Beware e-mail scams.

I opened this blog up again so that anybody searching on google for these email addresses could read my experience (that is, if google lists it.) I don't think anybody is silly enough to fall for this, all I'm saying is don't get your hopes up in the initial mails...it'll end up like this.

Today I was targeted by a group in Cameroon trying to profit from people who have lost their pets. I have not sent them any money and I have notified petsonthenet.co.nz (where I was contacted) about the incident. As I am unsure who else to contact, I will attach the e-mail correspondence here, and hopefully this scheme can be blacklisted, as it caused a lot of distress for me.

My cat has been missing for a month and tonight as I was working I got an e-mail replying to an advert I'd put up on petsonthenet which is a New Zealand ad listing for lost pets. They said that they'd just come back from the home of a lady who had our cat and I should get in contact with her. So they gave an address, and I thanked them and contacted this lady. We were very excited but cautious...we hadn't heard anything for a month, we wanted it to be true but it almost seemed too good to be true.

Very soon it became apparent that something wasn't quite right. The person we contacted didn't leave any phone number, and the english was somewhat off. Not only that but it was a really bizarre name that wasn't listed in the New Zealand white pages. I decided to use trusty old google to find out who this person was. They said that they worked for an international courier company and a man had been apprehended trying to smuggle our cat out of the country.

The first link I found was somebody else who had a missing pet and had been contacted by this person. Instantly I knew my suspicions were correct. The e-mails I was getting back from these people didn't correspond to the physical address listed for the company in New Zealand. Not only that but previously this person had apprehended a pet going across the channel from France to Britain. Way to be in two places at once!

A little more digging and I hit the jackpot. On the fraud prevention forums, there was a huge thread about scammers selling pets from Cameroon. Not only that but my e-mails were getting more and more suspect. They said they had taken pictures of the pet I had asked for, but the 'manager' of their unit wouldn't let them send the pictures. How convenient. Trying to dig out more information we sent a fake address to them to find out how much money they wanted us to send for the 'safe return' of our pet. Pfftsh, how thick do they think we are?

These people are scum. Absolute scum. They prey on people who have lost beloved pets, people desperate to hear any news.

-----------------------
Hi

I am call Frank.I meet the pet with one lady call Lyod when i was going to our center.She was trying to trace the owner of the pet.I got her email address as lyodcas@yahoo.com Write to her it may be of help.[/quote]

from Lyold Catle < lyodcas@yahoo.com>
Hi
The pet is with me.Be calm everything is .I work with the
Cameron
import unit.I discovered this pet from a man.It seems he was
trying to
smuggle these pet to Cameron but you have chance everything is ok
now.So
how can i hand it to you? or you will come over here to the
cam custom
unit

from Lyold Catle < lyodcas@yahoo.com>

We will need a detail description of it from you to be sure you are really the owner.And where you thing it got missing if possible a picture of it from you.We can agree with that then that will be no problem because we will send it to you as soon as possible.Thanks
Cam custom

This is the camunit main office.So which address shall we use to send the pet.
We have already been notified by the camunit worker Lyod.
All the vet checkings are intact and will come along to you.
We have taken it's pictures but the custom unit manager have refussed the pet picture on air.
But have doubt we have seen the rectifications you've seen.
We are waiting for the address
Thanks
Camcustom offices
#ln24638 locow
Bamenda cameroon.

from Camimports Imporrts < camimports@yahoo.com>

The pet is at that the head office and the cam manger had earlier refused the puting of pets picture on air.We are sorry.We need an address to send it to you.
Thanks
Camcustom unit.

From: Camimports Imporrts <camimports@yahoo.com>

Date: Nov 11, 2007 2:11 AM
Subject: Re: Missing companion animal


The manager have just leave to the airport.The companion animal will be with you by
tomorrow.We already have all the reservations at the airport so the
kick off will be possible.
This is the airport email address camairway@airportbusinessmail.com
it will be good you forward the address to the airport. Although the
manager went with it.

