2010!

THIS IS THE YEAR 2010!

May the blessings of the Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe and ALL that is in it, continually abide with you all! AMEN.

Bye-Bye 2009!

The past year was full of so many intrigues. So many things happened in the year 2009. Some good, some bad, some not so good and not so bad . . . But in ALL I have learnt to thank God!

In retrospect, I remember that the year 2009 was ushered in with great expectations. Just as the year draws to an end and as I recount the events of the year, all I can say is THANK YOU LORD!

In 2009, I saw 365 days! Now that is miraculous! Although each day had its own unique blessings, some days were just sad days. For instance, in 2009 some people I know passed on. I pray their sweet souls continually rest in peace in the bosom of our Lord Jesus Chist.

In all the events of the year 2009, the birth of my third child stands out. Thank God for a safe smooth and secured delivery.

These are my personal views about 2009. Others might have something different to say about 2009. I just want to encourage everyone to count their many blessings and name them one after the other. When we do this, we will see and believe that indeed, God has been good to us.

Santa 's List

This is the first day in the month of December. The time when most kids expect to get gifts from "Santa Claus" or "Father Christmas".

Over the years, "Santa Claus" has been giving Gee! and Tee! (my first two kids) gifts. Now I will have 3 names on that list I am sending to Santa. I have to include Little Dee! on that list. LOL! As far as Gee! and Tee! are concerned, Santa would definately send them gifts. It comes authomatically. Well, I have another plan for them this Christmas! lol!

Yesterday, I told them that Santa Claus sent me an email and he wanted to know if they have been of good behaviour. Now it is for me to qualify "good behaviour". Immediately, Gee! defended herself:       

Gee! - Mummy is my name on the list you are sending to Santa Claus?

Me  -  Hmmm! I am not sure. But do you think your name should be on that list?

Gee!  - Yes Mummy. I have been a good girl. You have been telling me that I am a good girl, so I know I am a good girl. That was why my tooth fairy gave me money when my tooth came out.

See me see trouble o! Can you imagine her sense! I wonder if she will still hold this line of reasoning in the next 2 years! Anyway, the talk continues, this time with the little man of the house Tee! For a child who is four years old, he knows too much.

Tee! - Mummy did you write my name on the list?
Me -  Do you think your name is on the list?
Tee! - (laughing) Yes, my name is on the list!
Me -   Right now, as it stands, your name is not on that list. Do you know why?
Tee! - (speaking with a very low voice) No.

Me  -  Your name is not on the list because you cry and whine unnecessarily.

Tee!  - Okay I promise I will not whine or cry again.
Me  - Why should I believe you now? You made the same promise last week and several times before. Why should I believe you?
Tee!  -  I promise now. Okay if I do not stop whining then don't put my name on the list next time.
Me - I will hold you to that. (addressing Gee! and Tee!) So what do you guys want for Christmas?
Gee!  - I want a pair of black shoes! (Typical woman)
Tee! - I want a Ben Ten gift!
Me  - But Tee! you have lots of Ben Ten toys and three Omnitrixes! Are you not tired of Ben Ten?
Tee!  -  No!!

See me see trouble o! Like a friend of mine said, na me find trouble! Well let me send that email to Santa so they can get their gifts on Christmas day!

Still on Scam Messages...

These scammers have refused to give up! After my previous post, I have received tons of messages from the scammers. I have even heard of stories of some unfortunate "victims".

They go under the cover of the Central Bank and any other commercial bank. They are now coming under the cover of "Guaranty Trust Bank Plc." I am beginning to get worried o! The following messages below were sent to my email some days ago:

Dear Valued Guaranty Trust Bank Customer,
Guaranty Trust Bank Internet Banking,is hereby announcing the New 2009 Security Upgrade.

We've upgraded our new SSL servers to serve our customers for a better and secure banking service,against any fraudulent activities.Due to this recent upgrade, you are requested to provide your account information.

For secure transaction also include your Transaction Id; password by following the reference below
http://atmcardupgrade2009.justfree.com/GtbAccount.html

Regards,
Guaranty Trust Bank Customers Service.
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
   ------------------------

Dear ATM card Holder,

Because of high rate of fraud, Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) has decided to put extra security to all ATM card to secure you and your money while you use the ATM card for WD. This measure will include an Email/SMS verification code which shall be sending to your Mobile Number or Email addresses anytime you used ATM card.

