheap (cost <1c)

I've tried it and it works... After setting up my phone as described in a previous blog: (http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/03/in-this-day-and-age-im-amazed-by-low.html), you launch your phone's Internet browser, then log in using your pre-approved username, then enter any registration number... .the system then searches and return results.
The details returned include: details of crime (or when stolen) and who to contact to alert of the sighting.

See here for their user manual on how to use the system [40Kb]: http://www.bkmwatch.org.za/document.ashx?name=Suspicious_vehicles_via_your_cell_phone.doc

If you live in the area, then register here: http://www.bkmwatch.org.za/member_register.aspx (or email: crime@bkmwatch.org.za) else contact your neighborhood watch and help stop crime - it's time we all stood up against these *&@#-ing criminals!

Don't just say "it's fine, there are other people in the area doing their "watch" thing"! Get off your arse and do something!
If you can't patrol, then contribute financially and help cover the costs.

Come to think of it, the BKM watch web site is also a great example of using technology to fight crime.

They also use Google Earth as a tool to monitor incidents of crime and plot crime vs location to assist in crime fighting.
Criminals beware! The residents have awoken! Crime does not pay any more.

Oh, by the way, have you registered your valuables on Tagga yet - the R10,000 is still up for grabs! Don't be sorry later, do it now!

See here for more: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/03/ok-ok-i-did-need-incentive-i-can-win.html

Battery+inverter or generator: the Pro's and Con's

With all the blackouts aren't you thinking of getting a Generator for your power needs? Well after reading this article you might put that "Genie" on hold for a battery/inverter combination!

This article that was sent to me by the "SA Community Information Centre" cic@constantcontact.co.za - an organisation that is dedicated to preventing crime in South Africa.

Why not visit their web site here: http://www.cicfamily.co.za and support them.

I found it very informative and decided to share it (with small modifications):

"
To shed light or not to shed light, that is the question?
Here is an informative e-mail we received that might help us through the dark times ahead:

With all the rumours that are currently flying around regarding the onset once again of "load shedding" I thought I would send you the following, with the hope that if you can send it out on your mailing list it might prove useful to some of your family members, and keep the neighbourhood peaceful as well as safe.

After careful consideration and talking to a number of specialists on the subject, I came to the opinion that generators have a number of disadvantages.

They are expensive to buy and run and maintain, the smallest you can reasonably expect to supply you with sufficient power is a 5kVA, a good/safe one of these will cost anything from R10,000 to R20,000.
Storing petrol is dangerous and whilst most people do it for their garden lawnmower etc. the amount needed for a generator is too much to be safe and I felt that with the maid or gardener handling it, it was an accident waiting to happen.
Generators are excessively noisy and will disturb the neighbours, they cannot be safely operated in a garage or enclosed space, and they emit dangerous exhaust fumes and must be well ventilated.
Most, if not all of them create a poor power supply with a number of "spikes" that will blow your computer and damage most household appliances. You have to make sure that your water heaters and certain other circuits are turned off before starting the generator and then you have to make sure the generator is properly switched off when the power comes back on to prevent feedback which again will damage your appliances.
If you are not at home then your wife, maid or kids will have to set it up and start it.
Taking all this into account I decided to make up my own solution.

I added up the total Wattage of what I wanted to run during "load shedding" and I purchased:

• 1 x 1,000 Watt inverter: cost R1,250 from PSS Distributors Nr ABSA Stadium
• 2 x 100 Amp "Deep Cycle" no maintenance batteries: cost R900 each from Dixons Batteries in North Coast Road.
• 1 x Intelligent charger: cost R850 from Dixons Batteries or Makro.
• Total cost: R3,900

There are two ways of using this system, the first and easiest is to simply connect it up and put an extension cord and multi plug into the inverter, connecting whatever you choose to run to this.
The second is what I have chosen to do, that is to get an electrician to disconnect the circuits I want to power from the Eskom supply (Distribution Board) and re-connect them to my unit, when the power goes out they just keep on working, when it comes back on the charger kicks in and recharges the system, basically the circuits I have selected are now running permanently from the inverter.

I have connected my outdoor security lights, alarm system, lounge sockets (T.V. DSTV and a couple of standard lamps), all my bedroom sockets for bedside lights and my office telephone and computer system). It might sound complicated but it’s basically just a bigger version of the UPS systems many of us are already using to power our computers, and the inverter is something every caravanner and camper knows all about. The advantage is that it's silent, safe and convenient, you can make it as big as you want, to power as little or as much as you need.

