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E-wallet scammers offer cash as latest modus operandi

ALOR STAR: E-wallet scammers are now resorting to offering cash amounting to RM100-RM300 to those who submit their identity cards to open their e-wallet accounts

Kedah Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) head Supt Elias Omar said the scammer-appointed agents would prey on victims from low-income groups or drug addicts before asking for their identity cards to help register e-wallet accounts.

“Prior to that, the victims will be promised instant cash of between RM100 and RM300 if their e-wallet registration application is successful, thus compelling the victims to handover their identity cards willingly.

“The agent will fill out the application form using the victim’s name and identity card while the phone number and address will be filled with the scammer’s information. This is to make it easier for scammers to obtain their victim’s Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) number and have access to the victim’s bank account,” he told a media conference here today.

He said the scammer would then contact another victim and impersonate the police or the court before directing the victim to transfer some money into an e-wallet account that was opened using an identity card obtained from the previous victim.

“The scammer will contact the victims and inform them that they are involved in a drug case and to avoid having their assets frozen, the victims will have to transfer all their money into the e-wallet accounts provided. The scammers use this e-wallet method because it is difficult for the police to detect.

“From Jan 1 to Feb 29, 25 investigation papers involving such cases have been opened involving a loss of RM600,000,“ he said.

He said up to 50 individuals had provided their identity cards for e-wallet account registration but were unaware that their identity cards and personal information have been misused by scammers out for a profit.

Meanwhile, Elias said acting on information, police have arrested two 23-year-old men who were soliciting public identification cards in early March in the Kuala Muda district.

“One of them is a scammer-appointed agent and for each successful identification card, the agent received RM50 as payment. Six mobile phones, 13 telco sim cards and six ATM cards were also seized.

“We are looking for another 34-year-old who is believed to be able to assist with the case and people with information can also contact the Kedah JSJK or the Kuala Muda JSJK. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,“ he said. — Bernama

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/e-wallet-scammers-offer-cash-as-latest-modus-operandi-HJ2128999

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March 15, 2020
Fast-charging damages electric car batteries

Commercial fast-charging stations subject electric car batteries to high temperatures and high resistance that can cause them to crack, leak, and lose their storage capacity, write engineers at the University of California, Riverside in a new study published in Energy Storage. To remedy this, the researchers have developed a method for charging at lower temperatures with less risk of catastrophic damage and loss of storage capacity.

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March 12, 2020
Researchers organically engineer solar cells using enzymes in papaya fruit

Titanium dioxide (titania) thin films are commonly used in various types of solar cells. The fabrication methods that are currently used to create such titania films require high temperatures, as well as expensive, high-end technologies. Researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) have now developed a fully organic method to engineer porous titania thin films at relatively low temperatures.

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March 11, 2020
The unmet need for social context in family planning

New evidence on the relationship between sexual health and social context finds a strong association between gender equality, education and family planning

Twenty-five years ago, two global events – the International Conference on Population and Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing – formally recognized that women’s health and reproductive choices cannot be separated from the social context of their lives.

Now, researchers have created a dataset which brings together national surveys from 74 countries, representing 3 million women. For the first time, it allows them to describe trends in demand/use of modern contraceptives alongside social and economic indicators.

The data is published in The Lancet Global Health and is authored by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organization.

It shows that, over time, women are more likely to have their demand for modern contraception met in countries where gender equality and their educational opportunities improve.

Gender equality and education increases access to modern contraception

Trends in sexual activity and demand for use and use of modern contraceptive methods in 74 countries: a retrospective analysis of nationally representative surveys finds that met need for modern contraception is strongly correlated with positive shifts in social structures.
For every 0.1-point increase in a country’s gender development index, it found a 6.7% rise in women who were sexually active and did not want to conceive. Of those women, an additional 13.5% used modern methods to prevent a pregnancy.

Expectations of every girl’s right to education also made a difference. Each extra year in schooling is linked to an increase of 2.3% in demand, and a 4.7% increase in use of modern contraceptive methods.

“This study shows how every woman must negotiate her reproductive autonomy within the social framework in which she lives, responding to barriers and opportunities as they emerge,” says Dr Lale Say, one of the authors of the study and Unit Head at WHO and HRP.

“Gender equality is both a precondition and a driving force for securing women’s reproductive health and rights – as well as the sustainable development targets, which are our best chance for delivering health and well-being for all.”

