I Got Phished Out Today By a Fake GCash Notification

It didn't help that I had a bad night of aching muscles and earache. I woke up in the morning finding an email from "GCash" which looked legitimate. What happened was that I lost some money in my GCash wallet. Fortunately, it wasn't my life savings compared to the loss of Tong Zou--a Chinese-Canadian who lost it all during the rise of Quadriga-CX. I won't disclose any amount of money in my personal accounts for confidential reasons. What I'm going to write right now is a warning. Granted, I'm not tech-savvy so I wasn't too aware of phishing. I did reject a couple of phishing such as those too good to be true employment.

However, I wasn't so wise today and ended up "verifying" my account and lost the money I put in the GCash wallet set aside to pay for groceries. The official GCash site or the application is where transactions should be done. I even forgot that the MPIN and the OTP should be kept personal. I had to change my MPIN because of that. Besides, what was even worse was that I failed to see the anatomy was that while it looked legitimate--the email wasn't. That's what I failed to consider during the time I was emotionally and physically tired. I should've taken rest days when I should've.

This is the sad reality we need to face. Some of my peers (I won't disclose their names) were scammed too. There's always the fear of temporary maintenance and the like. Obviously, what scammers do is appeal to emotions. How I lost money last 2012 was because the scammer appealed to my emotions. After some time, I fell to it (again) after I woke up feeling so bad. I tend to forget the warning not to do any important transactions when not in the mood. It's like don't drive when you're too angry or drunk. I tried having a car accident near one of my favorite restaurants because I felt so bad.

What I did was screenshot the transaction. The number where the money was sent was there. There are some financial institution employees that want to feed their own pockets. You can compare them to extortioners at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). If dishonest tax mappers should be reported then so should employees who are like that. Then again, some people have targeted even the nobody officers who aren't megastars in the financial world. It seems these phishers will target anyone who has money even if the person isn't a billionaire. A wrong assumption I had was that because I wasn't a big-time rich guy I wouldn't be targeted. I tend to make that assumption way too many times. Today was indeed a hard lesson. Even a friend of mine who was a "low-level worker" was even targeted--she was someone who's struggling financially yet she was even targeted. These phishers are as heartless as robbers who would even rob the barely-earning working class!

Like Tong Zou in the documentary Trust No One: Hunt for the Crypto King--I'm here to send a warning since some people are still unaware. Just because I'm an MBA graduate doesn't mean I'm invincible. I tend to think my graduate degree makes me better. It doesn't if I just use it as a shield against criticism. In fact, some people who got scammed by Ponzi schemes were MBA students too. The cybercrime world is a very deep and dark world. Cryptocurrency is something that might sooner or later appeal to some who rejected it. I had to unsubscribe from some financial channels because of their recommendation of cryptocurrency. This no is no different--a scam is a scam.

Get Stuck with EDSA, End Up Like Nokia

Yes, we should never forget what history teaches us. A classmate of mine, back in high school, wrote a simple and blunt essay called "History: A Teacher". I doubt he still has a soft copy, given it was already more than 20 years ago. I'd like to quote Duterte critic Andrew James Masigan wrote this in Philippine Star --something that should remain relevant: I would never undervalue the 1987 Constitution. It dismantled the legal framework of a repressive regime and established the democratic institutions we enjoy today. For this, I am grateful. The 1987 Constitution was crafted with the best of intentions. It sought to put the Filipino first in all aspects of governance and to level the playing field amongst sectors and peoples. But it is far from perfect. It failed to consider the importance of foreign capital and technologies and the stiff competition we would have to face to obtain them. In short, its economic provisions were short-sighted . So despite the Constitut...

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Bad Accounting

I would like to apologize in advance to my readers. The picture I'm presenting is in Tagalog, and not all my readers speak Tagalog. I would translate the picture's text into English for convenience. It says: "Ano ang bumubuo sa mga presyo?" means "What comprises the price?" "Gastos ng materyales" means materials expense "Gastos sa kasangkapan" means depreciation expense ""Gastos sa pasahod" means salary expense "Kapitalista" means capitalist Renta is well, rent "Kayang pababain ang presyo" means "Prices can be lowered". It says that capitalists (industrialists, landlords, bankers) and elitist governments are part in the gross profit. Get rid of excise taxes (either permanently or temporarily) for the prices of goods and services. In the times of crisis, in the burden of sacrifices, we need to be watchful for capacity. Whatever savings for times of difficulty by the workers and countrymen, the...

Past Chinese School Education in the Philippines was Based on "Sǐ Jì Yìng Bèi"

Chinoys of my age (and older) may remember these textbooks. I called them as the "symbol of trauma". It was memorizing something without understanding it . One would just memorize (without understanding it) because it was typical. Not being able to memorize what was assigned? Get a bad grade? One can expect physical punishment like hitting the hand with a ruler or chili in the mouth. Chinese language teachers are stereotypically strict . The language textbooks (above) are what were used during the 1990s to the early 2000s. As I wrote it, the Sinjiang textbooks aren't effective in teaching Mandarin , in a world where Mandarin has over a billion speakers! There's a Chinese proverb that says, "死記硬背 sǐ jì yìng bèi" or "Memorize to the point of death". That's exactly what those textbooks are. Memorize to the point of death! Okay, it may sound exaggerated. However, that's how Chinese language teachers in the Philippines were made to teach the ...