Verification codes will be sent. The new ATM card Verification codes will ensure you to have access and use of your ATM card. Kindly assist us by filling the individual customer form, the form will be made available by clicking on
http://http://www.cenbank.org/new/verification/code.html

Failure to Upgrade your ATM card will result in ATM Machine rejecting your ATM Card, which means you will no longer be able to use your ATM Cards with any ATM machine or ATM card) be notified that all ATM card must be upgrade on or Before November 30, 2009. After verification and upgrading of your ATM card a 3 digit code will be sent to you within 1 days either through phone or via email signifying that your ATM card has successfully been upgraded.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this important message.

WARM REGARDS
Central Bank of Nigeria
Address: Zaria Street Garki Abuja
Nigeria.

Unsuspecting victims would fall for these scams o! Why?! I thank God that I know better! But my problem is how to ensure that people are "educated" on steps to avoid falling victims to these scams/scammers? How can these scams be stopped?!

The other day an elderly man went to an ATM to withdraw some cash. He had some problem with the machine and so he sought the help of a young boy. The boy inserted the card, asked for the PIN and after sometime, he removed the ATM and told the man that he was told to go inside the Bank. The boy asked the elderly man to wait for him by the machine and then, he went into the banking hall.

Mr. Elderly Man waited for almost thirty minutes for Mr. Young Boy to come out from the Bank. Mr. Elderly Man, went into the Banking hall in search of Mr. Young Boy. Mr. Young Boy was NOT in the Banking Hall! After all said and done, Mr. Elderly Man later discovered that his account had been cleared! His hard earned money was no longer in his account!

Yes! Mr. Elderly Man had been scammed by Mr. Young Boy.

That is just one out of many scam stories. When I heard the story, I just felt pity for Mr. Elderly

PLEASE DO NOT REVEAL YOUR PIN TO ANYONE!

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE YOUR ATM CARD TO ANYONE!

PLEASE DO NOT FILL ANY FORM ONLINE TO UPGRADE YOUR ATM!

PLEASE DO NOT USE AN ATM IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE TECHNIQUES!

NO BANK/BANK OFFICER HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW YOUR PIN!

Thank God for my life!

This is a day of JOY!
This is a day of PEACE!
This is a day of PEACE!
This is a day of LOVE!

Yes! Today is my BIRTHDAY!

I thank God Almighty, for all the love!

For all the good will messages I received, I say thank you!

Scam Messages (1)

A scam is a "dishonest scheme". It follows therefore that a scammer is a person who performs dishonest schemes.

It is not news that there are scammers every where and everyday they (scammers) come up with new "schemes". For the past 7-8 months I have been receiving emails from a group of scammers posing to be "Interswitch" officials. In Nigeria, Interswitch is the premier transaction switching platform. When the word "Interswitch" is mentioned, the first thing that will come to a lay man's mind is ATM cards.

One of such mails read was notifying their "valued customers" that their services are currently being upgraded to a more secured system. In that same mail, the reader is expected to click on a link to register all debit cards, X-change cards and ATM cards. The email further warned that only registered cards will work on the ATM machines.

At first I panicked. But when I remembered that I do not have a functional ATM card at that time, I just ignored the message by deleting it immediately. By the next day when I opened my mail, I saw 2 more of such scam messages. Are people this desperate? Na wa o! Anyway, this time around I took my time reading through the message, thinking it could be true after all. I put my cursor on the link and a very different web address was displayed on my tool bar! It was then I confirmed it was a scam mail.

Some days later, while I was discussing the issue with some friends, I discovered that some people have actually fallen prey to this bait and their accounts were "cleaned" by these fraudsters! But come to think of it, why would anyone reveal his/her PIN to anyone??!!

Although these mails go directly to my bulk mail, some still filter into my inbox. I even received one purportedly sent from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Here are some of the recent scam mails I have received:

Message 1:

Dear value customer,


You have received 1 new message waiting in your inbox folder.


click here to read


PS: To switch off email notifications of new messages, go to 'My Account' after you've logged in.


Regards


Message Depertment.


INTERSWITCH LIMITED.