Global trends reveal new challenges in family planning

Overall, the data reinforce global trends: more time spent sexually-active and single, postponement of parenthood, and the near-universal desire for smaller families.

The study also highlights where action is needed at country-level to avoid family planning services falling behind demand.

Out of the 74 countries analyzed, 42 showed an increase in demand for contraception. Only 37 countries show an increase in use of a modern method to prevent pregnancy.

Although unmet need for contraception declined in 34 countries, it increased in 14 countries. Significantly more progress is needed, and faster, to ensure each girl and woman is able to access the sexual and reproductive health services she needs.

Barriers and solutions to reproductive health and rights

Gender equality can affect contraceptive use in many ways. From the personal and political degree to which women are free to choose their sexual activity, to accessing family planning services it can also shape any power imbalances within personal relationships. This study supports recent efforts by WHO to adopt a broader, integrated concept of sexual and reproductive health – and to translate it into a framework for policy and practice.

The authors argue that family planning targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will not be met without a profound shift: from focus on ‘access to contraception’, to broader aspects of sexual health and social context.

Since reproductive health and women’s empowerment are intertwined, trends in contraceptive use can also reveal progress towards another global target: progress towards gender equality.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/10-03-2020-the-unmet-need-for-social-context-in-family-planning

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March 11, 2020
Fueling a cleaner future for transport

A simple, fast and inexpensive method for modeling the combustion characteristics of gasoline has been developed by KAUST researchers, paving the way for cleaner and more efficient transport fuels.

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March 10, 2020
Innovative method improves safety in lithium-sulfur batteries

Researchers from A*STAR’s NanoBio Lab (NBL) have designed a semi-solid electrolyte for lithium-sulfur batteries that improves their safety without compromising their performance. This promising breakthrough paves the way for lithium-sulfur batteries to be used as efficient power solutions across diverse electronic and energy storage applications.

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March 9, 2020
Discovery of accurate and far more efficient algorithm for point set registration problems

A point set registration problem is a task using two shapes, each consisting of a set of points, to estimate the relationship of individual points between the two shapes. Here, a “shape” is like a human body or face, which is similar to another body or face but exhibits morphological diversity. Taking the face as an example: the center position of the pupil of an eye varies depending on individuals but can be thought to have a correspondence with that of another person. Such a correspondence can be estimated by gradually deforming one shape to be superimposable on the other. Estimation of the correspondence of a point on one shape to a point on another is the point set registration problem. Since the number of points of one shape could be millions, estimation of correspondence is calculated by a computer. Nonetheless, up to now, even when the fastest conventional method was used, it took a lot of time for calculation for registration of ca. 100,000 points. Thus, algorithms that could find a solution far faster without affecting accuracy have been sought. Furthermore, preliminary registration before automated estimation was a prerequisite for the conventional calculation method, so algorithms that do not need preliminary registration are desirable.

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March 6, 2020
The unfoldable bridge

There are many different methods for erecting bridges—but the new technique developed by TU Wien, the balanced lowering method, is quite spectacular: the bridge is not built horizontally, as would normally be case, but erected in a vertical position and then rotated into the horizontal position. The first large scale tests were carried out in 2010; since then, the method has been refined and tuned until finally finding its first application by the ASFINAG for two bridges of the Fürstenfeld Motorway S7. With the erection process successfully completed for the Lahnbach Bridge, the 116 m long bridge over the Lafnitz was “unfolded” on the 27th of February 2020. With no scaffolding needed, this new bridge construction method not only saves time but also money and resources.

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March 6, 2020
A current map for improving circuit design

A practical method for mapping the flow of a current in devices with complex geometries that could be used to optimize circuit design has been developed at KAUST.

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March 2, 2020
Smart Bill Paying Tips for Online Families
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Back in the analog days before personal computers, the internet and smartphones, paying monthly bills was an event! Bills arrived in the mail and were collected in a specific location and saved for that special day each month when they were paid. The bills were reviewed to make sure all expected items had arrived and each check was written out with a corresponding entry added to the (paper) check register. It was a manual exercise requiring good organization, basic math skills and the concentration to ensure the accounting was properly logged. Mailing out the checks and tracking them in the register wasn’t the end of the process – it was imperative to scrutinize the monthly bank statement and balance the checkbook to ensure that there were no math errors, the checks hadn’t gotten lost in the mail, they were actually cashed by the creditor and correctly credited to the account. Because there was always a lag between the bills coming due and the bank statement arriving, sometimes it was difficult to avoid unpleasantness such as the power or telephone company threatening to turn off service due to a clerical error or post office delay.

