A review on a post on Legal from My E-Commerce blog

Sunday, February 22, 2009


The post that I review was How to lose your ID easily to fraudsters at home. The personal identity information is very important for all of us. This is because it have been recorded all our important information such as names, addresses, birth dates, ID numbers and bank account numbers.

If it is stolen, there is a possibility that our personal information will be use for some illegal activity purpose. The fraudsters will use this information to open bank account or apply for loans.

So it will create many trouble and inconvenience to us. Nevertheless, it will also bring the financial loss to us as well. So it is important and responsibility for us to keep our personal identity information in order to prevent the crime happens.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft can be described as a crime that involves one person appropriating the personal information of another to commit fraud. There are several types of identity theft such as true name fraud or business or commercial ID theft, account take over and criminal identity theft.

For commercial ID theft, this occurs when an identity thief uses a victim’s data to open new accounts. Such accounts are used to make large purchases which the perpetrator never pays off. Shortly after opening the account, the thief will inform the institution that the billing address has changed, and in doing so ensure that the victim does not receive the accounts to find out about the crime that has been committed in his/her name.

The secondly is account take-over, When a credit card or cheque book falls into the wrong hands, these may be used to charge purchases to the victim’s account. On-line accounts may also be hacked to do transfers to other accounts.

Third one is Criminal identity theft; this happens when a person is arrested for a crime and then gives another person’s name to the police, instead of using his/her own. A person may therefore unknowingly become a suspect in a police investigation or get fines or have outstanding warrants against his/her name.

Furthermore, we need to keep track of credit card, debit card and ATM receipts. Never throw them out in the trash, or if you do, shred them or destroy them first. When we submitted any photo stated ID or passport, we must make sure write a SAMPLE word on it in order to avoid other people duplicating it.

Therefore, the personal identity information is very important and valuable to us. So, we cannot ignore it and just throw away that receipts which we feel as rubbish, but for the fraudster, it is become a treasure for them.

So whatever receipts or paper which consist our data, it is necessary for us to destroy it first then only throw it. By doing so, I believe that this could help us to avoid our personal identity information being used by others for doing the illegal things which may cause harm to us.

Mobile payment systems in Malaysia: Its potentials and consumers’ adoption strategies

Saturday, February 14, 2009

 Malaysia being a country with over 25 million in population and 21 million mobile subscribers as at the end of year 2007, there is definitely market opportunity for mobile payment systems.Some of examples of mobile payments available in Malaysia are mobileExec and Mobile Money.


Mobile Money is a PIN-based Mobile Payment Solution designed by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd to address the limitations and bottlenecks created by cash, cheques and credit cards.
It unlock the power of the mobile phone to make payments, allowing registered users to pay for goods and services at anytime, anywhere using only a mobile phone coupled with a 6-digit security PIN (Personal Identification Number) via SMS (Short Messaging Service).
This gives the freedom to shoppers to buy products online and pay the merchant using his/her mobile phone without being physically present at the store.

Mobile payment systems can be used for purchasing musics, ringtones, wallpaper and games (there are many of these type of service or product offered in Malaysia’s newspaper). Most Malaysian buy these ringtones and games via mobile payment, either via GPRS/WAP or SMS (premium SMS based transactional payments).

There are few types of mobile transaction can be made:
  • Premium SMS transaction
  • WAP (mobile web)
  • Mobile payment providers


Premium SMS transactions are the most common in Malaysia, most mobile users download thier wallpaper, music, ringtones and mobile games by buying them through SMS payment. SMS payment requires you to send a certain code to certain number to confirm you want to buy those products.


WAP payment is similar to SMS, you are required to select product you want from the web and a confirmation message will be displayed to you with the details of product before u can confirm it.


Mobile payment provider is different they uses SMS and Web, it helps to extend the ability of mobile payment. There are few mobile payment providers in Malaysia, such as Mobile Money (http://mobile-money.com.my/index.html) who provides variety of products and services. By registering an account with mobile payment provider, you can top up your credit to them and use it to purchase products or services offered by them.

Potentials:

Celcom set up a whole mobile Banking and Wireless electronc payment solution. It will allow customers to access financial and account information at any bank and at a minimal investment by participating banks via mobile phone.