It’s not advisable to use it for the cooker, or for your hair-dryer, vacuum cleaner nor kettle, but then neither is a generator and with a 2 hour power cut it's surely not too hard to do without those.
You could run the refrigerator but again for two hours you don’t really need it.
You don’t need two batteries unless you are going to run a lot of items, as I do. Then it is advisable to have two batteries linked in parallel - the electrician has calculated that I can run all I have allowed for up to 4 hours without the need to recharge the batteries.

Points to be aware of:

• You must have "Deep Cycle" batteries, preferably low maintenance [normal car batteries are not designed for this purpose and will not last very long].
  
• You must have an "intelligent" charger: it’s worth spending a little more on this to make sure it does the correct job.
  
• If you have more than one battery always connect them with proper heavy duty battery connectors (you can buy them at Midas) and "in parallel" [that’s + to +, and - to - otherwise you will increase the voltage from 12 to 24 volts and damage the inverter!]
  
• If you decide to make this a permanent set up (as I have) then get a registered electrician to connect it up for you. (If all you are going to do is run an extension cable and sockets from this then you can easily set it up yourself.)
  

The advantages are obvious:

• It’s cheaper than a generator to both purchase and run and maintain.
  
• It’s silent: a generator in every house is going to drive us all to distraction.
  
• It’s safe: no petrol to store and no exhaust fumes to ventilate.
  
• It’s fully automatic if you’re not at home it just kicks in and does its own thing.

"

Here's more info:

• Choosing Between an Inverter and a Generator
  
• What is the difference between a normal lead-acid car battery and a deep cycle battery?
• Does a time switch on your geyser actually save electricity?
• Now I know when Eskom load shedding will happen (well, almost....)

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog on "how to choose your generator": size (KVA or Watts) and how much can I connect to it? Plus: safety tips,

:) Ok, Ok, I did need an incentive! I can win R10,000 if I just TAGGA my goods and help kill the *illegal* second hand market!

I've already registered and logged some of my stuff on the TAGGA - Searchable Stolen Goods Database.
I've been meaning to register the rest, tomorrow "I'm too busy today!" I hear myself saying to myself!
Well, tomorrow has arrived (and I need the bucks!) and I really do want to kill the *illegal* second hand goods market and by so-doing perhaps reduce (even if it's in a small way) the horrible, vicious and senseless violence that so often accompanies theft and robberies.

Win R10,000 cash at TAGGA: Register and enter the serial numbers of the items in your household (if you've had stuff stolen, then enter those serial numbers as well). The more serial numbers that you enter the better your chances of winning.
Be proactive and fight crime in a way never used before. Click away crime with TAGGA!

{see the TAGGA web site for rules etc.}


For more info see my previous blogs here:
http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/02/anti-theftanti-crime-web-site_05.html
http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/02/update-anti-theftanti-crime-web-site.html
http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/03/creator-of-tagga-will-be-on-tv-on.html

Creator of TAGGA will be on TV on Monday10th March @ 08h30 on "View From the House"

The creator of http://tagga.co.za/ (the web site that was created to stop the illegal second hand goods market) will be on SABC 2 on Monday10th March @ 08h30: on "View from the House".

The program will discuss the Second-hand goods bill which Parliament is deliberating.

The TAGGA system will also be discussed. See a previous blog for more info: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2008/02/update-anti-theftanti-crime-web-site.html

Don't miss it.

Beware... these criminals are phishing now! Never reveal your alarm codeword

Here's some advice from our neighborhood watch:

Beware of Telephone Scams/Cons - NEVER divulge alarm or personal details!
Following the reporting of various incidents listed below, note that you should never provide the password of your burglar alarm/armed response system to anyone over the telephone unless you are absolutely certain that your alarm has triggered and you are therefore expecting a call from the response control call centre. This caution should be made known to all family members and any others who have been provided with your password. If ever you are concerned that your password has been given to someone who should no longer be in possession of the information (example - former employee) then arrange to change the password immediately via the correct channels at your service provider. Never provide your ID number of other confidential details over the telephone to anyone.