Since that time, things have changed dramatically. First was the introduction of financial software that could help with monthly budgeting and bill-paying. Computerization increased organization and cut down math errors, making it easier to keep control of monthly obligations. Today’s consumer has a wealth of tools at their disposal to pay bills, track accounts and keep their personal finances organized. Instead of a shoebox full of paper and a checkbook, bills can be paid with a computer or smartphone connected to the internet. Payments made using either a checking account or credit card can be monitored almost in real-time. Even the role of the post office has diminished considerably because of changes in the bill-paying process. Many people utilize automatic bill payment options that are available directly from vendors such as the phone company or insurance company, as well as from many banks. Consumers may still have a checkbook in their possession, but most of the time it gathers dust on a shelf or in a drawer while bills are paid in a variety of other ways.

Automatic bill payments are the most convenient of all, with options to pay each vendor directly from a bank account or credit card. Auto-pay is great for convenience and flexibility, but the responsibility still falls to each consumer to ensure the process works as expected and to maintain control of their finances. What are some things to be aware of with auto-bill pay and what are some tips for keeping control of your budget while still taking advantage of the automation available?
- Choose the payment method that works for you: Many people find it more convenient to set up their auto-pay on a credit card instead of having the money deducted instantly from their checking accounts. That way, monthly bills appear together in 1 place, and there is less worry about cash flow during the month. And with credit card accounts accessible online, the balance can be monitored as needed. Many credit cards can offer consumer benefits such as frequent flyer miles, free merchandise and other perks. Using a credit card as the payment method is great for organization, but be careful!! Accruing charges on a credit card makes it easy to exceed your budget and get into trouble at the end of the month. Only use this method if you are prepared to pay off the balance on your credit card each month to avoid paying high finance charges on your fixed monthly expenses. If you’re on a very tight budget or have trouble limiting credit card spending, paying bills directly from your checking account is a better solution.
- Be prepared for changes: When using a credit card to pay most monthly bills, if your credit card is stolen or hacked, or when it expires and a new card is issued, be aware that any auto-payments you set up using that card will no longer process. Keep a list of accounts that use auto-pay, including which credit card is used as the payment method for each account. This way, you can quickly update them all when a new credit card is received. If you’re tempted to just check your most recent statement instead of keeping a list, remember – some bills come monthly, others are quarterly and still others are annual so they won’t all appear on your most recent statement. Keeping a list is most efficient way to easily update all applicable accounts.
- Stay involved in the process: Many banks help in the process and provide alerts when an expected bill arrives or does not arrive when scheduled – bill payment is a great feature of online banking and can help you stay on top of your obligations! Make time to review the bills each month to make sure there aren’t any unforeseen or erroneous charges; especially if you are on a tight budget and paying directly from your bank account. Unanticipated charges that are automatically deducted from your account can cause unexpected drops in your bank balance.
- Be smart when it comes to cash management: If possible, don’t set up auto-pay on bills that can vary greatly from month to month, such as credit card bills. And always avoid paying off the balance of one credit card by adding it to the balance of another.
- Keep your credit rating in good standing: Due dates for items such as credit cards, health insurance, mortgage and auto payments are typically due on the same day each month, making it easy to ensure that auto-pay bills arrive on time. However, the due date on some bills may vary. Be sure the payment date that you set up for each bill allows sufficient time for the creditor to process the payment in order to avoid late charges. Similarly, if using your bank’s bill-paying service, for some vendors there is a lag between the date paid and the date received – make sure you allow sufficient time to stave off late fees and avoid bad credit.
The most important concept to remember is that even though paying bills has become extremely convenient and paper cuts are much less common these days in the bill-paying process, you are still ultimately responsible for your finances, your bills and your credit rating. Monitor closely, take advantage of the online tools available from your bank and your creditors to help you keep track of your finances and remember to dust off that checkbook once in a while! Regardless of the method you choose for paying bills, it is highly recommended that you keep a current register of all checks and debits, making a deduction for each item immediately (as soon as you have issued or authorized an item for payment), including any associated fees. This will allow you to have an accurate, up-to-the-minute checking account balance from which to work. This will also help prevent incidences of insufficient funds and their associated fees. Accurate and timely account records never go out of style!

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Source by Ellen Debboli

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February 10, 2020