Besides that, Nokia and Visa start mobile payment project in Malaysia. Visa and Nokia have cooperated to release the world’s first credit card payment system that allows consumers to shop and pay using mobile phones.

Furthermore, it also lets people transfer money through cell phones. Nokia phones will use Visa Wave smart card technology that uses radio frequencies to eliminate the need to swipe credit card.

Mobile payments services indeed have a great potential and advantage. Consumers are more comfortable with low-value transactions over such non-traditional means. Common applications will include payment for transportation, parking, restaurants, convenience stores, retail outlets and e-tickets.

Moreover, Mobile Money will encourage more consumers to shop online. This will definitely be a great boon to the e-commerce industry in Malaysia. It will surely encourage more merchants to adopt online selling as an extra sales channel which complement perfectly with their offline sales channel to help them SELL MORE of their goods and services.

Strategies to adopt:
  • Educate consumers about mobile payments, how to use and introduce its functions (e.g. bill payment, mobile purchase)
  • Enchance security and confidence to mobile users
  • Collaborate with more banks and companies to widen the ability to pay via mobile at the same time it helps to increased customer’s satisfaction and confidence
  • Maintain customer’s loyalty

http://www.neowave.com.my/mobilemoney_overview.asp

http://e-world08.blogspot.com/2008/06/mobile-payment-systems-in-malaysia-its.html

E-Government in Malaysia: Its implementation so far and citizen’s adoption strategies.

Thursday, February 12, 2009
The implementation of electronic government started since the initiation of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) by the Malaysia Government.E-government is one of the seven flagship applications introduced in MSC. Under the e-government flagship, seven main projects were identified to be the core of the e-government applications.The e-government initiative launched the country into the Information Age. It will improve the government operates internally as well as how it delivers services to the people of Malaysia. It seeks to improve the convenience, accessibility, and quality of interactions with citizens and businesses.

Malaysia government website (www.gov.my ) allow user to download various kind of form for any government department application, quick link such as government news, jobs, complaint, weather, policy feedback and many others, resource centre and polling center. This website has dual language such as Bahasa Malaysia and English, so user can choose for the language. There are 4 types of E-government services which are Government-to-Citizen (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B), Government-to-Employee (G2E), and Government-to-Government (G2G).

According to the survey which done by Brown University on Rhode Island, United State, on international e-government ranking list, Malaysia is in the ranking of 25. Malaysia government has successfully implement the e-government. One of the most successful application are e-filling.E-filling is a method of filing of all income documents of tax payer in Malaysia, that uses an electronic format rather than a traditional paper format, from office or home through Internet. To use this services, taxpayers need to make a tax registration. Malaysia's Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will send the PIN for online tax registration through mail to the taxpayers.

The e-government projects are:
1. Project Monitoring System (PMS)
2. Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)
3. Generic Office Environment (GOE)
4. Electronic Procurement (EP)
5. Electronic Services (E-Services)
6. Electronic Labor Exchange (ELX)
7. E-Syariah

CITIZEN’S ADOPTION STRATEGIES:
1.Provide websites with multiple language version.
2.Increase awareness through TV and radio advertisements, and organising workshops at shopping malls.
3.Provide consultation services on how to use those services.
4.Simplify procedures needed to access to the e-government services.


The application of pre-paid cash card for consumers

Saturday, February 7, 2009
What is a prepaid credit card ?

A prepaid credit card can be used like any other credit card to make purchases. With a prepaid card, you can load funds onto your card and use that money to make purchases and get cash -- you are not borrowing money from a bank or other financial institution. The prepaid credit cards look, feel and work like a credit card but are pre-funded "stored-value" cards. This allows you to set spending limits for you or your kids.

Who needs a prepaid credit card?

1. Budget: conscious people-People who want to limit their spending limit.

2.Parents: Parents who want to teach teens how to create a budget, manage money, and shop wisely.

3.Students: Teenagers who don't have budgeting skills yet.

4.People with bad or no credit history: People with damaged or no credit history.

5.People looking for an excellent gift idea: Gift receipients enjoy freedom of their choice.
The prepaid credit cards can be used for:
1. Purchases
2. Money management for young adults
3. Travel including reserving a hotel and rental car
4. Emergency needs
5. Cash access at ATMs
6. Employee wages & expenses
7. Electronic payments
8. Gift-giving

How does a prepaid credit card work?

