Changeling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvHquOz-lDU&feature=fvsr

Was looking for articles on abducted children when I chanced upon this. Apparently, when the role was offered to Angelina Jolie, she was hesistant to take up this role, as the thought of losing her children was much to bear.

This is the true account of the story from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MafmhzJ8kEs

Below is a newspaper article that I came across recently. The Mum was almost conned into giving a ransom in exchanged for her abducted daughter. Just so happens that the daughter stayed back beyond the stated time and did not inform her mother. It could have been worse, her mum could have been hurt in the process of sending the ransom.

Very important for parents to know their kids' whereabouts and for kids to inform parents on where they are going, who they are going with (contacts etc), time that they are coming back etc.

I almost fell prey to a scam

Source:
The Sunday Times
Author:
Lorna Tan
28/6/2009
Like everyone else, I was relieved when the news broke last month that terror suspect Mas Selamat Kastari had been captured. Inevitably, the news brought back memories of how the nation had reeled in shock at the manner of his escape.

For me, it has a different significance. I can still remember exactly what I was doing on the day he escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre.

You see, on Feb 27 last year, my own world turned topsy-turvy, but it had nothing to do with Mas Selamat. At about 4.15pm, I received a call from my panic-stricken mother who told me that my daughter, who was then 15, had been kidnapped and that the kidnapper had threatened to kill her unless he received $50,000. My heart sank and I asked for details.

My parents had received a call from a man who claimed that he had my daughter. To 'prove' his claim, he got my daughter to speak to my mum. The girl who came on the phone was crying out for help in Mandarin. Incidentally, that is the language that my mum and daughter use to communicate daily. The girl said she had been abducted after school.

The man then took over the phone and demanded $50,000. My mum said she didn't have the money and pleaded with him not to hurt her grandchild. He dropped the ransom to $30,000, and then to $20,000.

My mum gave him my contact number. She tried calling my daughter but her mobile phone had been switched off. My daughter had said she would be home just after 4pm that day so the timing was uncanny. Both my parents were absolutely certain it was my daughter who had spoken to them on the phone.

After my mum called me, I received a call, presumably from the kidnapper, but he did not speak. Instead I could hear a girl screaming for help in Mandarin. I spoke to her in English and asked if she was hurt but she just kept on crying out.

I rushed to my parents' flat and called my cousin, who is a police inspector, for help. My husband was in Hong Kong for work and I figured it was no use worrying him at that point.

My cousin turned up at the same time that I reached the flat. I wasn't entirely convinced that the girl on the phone was my daughter. But I couldn't be certain that it wasn't her either. My instinct was that if it were my daughter, she would have spoken to me in English. But what if she had been warned by the kidnapper to speak only in Mandarin?

My cousin and I decided to call the police and her school. I checked through my mobile for the contact numbers of her friends to find out when they had last seen her.

Finally, I managed to reach one of her classmates who said that my daughter was still in school. She had stayed back later than usual as she was putting the final touches to her school project. I immediately asked to speak to her and she told me she was all right. And that was when we realised we had nearly fallen prey to a scam.

Looking back, my parents and I could have noticed clues that pointed to a scam. For example, the scammers initially identified my parents as my daughter's parents rather than grandparents. They could also have asked the 'abducted' girl for my contact number.

There have been many newspaper reports of scams here. Victims have reportedly lost thousands of dollars. Scammers typically prey on two emotions: greed or, in my case, fear.

In recent years, these conmen have become more creative. Most of the scams are financial in nature and fall under the category of Ponzi schemes which are usually well-organised. These are get-rich- quick investment schemes that lure customers by offering high returns. The returns, however, are paid out of funds from new investors entering the scheme.

An example of a scam that may prey on fear is phishing, where cybercriminals attempt to get you to send money or provide confidential account information. They do this via fraudulent e-mail which often have links to a website that looks like it belongs to a legitimate entity, but doesn't.

Here are two ways that phishing can be conducted:

· Beware of e-mail messages that urge you to act quickly, or your bank account may be suspended or closed. These e-mail messages often don't address you by name, but use a more generic title like 'Dear valued customer'. They also ask for account numbers, passwords or other personal information.

· Fraudsters can also e-mail all your friends and pretend to be you. One common trick is to send them an e-mail that would typically read: 'Help! Mugged and hospitalised in (name of African country here) while on vacation. No money. In real trouble. Can't pay my bills, being threatened with arrest. Scared! Send cash by Western Union!'

Some recipients might respond because the e-mail came from a friend's account.

To protect yourself, always exercise some scepticism when you receive such e-mail. Take your time to call the financial institution or your friend to check things out.

As for me, I'm glad my daughter was okay and that I didn't fall prey to the scam.

lorna@sph.com.sg

STOP!

Was doing some shopping at two BODY SHOPS outlets recently. Both asked whether I want a carrier or if it was ok to use my sling bag that I was carrying instead. Definitely a thumbs up for them . It beats having to stop the sales people from getting a carrier. Good for retarded people with slow reaction like me.