Migrante International's Really Bad Economic Literacy

March 17 (which is tomorrow) seems to be an unofficial holiday for some people, right? I'm sickened that the late Flor Contemplacion has been treated like she's some national heroine (and thankfully, tomorrow isn't a holiday) even after Singapore had proven her guilt. A movie was made by Joel Lamangan called The Flor Contemplacion Story . The call for Migrante (Migrant) International has been to remember Flor even after several years. What's not too surprising was to learn that Flor's sons were all arrested for drug-related charges. Even her eldest son died while in prison. You have Migrante International wanting to end the labor export policy. However, a post by Migrante really shows how this group fails basic economics. I will not post the whole press statement but one part that made my eyes roll. >> Further opening the country’s economy to foreign ownership and control will worsen the exploitation of our people and the environment without creating a susta...

"Filipino First Policy" Has NO PLACE in the Rising Asian 21st Century

I guess nobody saw the Asian 21st Century coming, right? China was once a poor nation but look at it now. Vietnam was once a poor nation but look at it now. Singapore was once a poor nation but look at it now. The late great Lee Kuan Yew wrote his book From Third World to First . I'm afraid some people have been using it to go against the presidency of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. while ignoring what else Lee Kuan Yew had to say. Lee Kuan Yew described the Filipino press to be rambunctious on pages 304-305 which I agree. I'm afraid that the Filipino press may have had a hand in getting rid of any economic or political reforms that could help the Philippines. Yet, one policy has been holding back the Philippines for decades and yes, it's the Filipino First Policy . Reviewing the Filipino First Policy and why it has no place in the rising Asian 21st century I remembered how the values education subject taught Carlos P. Garcia's stupid Filipino First Policy as a Filipino value...

Has Passing Down Hatred for Singapore (Because of Flor Contemplacion) Economically Helped the Philippines?

PEH.ph It was on March 17, 1995, when Flor Contemplacion was executed in Singapore. I've noticed that I've been addressing her as the late many times, even if the late is a statement that may be ony appropriate if the person has been recently deceased within 10 years. It's about to become 30 years since Flor was hanged in Singapore. However, generational hatred would've been passed down from 1995 up to 2025. Some people are still tagging #JusticeFor Flor. These traits may be passed down from the Batang 1990s to their children in this generation. It may also be passed down from parent to child, even if the child was born in the 2000s to 2010s. Somebody born in 2000s and beyond might even say, "Papa and mama told me about Flor Contemplacion! That's why I hate Singapore!" Talk about a child born in 2004 who's probably angry with Singapore, because his parents kept telling him about how Flor was supposedly "unjustly treated" over there. Some tim...

My First Taste of Sichuan at Yang Hero IT Park

I was doing some random historical study. One of the many things I recalled from Asian history class was the Chinese Communist Party in Sichuan. It's an interesting piece of historical detail that Mao Zedong (and other Chinese communists) were avid lovers of spicy food . Yang Hero had its first branch in Gaisano Tabunok. It opened a branch in IT Park last May 25, 2023 . The menus had Chinese translations. The establishment has made me realize the importance of learning Mandarin . True, I could order their food without speaking Mandarin. However, I still feel that the increasing number of Chinese businesses left and right would mean, "You may need to learn some Mandarin now to connect with more people in the world." For a bit of background, here's what I gathered from Sun Star Cebu: Evanmarie Mendoza, social media specialist at Yang Hero, said: “The Chinese barbecue is also a must-try for foodies as it differs from the regular ones that we typically have here in the P...

Tealive's Aren Caramel (Kaong Sugar Caramel) Series

I usually tend to associate sugar with cane sugar. In this case, Tealive (read my review here ) uses a sugar known as gula aren. I did some research and found out that Gula Aren is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree. The fruit is also known as kaong in the Filipino language. Granted, the Filipino language also derives from the Malaysian and Indonesian languages--it may be derived from the Indonesian word kolang kaling . The Philippines may also be producing its own gula aren or palm sugar. Sugar palm or kaong is pretty much grown as a staple in Filipino cooking too. Here's a video from an Indonesian woman. Watching this, it's safe to assume that kaong farmers in the Philippines follow more or less the same routine. Maybe, some people may call it latik though latik is made from coconut milk and not coconut sap. Though, some Filipinos may still call palm sugar as latik. The video above also shows an Indonesian binignit with some kaong. I was shocked to learn kaong is also u...

Getting Stingy at the Cost of Fire Safety?

March is fire prevention month, right? If there are people who are too extravagant then I'd like to talk again about stingy people (read the article here ). I've tried growing up with the stingy vs. extravagant extremes. Some people become stingy even with the necessities. It's one thing to deny a child a children's party since it's a want . It's another thing to deny a child stuff they need all in the name of saving money . Even worse, some people may be more than stingy enough to ignore fire safety. A stingy person just wants to save. It's almost like the story of the Miser and His Gold or The Rich Miser . I really find these stories entertaining at the same time, irritating. The first story has the miser who hid his gold under the ground. Some people today are too distrustful of banks and investments. The second story has a rich man who even dresses in rags, denies his son's shoes, had his wife cook some cake only for him, and was so greedy he had it ...

Started to Invest in the ATRAM Global Equity Opportunity Feeder Fund

It's time to begin a new road into investing. I went from a moderate risk taker to a moderately aggressive risk taker. Of course, I need to be careful with how much money I invest or I don't invest the money that I need. I believe that one could start by investing 15% to 20% of one's income. Basically, it's money that's not needed now. Fortune Recommends gives this ideal sweet spot: Many of the experts we spoke with suggested, as a general rule, to invest a set percentage of your after-tax income. Although that percentage can vary depending on your income, savings, and debts. “ Ideally, you’ll invest somewhere around 15%–25% of your post-tax income, ” says Mark Henry, founder and CEO at Alloy Wealth Management. “If you need to start smaller and work your way up to that goal, that’s fine. The important part is that you actually start.” Some budgeting strategies account for this, such as the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, which breaks your monthly budget into three ca...

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