Archive for the ‘Mobile’ Category

Type of Text Scams in the Philippines

Oct 22, 2008 Internet Safety, Mobile

ABS-CBNnews.com reports that text scam cases are rising in the Philippines that the National Bureau of Investigation Anti-Fraud and Computer Crime Division receives 10-20 complaints a day.  The current economic crisis is considered on this increasing cases.

I myself has received a couple of text messages that intends to scam.  Like, it says that my cellphone number has been chosen as a winner for a “raffle” draw with a tempting winning prize of a hundred thousand pesos, and that I should call them for the instructions on how to claim my prize.  Having been exposed to e-mail scams with similar content, I just ignore these text messages.  My father, nearly succumbed to one message he received. Good thing, I warned him beforehand.

Anyway, the bureau has classified the types of text scams in the Philippines which are:

The lottery/prize scam: The consumer will be contacted by SMS or e-mail with news that he/she has won a large sum of money, but in order to receive the winnings, he/she must first pay the taxes by depositing into a stranger’s account. The consumer sends the funds, but the winnings are never received.
The charity donation scam: The victim will be told that the culprit is a representative of either a fake charity organization or a recognized government foundation tasked to secure donations for a worthy cause. The victim will be given contact details and information on how he/she can donate via the fraudster.
The online auction purchase scam: The consumer with the winning bid in an online auction is instructed that the seller will only accept money transfer as a form of payment. The seller may also instruct the consumer to use a fictitious name for the transfer, to ‘protect themselves’ until the goods are received – but they never arrive.
The dugu-dugo or budul-budol scam: The victim will receive a call from someone who claims to be a family member stating that a loved one has been kidnapped or hurt, and will need the victim to make a transfer of money to a stranger to avoid the kidnapped relative from being harmed or to pay for medical expenses.
The recruitment scam: The victim will receive an offer to a job overseas from an individual who claims to represent an agency or the employer, and requests for a placement fee to be transferred to his/her account to facilitate the application process.
The business investment scam: A business may receive a request from a stranger posing as a representative of a major corporation offering the opportunity to become involved in a large commercial operation. The offer will involve very large financial returns and will require the victim to finance portions of the business venture. All payments will be required to be forwarded in amounts between P10,000 and P50,000. Examples of the requests for money include:
  • Payment of legal fees
  • Payment for the suppliers or subcontractors
  • Payment for the registration costs
  • Payment of business taxes
The Nigerian inheritance/legacy scam: The consumer is contacted, usually by email, by an individual claiming to be either a representative of the Nigerian government, a wealthy business person or the widow of a deposed leader. The trickster may claim that they have discovered a bank account belonging to a deceased citizen or has come into possession of a large sum of money. The trickster offers to share the proceeds if the consumer allows him/her to deposit the money into their bank account. The consumer is asked to provide their account details and other sensitive information. However, before the transaction takes place, an “unforeseen difficulty” occurs and additional fees from the victim are “necessary to overcome the problem”.
So how do you avoid these text scams? It’s easy.  Just ignore those messages that are too good to be true.

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A Gloves for iPhone Users?

Oct 16, 2008 Gadgets, Mobile, Technology News

The women users of iPhone have long been complaining about the difficulty of using the touchscreen feature of the iPhone and similar gadgets, especially if they have long nails. Well, worry no more as there is a special gloves especially designed to suit the needs of iPhone users with, well, long nails.

The Freehands gloves are actually pretty cool since the fabric covering the index fingers and thumbs can be folded back to expose your fingertips. This in turn will help interact with your gadgets better without having to take off your gloves to send texts, type on your keyboard, play video games, and even answer your iPhone. Best of all, small magnets in the fingertips hold the folded tips back so they’ll always stay out of your way. Yahoo Tech News

The Freehands gloves are available in 3 varieties: leather, stretch, and fleece available at $40, $30 and $20, respectively.

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Can you use a Smart SIM pack in iPhone?