Thanks
camcustom unit.

From camirline lines < camairway@airportbusinessmail.com>
reply-to camairway@airportbusinessmail.com,
date Nov 11, 2007 2:47 AM
subject Re: Fwd: Missing pet
------------------

Greetings
We are writting you to keep you informed that your pet is with us for shipping.
The pet has just enter the airport through the custom unit manager.
The shipping cost was $400.The pet's feeding programme arrangement have been programmed by the airport manager.The pet will kick with the next flight.As soon as everything is put in place.
We need the nearest airport to you that the pet will come in.Our services are doing home delivery so if you wish the pet should be brought right at your home then we will need the full home address.
All left is the electronic cratings fees($250).As soon as the electronic cratings fees($250) is made available then we will write to you with the pet's arriver time
Thanks
Customer care unit.
Camair management.

-----------------

From camirline lines < camairway@airportbusinessmail.com>
reply-to camairway@airportbusinessmail.com,
date Nov 11, 2007 2:47 AM
subject Re: Fwd: Missing pet

All have been set for the kick off.Please hurry up so that he companion animal should not miss the next flight.This is the airport accountant's payment address
Accountnat's names.................Mary Ngallis
Airport addresss...................Bamenda Cameroon
Send the fees through the western union and write to us with the reference number and your full names.It will be better you hurry up so that the companion animal should not miss the next flight.As soon as the fees reaches us,we will write you with it's arriver time.
Thanks
Customer care unit
Camair management.

So now I was enjoying wasting their time.

from camirline lines
date Nov 11, 2007 6:37 AM
subject Re: Fwd: Missing pet

We are waiting on you.

That's nice :)

Hi,
We have been waiting for the reference number of the money and your full names so that the pet can leave.
The kick off was programmed for yesterday but we could not have the reference number.
We need the 10 digits number from the western union and your full names that you use to send the money before the kick off can be possible.The airport manager had to reshedule the flight for today.We are waiting on you.
Thanks
Camair management.

So I said...

I'm trying to find the 10 digit number for you now.
How is his ear? He got into a terrible fight and lost most of it, it was still infected when he left because we hadn't taken him to the vet....I'm worried that he will get blood poisoning....

And they said

The number have not reach us yet.Please you better hurry up with the 10 digits reference number because the next flight will soon be programmed for kickoff.It will be wise the pet goes with the net flight.The pet's ear have been taken care of by the vet doctor.It will be wise you hurry up with the number and your full names.
Thanks
Customer care unit.
Cam air management.

How could they be stupid enough to fall for that one? Goodness grief.

Let's finish this thing...

That's funny, because he's sitting right here on my lap. He's never lost part of his ear, and he's perfectly healthy.

I have passed on these e-mails to the authorities. It was obvious immediately that you were running a scam. Do you understand what border control is? I'll let you think about that one for a while.

I'm not dead

I will rehaul this blog soon. Actually I have plans to relaunch it as an information page for vegetarians living in Auckland/New Zealand, and people who want to save energy etc, as well as relevant news.

Day 30 of having absolutely no heating. Installed the shower timer...bills are still relatively high because of 1 meter managed and GST. Grr!

Japanese and charcoal

The house is still a mess. I don't understand how two people can make such a mess to be honest. We have yet to put the floor down and I'm getting very frustrated by the lack of progress on our business. We have the planks of laminate flooring stacked up against the wall and our bedroom is filled to the brim with magazines, boxes, rugs, you name it. So yes, the house is filthy, dirty, in disarray and my fragile mental state cannot handle it.

My sleep is always interrupted, for the past few days I haven't completed a full 5 hour sleep cycle. Oliver comes to bed late after watching movies or television which wakes me up. Then Smella (our cat, Ella) will scrape and scratch away inside the enclosed litter tray, emerging with shit all over her paws and backside. This happens around 5-6 A.M. After I run around trying to catch her, I have to wake Oliver who moans and groans and generally gets violent. After we clean her and dry her then she will come under the covers making a big damp patch on the sheets. If I manage to go to sleep then it will be interrupted by James wanting food and to be let outside. So 8:30A.M I get up and give James (our other cat) his breakfast and let him out.