Case 1 - This evening I received a telephone call from 'my alarm company' at 22:24 saying that my alarm had just gone off and asking for my codeword in order, I presume, to cancel armed response. I was suspicious as my alarm was not yet set, but the lady 'controller' confirmed that she had received an alarm notification and repeated that she wanted my codeword. I asked when the alarm had been triggered and she said right now at 10:24pm. I refused to provide my codeword as the circumstances did not appear to warrant it. She said Ok and hung up. I then checked with the Security control room to find out whether they had in fact called. The controller asked all her colleagues in the control room whether or not they had called me, either in my own right, or as keyholder for a neighbour. She confirmed that no one in the control room had initiated the call to me. This is worrying as it would indicate that persons unknown are trying to 'Phish' for the codewords of the unwary and as I have an unlisted number, this is particularly disconcerting. I can only imagine that knowledge of this information would allow these persons to break into one's house, set off the alarm, then provide the necessary codeword to prevent armed response from responding.

Case 2 - My daughter, 20 years old, was phoned by a lady stating that this was "a courtesy call from ?? Bank". The caller had my daughters details - initials, surname, address, but asked her for her ID number - which she very willingly gave. Fortunately she was not asked to give any of her banking/card details. I immediately contacted the Bank where she has her account who verified that to their knowledge my daughter had not been telephonically contacted. They also apparently do not ask for ID details over the phone. Who knows what implications this will have in the future. Someone now has my all my daughters details and ID number illegally obtained. Scary situation.

Update: Anti-theft/anti-crime web site: http://www.tagga.co.za

Here's an update to my blog on 5th Feb 2008:

In the recent cases of mugging and theft of cell phones and other crimes, etc. etc. etc.... the victims would have tried to broadcast to all 2nd hand shops etc. that their belongings were now possibly going to be sold on the second hand market.....and to please contact the police if someone tried to flog their belongings to them. In fact, I heard one victim's husband calling the radio (Cape Talk 567) to notify people to watch out for his wife's Garmin watch.
In most cases, I am bold enough to assume, the serial numbers were not known....
If these people had used the http://tagga.co.za/ web site then it would have been easy to:
1) tag their items as stolen immediately after their unfortunate incidents; and
2) to also use the site to "remember" the serial numbers and report these to the police or other parties.

Some people have raised the concern of putting their possessions' details on the Internet - one must realise that the items are viewable by the general public only after you have tagged it as stolen. All other items and details are hidden from the public.
In any case, if you are nervous, then only provide the web site with your email address as the means for contacting you if/when an item of yours is recovered.
ie. don't provide any other details to the web site, and nobody will be able to link the list of items to you. In fact, when recording your goods, include as few details as you are comfortable with e.g. "TV in main bedroom": serial number: A34567890.
If it gets stolen, then update the details to something like: "Sony Vega 54cm colour TV" and tag it as stolen (and get the serial number A34567890 from the web site in case you need it for insurance purposes etc.)

Second hand stores like Cash Converters do not like stolen goods in their stores - it's a big problem when the police confiscate stolen goods from them: they lose money and lots of time trying to explain to the authorities where/who they got the goods from. They would also prefer to keep their reputation clean so that the general public use their stores to purchase legitimate products.
I have heard of certain store managers that have suspected that the goods were stolen and executed citizens arrests - the police were called and the law took its course...

At present there is no live system to publish lists of stolen goods to second hand stores. They rely on the victims and police faxing them the details/photos of the stolen goods. You can imagine how slow and inefficient this is!
http://tagga.co.za/ is an attempt to provide an up-to-date system where people can immediately broadcast what's been stolen, and for the purchasers to check before purchasing stolen goods and so, hopefully, stop fuelling this vicious cycle of the stolen second hand goods market.

Anti-theft/anti-crime web site: http://www.tagga.co.za

A colleague of mine has launched a web site that will attempt to kill the stolen goods market - if everyone in the neighbourhood registers (for a small annual fee, I think it's R50 per annum), then I'm sure it will go a long way to stopping theft and crime.

In short, when you are a victim of theft, the first thing you want to do is publish what was stolen so that anyone (with morals) can check before purchasing the "second hand" goods.
One way of doing that is to go onto the radio/mass media and tell everyone - this obviously could work, but it has a limited, once-off audience.
A better way of doing it would be to make a record (on the web site) of all the serial numbers etc. of your valuable possessions and when anything gets stolen you flag these items as stolen on the web site so any potential purchaser can search before purchasing. A reward can also be offered for the return of the goods!
Second hand stores like Cash Converters etc. are being encouraged to use the web site (for free) and check before purchasing the goods.

I would like to encourage everyone in our Neighbourhood watch area to register and start logging their possessions, and so help kill the stolen goods market!

Read here for more info: http://tagga.co.za

Check out their web site for other free services like: KeyFinder: http://www.tagga.co.za/KeyFinder