Message 2:

Dear value customer,


We regret to inform you that access to your ATM CARD "POWERED BY INTERSWITCH"


has been temporarily limited.


To restore your account please click the link below and provide us with the required information:


click here to restore your account


PS: Your account will be restore in the next 48hrs.


Regards


Online Services.


INTERSWITCH NIGERIA LIMITED.

Message 3:

Verify Your ATM Account Statement Now..
Mon, October 19, 2009 7:09:20 AM
From: Central Bank Of Nigeria


Dear ATM Card User,


This is to hereby notify you of the recent Central Bank of Nigeria Directive to all banks to switch to the new and secured chip ATM cards.


With this directive,all old ATM cards shall be inactivated. With the new Cards,there shall be no more transaction charges when you use your ATM cards and it is more secured.go to the website below to register for your new card;


http://atmcardupdate2009.4t.com/online/cbn.html


You are getting this mail because you have not updated.


REGARDS


Mr.Tony Ede
Assistant Director,
LAGOS OFFICE
Office Address:Tinubu Square,Lagos
Postal Address:P.M.B. 12194,Lagos.
Fax: +234(1)882 617

So I guess since I did not "update", by clicking the link, the messages will not stop. The most recent is this one:

Please note that Your Interswitch ATM Card is about to expire
Please note that Your Interswitch ATM Card is about to expire.
In order for it to remain active, please Use the button below to
Activate and get Unlimited Access on your ATM Card.
click here to re-activate your account


PS: Your account will be re-activate in the next 48hrs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice that the messages are laced with gramatical errors. This show how "literate" the scammers are Also, when I put my cursor on the links, different web addresses are displayed. Some of the links have the following addresses:

"tanway.cz/components/login.html"; "tatarmoscow.ru/html/images/forum/login.html"; "ussonline.free.fr/uss/administrator/components/com_remository/login.html".

Now, note that the above addresses have no link to the real interswitch web address which is "interswitchng.com".

Interestingly, Interswitch has denied ever sending any of such messages. The caveat is found on the real interswitch website.

Some banks have also published and circulated several warnings, advising that no one should disclose his/her PIN to anyone. For instance, I received a mail that read thus:

Dear Friends,


We have been alerted to a fraudulent email purporting to originate from Central Bank of Nigeria and advising customers to log on to the following website http://onlinecbnservice09.t35.com/CBN-OnlineService.html to download individual forms that must be completed to upgrade their ATM cards to the new ATM machine code including your mobile number and email address where verification codes will be sent.


Please note: On no account should you visit any website in order to upgrade your ATM card based on an email purporting to either represent Interswitch, the bank or Central Bank of Nigeria . Such an act would immediately compromise your ATM card and render your account vulnerable to fraudulent withdrawals.


The claim that failure to upgrade your ATM card will render the card unusable is totally untrue and is merely a way of luring you to divulge your ATM card details.


If you have already responded to such fraudulent email, immediately notify your relationship manager or call CIC on (01 – 2800822, 01-2644754- 59, 08035606000, & 08025606000) to disable your card to prevent fraudulent withdrawals from your accounts until such a time that you can safely change your PIN.


Forwarding this alert to friends and family members would also help inform them and combat this fraud.


Thank you.


IT Risk Management

I can not asertain the authenticity of the telephone numbers, since I have not had cause to call them. However, my advise to all is this: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR PIN TO ANYONE!

Apapa-Oshodi Express Way again!

Hmmmm!

When will the Federal Government do something about the bad roads in Lagos State? This thing is getting very embarrassing! Haba!

I spent four unproductive hours on the Apapa-Oshodi Express Way this morning. The reason? It rained and because of the bad state of the roads, there was so much flood on the road. I once called it river trinity, but I think I should rename it to "Apapa-Oshodi Ocean". The flooded road made it very difficult to drive smoothly.

In the process of driving carefully, the person driving this vehicle, found himself/herself in this condition

Pedestrians had to wade through the flood as well

After driving wading through the first part of the flood, this is what I saw.

The trailer in the above picture rammed into a pedestrian bridge and then a section of the bridge collapsed. As a result, the traffic was terrible.

These are the pictures from the second half.

I am looking forward to the day it will rain and the roads in Lagos will be flood free.

Related Links

Craters on the Road

River Trinity

Eko o ni Baje