Beware & Protect Yourself 03 (Sep 10 - Dec 14)

[winston]

HSA warns on counterfeit contact lenses By Faris Mokhtar


|http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/hsa-warns-counterfeit-contact-lenses-061154538.html

[winston]

Nigerian Syndicate

One of the biggest cheating syndicates from Nigeria has made Malaysia its base, Sin Chew Daily, Malaysia's largest selling Chinese language newspaper, reported.

The "Nigeria 419" gang named after Section 419 of Nigeria's criminal code pertaining to fraud schemes is said to be the biggest cheating syndicate in the world so far.

The gang would recruit locals to assist them in their scams.

A Taiwan newspaper said the group chose Malaysia because it is a Muslim country and it even used former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's name to trick victims.

The daily also reported that the group was responsible for a 460mil ringgit (US$156mil) cheating . in China recently.

Some of the syndicate members would claim that they were from Zambia or other African countries to avoid suspicion.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/biggest-cheati ... 02621.html

[winston]

Your Prescription

When you get a prescription filled, remember Mr. Gower.

Heartbroken over the death of his son, pharmacist Gower consoles himself with alcohol while on the job. His assistant, young George Bailey, spots a mistake in a prescription and avoids poisoning a customer.

This scene from "It's a Wonderful Life" is a highly dramatized version of what goes on in pharmacies every day.

My friend Chris sent me a shocking news item about a pregnant woman who received another customer's prescription -- a cancer drug with a known side effect of potential pregnancy termination. She had the same last name and a similar first name as the person who should have received the prescription.

Fortunately, her pregnancy wasn't terminated, but she did take one of the pills and the experience (which required an ER visit) was traumatizing.

To me, what's most remarkable about this article is the comments section where readers share details about their own experiences. It's scary to see how many people have had similar mix-ups at pharmacies.

That's why you have to take the responsibility on yourself -- before you swallow a single pill. Always read the label and prescribing information that comes with any prescription -- and compare it to what your doctor prescribed.

If there's a shadow of a doubt, get those pills straight back to the pharmacy.

Source: HSI

[winston]

NJ man jailed for sex assault on Continental jet

NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey man who fondled a sleeping female passenger on a flight from Hong Kong to Newark will spend a year in prison.

Sixty-five-year-old Ramesh Advani, of Berkeley Heights, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark.

Prosecutors say Advani was seated next to the victim on an overnight Continental Airlines flight in May 2010. Advani admitted he reached under a blanket covering the woman and assaulted her.

She awoke and alerted the flight crew, and Advani was detained when the plane landed.

Advani had pleaded guilty in April to a charge of abusive sexual contact.

He also has been fined $10,000 and must serve five years of supervised release once he's freed.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/15/nj ... ental-jet/

[winston]

Nurofen Plus recalled after suspected sabotage

The makers of painkiller Nurofen Plus have recalled the tablets in Britain after anti-psychotic and epilepsy drugs were found to have been placed in packets in acts of suspected sabotage.

"Nurofen Plus is being recalled," said a statement on Friday from manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser.

"Consumers are being asked to return packs of Nurofen Plus to their nearest pharmacy following five reported cases of other manufacturer's medicines being found in boxes."

It added: "Sabotage is suspected and we are working with the police on a formal investigation to find the person or persons responsible."

Distribution and manufacture of Nurofen Plus had also been halted while investigations take place, said the company.

There had been no serious health consequences for consumers but the manufacturer said it did not want to take any risks when it came to the safety of its products.

There are around 250,000 packets of Nurofen Plus currently in British customers' hands, the company added.

Police in London, where four of the affected packets were found, confirmed they were investigating.

The decision came after Britain's medicines watchdog issued a warning that some packs of Nurofen Plus contained Seroquel XL, an anti-psychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia, mania and bipolar depression.

The drug was found in four packets in London and two people had accidentally taken the drug but are both well, said the company.

People who take it may experience sleepiness and are advised not to drive or operate any tools or machinery until they know how the tablets have affected them.

Meanwhile the epilepsy drug Neurontin was found in one packet of Nurofen Plus, but no one was thought to have accidentally taken the drug, which can cause dizziness.

Source: AFP European Edition

[winston]

If you are swimming in an outdoor pool, it does not hurt to be more alert to what's inside and outside your pool ...