Oct 4, 2008 Gadgets, Hacks and Tips, Mobile

The iPhone is exclusively distributed by Globe Telecom for Philippine users. So the Smart Telecom users asked, “Can we use our Smart SIM with iPhone?” During the early release of iPhones, you can use your Smart SIM card by unlocking it. However, problems have been coming out such as problems on making calls.

Several users at the Macintosh Philippines forums said that making calls is suddenly not possible with iPhone using Smart SIM however there’s no problem in using the phone for text messages.

One user, William Yu, of It’s hip2b2 has successfully unlocked the iPhone for Smart Post Paid kit without using any software and supersims, that Smart users may use. He notes that users should use these tricks and cracks at their own risk. Please don’t proceed if you don’t know what you’re doing.

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How to use your Sony Ericsson phone to connect to the internet?

Sep 29, 2008 Internet, Mobile, Wireless Technology

This past two days, I’ve been struggling to connect to the internet via using my Smart Bro Prepaid Kit modem.  It says its connected but unable to receive information.  Apparently, getting a Smart Bro Prepaid modem is not a wise buy.  I’ve been asking myself why I bought it when I could just use my Sony Ericsson K530i USB internet feature for mobile networking.

I’ve been asked by some friends on how I use my mobile phone to connect to the internet.  So I’m sharing here how.

What you need:

1. A GPRS/3G enabled phone.  It should also support USB internet. Most models nowadays support these network types. I am using my Sony Ericsson k530i phone for my mobile networking.  It functions similarly.

2. A network provider supporting MMS, GPRS and 3G.  In my case, I am a Smart Telecom subscriber.

3. A USB cable to connect to your laptop or desktops.

4. A synchronization software.  Fortunately, most brand new purchased phones always comes with a CD containing this synchronization software.

How to connect to the internet using your Sony Ericsson phone?

Foremost, make sure you have activated your GPRS/MMS/3G setting before proceeding and have your synchronization software installed in your computer.

1. Connect your phone to your laptop or desktop using a USB cable. Put your device into Phone Mode.  This will enable you to use your phone while it is connected to your laptop or desktop.

2. Turn on USB Internet which can be found on the Connectivity tab on your phone.

3. Synchronize your phone with your computer using your Sony Ericsson PC Suite.

Synchronizing your SE with your computer using SE PC Suite

Synchronizing your SE with your computer using SE PC Suite

4. Click on the Mobile Networking Wizard, then click Connect.  You don’t need to enter a username or a password because it’s already pre-formatted.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Networking Wizard is easy to use.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Networking Wizard is easy to use.

Then, you are connected!  Remember, always disconnect your connection after using the internet.

I tested my internet connection speed which showed these results:

Speed Test for Smart Bro GPRS/3G

Speed Test for Smart Bro GPRS/3G using my SE k530i

Note: Internet rates are the same with phone browsing, depending on your network provider. Smart Telecom charges P10 per 30 minutes on a 30-minute block metering method. It’s of the same rate with using Smart Bro Prepaid Kit modem.

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How to Set Up Your Smart Mobile GPRS, 3G and MMS Setting

Aug 10, 2008 Gadgets, Internet, Mobile

A 3G-capable phone.Here’s how to set up your 3G/GPRS/MMS-able Smart mobile phones:

1. Send SET to 211.

2. To download 3G/GPRS/MMS settings, type SET <phonemodel> then send to 211. To get a list of supported mobile phone brands, key in SET LIST and send to 211.

For example: To activate MMS/3G/GPRS setting for Nokia 6300, key in SET N6300 then send to 211. For Sony Ericsson model K530i, just key in SEK530i then send to 211.

3. You will then receive a message that asks you to install the settings. Just click Yes then enter the passcode: 1234. Your MMS/GPRS/3G setting is now active and you’re ready to make video calls and send nice MMS graphics and photos, and browse through the web using your MMS/GPRS/3G-able phone.

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