Then the builders arrive.

They've been building houses at the back of our house for 7 months and boy are these builders slow. Sometimes if they're feeling rowdy they'll turn their radio on so loud that you would be forgiven for thinking there was a Wembley concert outside. So, weary, I trudge up the stairs and crawl back into bed where I fail to complete a 5 hour cycle as that would seriously eat up my day. I spend the rest of the day looking longingly at the bed or any soft surface that will take me. Repeat the process again....and again...and again.

So mess + lack of sleep + pressure to build this business and fulfil all the duties expected of me are taking the toll. Did I mention lack of money? Oh yeah. I have none.

In other more positive happy news, I have started studying Japanese with the help of two friends, one old and one new. The old friend is Bevan who moved to Japan with his girlfriend Chihiro last year. The other is a new friend I met at a Japanese manga library in Auckland center, Emiri. Today I went in and she helped me read a hiragana learning book for 3 year olds. She even set homework. Emiri you're a hard taskmaster. Mistress. ONI-COACH!

More fun..not really

I had another lapse in junk food judgement yesterday. Sitting at my computer I had a sudden craving for something very savoury. Being tired and too lazy to go to the supermarket (it was midnight) I asked Oliver to get me some Balsamic Vinegar and Onion crisps. BIG MISTAKE. He came home with 2 huge packets of these crisps and they were gone in minutes. Yes minutes. The worst part was, I kid you not, after only about 10 minutes I felt something sore in my mouth. I'm sure a doctor would tell me this was impossible but an ulcer had appeared. Not only that but my tongue was grated from the excess salt in the crisps. I didn't even feel satisfied afterwards.

Cradling a bowl of quinoa soaked in homemade vegetable stock with lightly seared capsicums and onions, I decided never again to make that mistake. The quinoa was delicious, light enough to be snacky, savoury enough to satisfy my cravings and didn't come with a sense of guilt.

Of course I'll make the same mistake next week or the week after but for now I can hope.

Last night I had orange kumara with nacho mix again. I love the combination of sweet soft potato with a very savoury sharp nacho mix. Due to the amount of oil in it, probably not the healthiest option but who knows, maybe I can wean myself off the oil.

Today I got up early and prepared the dough to make some pita bread. I'm aching from 10 minutes of kneading, hopefully the pita bread will turn out well. Still no camera. My blog is boring.

Some life things

This blog sure is boring without my camera. Brand name chargers are just so ridiculously expensive and generic chargers are just useless. Hopefully I can beg, steal or borrow (okay not steal) a charger some time in the not too distant future.

I can't really recall what happened in the past few days. James went missing on Sunday afternoon. We were worried sick when he didn't come back for his dinner (around 6-8pm). When he wasn't back by midnight, we were panicking even more. After multiple searches we gave up around 2:30am and went to sleep. The next morning he still wasn't back which spawned another series of searches in the blistering heat (isn't it winter?) to no avail. Finally, he came back in the evening, ate a lot of food and went to sleep until the next morning. Who knows what he got up to out there.

My work visa was only granted for 7 months which I'm really disappointed about. I thought I was applying for 2 years and wouldn't have to worry about the whole application mess for a while. It cost me $1900 so I am incredibly disappointed. I would have received more time if I had applied on my own and I would have saved $1400.

Client had a bit of a spazzy at us, it's true what they say, the people who pay the least are always the most demanding clients. They have no sense of value and turn into two headed monsters, demanding and trying to get their own way. We lost money on this client, we lost time. We can't set up our studio until their wedding is finished. We tried to make something nice for them and we got a very rude "not negotiable" to their terms. We were so disappointed and upset that all the work we had done for them was deemed "unacceptable" and "worthless"and that now we have to keep working on their DVD and not being able to continue with our business.