Python in swimming pool scares bathers in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR — A four-metre-long python wallowing at the bottom of a swimming pool in a Malaysian private club sent bathers running, a report and staff at the club said Thursday.

A woman who dived into the pool spotted the enormous snake resting under a steel ladder on Tuesday, national news agency Bernama reported.

Eight other people, including children, were swimming in the pool at the club in Seremban town, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the capital Kuala Lumpur, when the alarm was raised, it said.

The club's management called the fire department, which removed the python. No one was injured.

Bernama quoted a fire department spokesman as saying the snake may have slipped into the pool from nearby bushes to cool itself, as the weather was hot.

Pythons are common in tropical Malaysia, but attacks on humans are rare. It was not immediately clear what type of python was in the swimming pool, but the reticulated python can grow to more than eight metres in length.

The fire department was not immediately able to comment. A club official confirmed the snake was safely removed.

Source: AFP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... dae4b5.341

[kennynah]

python soup, it probably became

[winston]

Rogue cooking oil: 32 nabbed
Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Police in three provinces have detained 32 suspects over the sale of cooking oil made from leftovers taken from gutters, in the nation's latest food safety scandal.

The sting operation comes more than a year after state media revealed that up to a tenth of cooking oil used in the mainland is made from waste oil recycled from restaurants, which contains a cancer-causing substance.

The public security ministry said reports were first received in March about a group of people buying waste oil from restaurants and turning it into cooking oil.

After a four-month probe, police in Zhejiang, Shandong and Henan provinces raided six places selling the illegally made cooking oil and detained 32 people.

Officers also found more than 100 tonnes of the recycled oil - made from leftovers taken from gutters - the ministry said.

"Under the pretense of processing biodiesel, the suspects had been buying waste oil from Zhejiang, Sichuan and Guizhou since 2009, turning it into cooking oil and selling it on the market," a ministry statement said.

When the cooking oil scandal broke last year, experts estimated that up to three million tonnes of illegal oil are consumed nationwide each year.

The revelation forced the food safety watchdog to step up inspections on the business, which experts say is extremely profitable as the cost of buying food waste and refining it is low.

The mainland food industry is notorious for safety scandals, despite regular crackdowns.

One of the biggest was in 2008 when at least six infants died after being fed milk formula intentionally contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine to show higher protein readings.

Two dairy company officials were executed for their role in the adulteration, which also sickened 300,000 children.

Security and justice authorities last September called for tougher penalties including the death sentence in serious food safety cases.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_deta ... 10914&fc=4

[kennynah]

these unscrupulous profiteers should be shot

[winston]

New malware threat to Internet banking applications

SINGAPORE: The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has issued a warning against a new computer malware dubbed "SpyEye" that targets local Internet banking applications.

It said there have been a few such cases.

ABS said whenever a customer tries to access the bank's Internet banking application from an infected computer, the malware attempts to create a fraudulent third party beneficiary addition and funds transfer.

It added that customers who visit infected websites, open infected emails or download unknown files are vulnerable to the malware, which can also be transmitted through social networking sites.

Those logging in to Internet banking applications from an infected computer may see a web banner that claims to be checking the computer's security settings.

The login page will indicate that the transaction "may take 1-10 minutes to complete" or "security verification in progress".

It may ask for an additional SMS or token-based OTP (one time password) on the same login page in addition to the usual username and password.

ABS said a legitimate Internet banking website will only ask for your OTP on the second page after you have entered your password on the login page.

Customers may also receive an SMS alert providing them with an OTP when they did not login; or an SMS alert saying they have "Added a Payee" which they did not execute.

They may also receive an SMS alert saying they are about to make or have made a "funds transfer" which they did not execute.

ABS advises customers to shut down the online banking, close the browser and contact the bank immediately if they experience any of these suspicious activities.

They are also advised to read clearly the SMS notifications they receive.

They should also not enter any token or SMS OTP (one-time passwords) for transactions that they did not initiate or request.

Customers are also advised to install anti-virus software.

When visiting a bank's Internet banking website, customers should type in the URL manually and verify the website before providing login credentials.

Customers should also avoid visiting unknown and unsecured websites, and check the bank balances upon completion of each online transaction.

ABS said banks are increasing their vigilance and are monitoring suspicious online activities to counter these new online threats.

- CNA/cc

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 06/1/.html