It is a pre-paid, reloadable card can be used anywhere Visa or MasterCard is accepted -- at stores, gas stations, restaurants, theaters, in the mall and online. Making a hotel and rental car reservation is a snap. You can also access cash at ATM's. The card is great for everyday purchases, special occasions, and emergency back up.

Unlike a credit card, though, each purchase is deducted from the pre-paid balance on the card. Best of all, because it's not a credit card, there are no finance charges, no late fees, and no accumulation of debt. Beside that, it also accepted anywhere a Visa or MasterCard is accepted, can be used to withdraw cash from an ATM and relodable.

Why do you want to use a prepaid credit card?

a) Safer than cash
When cash is lost, it is gone forever. However, if your prepaid credit card is ever lost or stolen, you're protected by Visa or MasterCard's no liability policy.
b) Budgeting
You set the spending limits by the prepaid amount loaded on the card. Prepaid credit cards make it easy to get your spending under control and shop wisely.
c) Teaching tool
Parents can sign up for their teens: they set spending limits by loading the card with a certain amount of money and monitor where their children are spending it. Prepaid card meets the spending needs of teens and helps develop responsible financial behavior. With online tracking of purchases, parents and teens can discuss spending and budgeting.

How is the prepaid credit card different from regular credit cards?

The prepaid credit card looks like a credit card - it has the Visa or MasterCard logo and hologram -and allows the convenience of cashless purchases like a signature-based credit card, with no PIN input required at the point-of-sale. However, it does not have a "line of credit" because it accesses pre-loaded money. You load funds onto your Card and use that money to make purchases and get cash - you are not borrowing money from a bank or other financial institution.

Two Types of Prepaid Cards: Open and Closed -System Prepaid Cards

The popularity of prepaid credit cards is rising. Visa and MasterCard are issuing prepaid, or pre-denominated, stored-value cards, as they're called, that can be used anywhere Visa or MasterCard are accepted. There are two types of prepaid cards: Closed-system and open-system prepaid cards.
Closed-system prepaid cards are those issued by and redeemable at a single merchant (or merchant chain). Closed-system retailer gift card programs focus on a single application: providing a prepaid card product to consumers solely for making purchases at a single merchant or, in some cases, a group of retail merchants.

The open-system network is differentiated from the closed-system network by the fact that open-system prepaid cards are branded by a payment card network. Network branding makes it possible for open-system prepaid cards to be processed using the same “tracks” as traditional debit and credit cards. As a result, these branded prepaid cards are accepted at any merchant that accepts the network brand on the card. For example, a Visa-branded prepaid card can be redeemed by its holder at any merchant that accepts Visa-branded debit cards.Open-system gift cards are issued by a third party, such as a bank or money transmitter, and carry the brand of a card association or other payment network. They can be used at any merchant that accepts the brand on the card.


Review a local e-commerce site

Thursday, February 5, 2009




http://www.blooming.com.my/ is the local e-commerce website which I choose to review. It is a local florist company called Blooming Florist Sdn Bhd. the mission of the company is to provide their customers QUALITY FLOWERS and QUALITY SERVICE.

The products and services of Blooming Florist includes:
a) Flowers
b) Hand Bouquet
c) Cookies and cake
d) fruit baskets, etc.




The speed of the website is fast which just a few second for display it. At the homepage, it has shown the variety of the products and services by clearly stated with the price. Click to the picture which you like to buy, it will show you the detail of the flowers and the materials. The arrangement or coordination of the list is made customers inconvenient for looking their products. However, this problem can solve by the search engine. The search engine helps consumers to search for the product which they want easily. Blooming Florist can accept customers’ payment by using online credit card payment, e-banking, mobile payment, cash payment and so on.

Blooming Florist has provide some useful information for consumer in the left hand side which stated “How 2s”. The information is such as floral arrangement tips and meanings of flowers.

The layout of the homepage is well which decorated with colorful picture of their products. However, the font size is small if compare to other website. This will give user uncomfortable. In conclusion, the Blooming Florist website provides convenient to consumer can order their products through online or visit their retail outlets.

A review on a post on e-tailing from My E-Commerce blog

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

According to the blog which post the title of Open Table.com online restaurant reservation on the My E-commerce. (http://ecommerze.blogspot.com/search/label/e-Tailing)


OpenTable.com is an innovative e-commerce business model services which started in 1999. This business model provides a convenience service for nowadays people especially for those who live in New York and San Francisco. OpenTable.com offered for register as a restaurant member of OpenTable.com in order to manage reservation and improve customer services themselves.


Form the blog, OpenTable.com become popular due to some reasons such as the customers can conduct the reservation outside the business hours. It also provides one-click cancellation for the reservation. Besides, OpenTable.com can let customer to leave some message to the restaurants in his or her reservation. For diners, they can efficient way to find available tables that meet desired criteria for cuisine, price and location at a specified time from the websites which provides in the seconds.




OpenTable.com has taken more than 40 million reservations. This attracts many notable restaurants to become as a member of the OpenTable.com such as Daniel in New York. In my view, these restaurants would like to increase their reputation and the customer services.


Would like to book a table for the particular restaurant? Just explore to www.opentable.com which can help you....However Malaysia not yet have this good sound e-commerce business model. Hope someone can implement it soon!!




How to safeguard our personal and financial data?

Nowadays internet becomes a common tool for everyone to connect and communicate each other throughout the world. Most of time, we will rely on computer to save our personal data and using online financial services to do financial transactions such as e-banking in order to safe time. Moreover, when we register to become a member of particular website, we need to fill in some personal information.

The information is including name, date of birth, gender, address, telephone, e-mail address, occupation and interests. “Personal Financial Information” means any record containing a customer of a financial institution, whether in paper, electronic, or in other form, that is handled by behalf of the institution or its affiliates.

When we make the online purchase, the company will record consumer information records such as names, addresses, phone numbers, bank and credit card account numbers and et-cetera. Therefore, do you think the safeguards that you make are sufficient enough to protect your confidential data?

There are some suggestions that for you to safeguard your data:
i. Password protect
Use a strong password or pass-phrase to protect your access data. Do not reveal any personal information or particularly passwords to anyone. After using any of the Financial Data Center or member services, must remember to log out properly before leaving the Financial Data Center.
ii. Install and update antispyware and antivirus programs
Install an antivirus program such as Symantec and Norton antivirus, AVG antivirus or other more in order to protect yourself against viruses and Trojan horses that may steal or modify the data on your own computer . In order for the well protection, you must must sure to keep your virus definitions up to date.

iii. Install a firewall

A firewall is a software program designed to allow good people in and keep bad people out. Most new computers come with firewalls integrated into their operating systems. If you have an older computer or using dial-up, you may need to buy a firewall separately and install it yourself.

iv. Regularly scan your computer for spyware

Spyware or adware hidden in software programs may affect the performance of your computer and give attackers access to your data. Use a legitimate anti-spyware program to scan your computer and remove any of the infected files. Install antispyware and antivirus software. Symantec, Norton and Avg antivirus are popular software use by computer users. Its clean computer and protect personal information, financial data and etc.

v. Avoid accessing financial information in public

Prevent form logging on to check your bank balance when working from a coffee shop that offers wireless access. Although the systems are convenient but we do not know how powerful their firewalls are.

There are also few approaches on how to safeguard our personal and financial data:

If share information with another user or use internet services on a public computer such as school computer lab or Internet cafe, must remember to close the browser window. That is to prevent other users from reading your personal information and mail.

Avoid using passwords that are easy for someone to guess.

Web owner can use access control mechanism which limits actions that can be performed by an authenticated person or group. It determines who can use the network resource and what resource can be used.

Keep your card close. Whether you are out shopping or eating out, watch how clerks handle your card. Then take your receipt with you and never throw it away in a public place.

Pay attention when using an ATM and keep your eyes peeled for anyone who seems a little too interested in your transactions. Use your free hand to shield the keypad when entering your PIN. Besides that, banker can add on fingerprint scanning on ATM machine.

keep credit cards to a minimum. Only keep the ones you actually use and destroy any that you no longer use by shredding them.


All people should cooperate between each other to prevent reveal our own or consumer personal and financial data to others people. So, by preventing it will helps us be more secure when we using internet service or doing others transaction process online.

References:

http://ecommercesite.wordpress.com/2008/06/20/how-to-safeguard-our-personal-and-financial-data/

http://amazingcommerce.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/how-to-safeguard-our-personal-and-financial-data/

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