Recent food? Roasted golden kumara with nacho mix, very delicious. A fantastic 'butter vegetable curry' made by Oliver himself. He tried to replicate it the second night but it tasted completely different - I worry that we'll never have that delicious curry again. it made me shout out I LOVE BEING VEGAN!

Although I'm not really a vegan, I just try my best to be. :)

Back to more simple things

So after my culinary meltdown last week I decided once and for all to put an end to my whining. I resolved to go back to the basics.

It just makes sense. I'm a fussy eater and even though my parents are gourmands, I never embraced more exotic flavours. I'm going to try to make great simple food, with as little packaging involved as possible.

Today, I had planned to indulge and have a long nap. Alas, it wasn't to be as I heard my cat scratching on the floor and realised with an inward groan that she had once again managed to get shit all over her ass. So I got up, cleaned her and then set out to do the chores. I had 5 full loads of washing to do as Auckland had been very rainy preventing us from doing any laundry. It was a beautiful day and I managed to get everything on the line and dried by 4pm.

While I was waiting for the laundry to dry I set up a pot full of roughly chopped vegetables on their way out and set them to simmer in water so I could have a freshly made home stock. The smells filling the house were delicious (and look ma, no packaging!). After 3 hours the stock was ready although perhaps it didn't make as much as I had anticipated. I need a bigger pot!

I took the leftover vegetables, discarded the onion skins (they make the stock go brown for those who don't know, and help preserve the delicious onion flavour) and blended them into another soup base. Again, no packaging! On a roll I managed to do a weeks worth of stacked up washing which Oliver had been promising to do but obviously hadn't. Played with my two cats, swept the floor, threw away rubbish...

And now I have to make dinner. I have a craving for gnocchi even though I can't afford it. I think I'll try a mushroom dish with quinoa and cashews.

Last night's dinner was a huge success, a whole wheat pasta tomato dish. The secret ingredient? Not that secret. Beer! Yes I know not all beer is vegetarian. To be honest none of them list ingredients. I think I read somewhere that the brand I bought is not clarified with animal products, on Monday I will call each brewery and ask what clarifying method they use. I fried up some nutmeat with garlic and onions, then let it simmer in the beer which made the nutmeat sweet with a hint of sharpness. Then added in freshly chopped tomatoes and tinned italian tomatoes. A bit of brown sugar and vegetable stock and a lot of dried oregano finished it off. Very simple and light on the stomach. It kept me going all evening.

My pudding was roasted unsalted cashews. I keep going back for more, by the time I'm done I won't have any left for the cashew cheese!

Work visa and more

Well, not that much more. Anyway as the title suggests, I got a 2 year work visa 2 days ago. I have yet to pick it up - I really should hurry and get my passport back. Now my efforts need to be concentrated on not only getting more work lined up for our fledgling business but also getting a part time job which will allow me to pay bills.

I'm not sure where I'll work, one thing I do know is that I'm sick of working in places surrounded by downtrodden people who hate their jobs. I haven't ever worked with people who love what they do. This leads to so much bitchiness in the workplace, superiority complexes and more. This results in newcomers (usually me) being treated like simpletons, being bossed around and eventually dismissed.

I'd love to work at the library, I love books. Love the quiet. I want to prove to an employer that I do enjoy working and that I have something to offer. Who knows where I'll end up.

I'm struggling with the whole vegan thing lately. I know that I get into these moods pretty frequently - even when I did eat meat and dairy. Lately I feel as if my culinary skills have completely abandoned me. Whether it's because I have to rush out meals before Oliver goes to work or something else I don't know. Currently I am limited by a few things however:

1. Lack of money. We're hit by large bills every week and can't really afford many ingredients. I love mushrooms, kumara and frozen goods such as veaty bites but they're all very expensive. Tasty whole grain pastas, rice and gnocchi are also out of my reach.
2. Having to cook for 3 people. I am terrible at increasing portion sizes which usually results in the meal not tasting very good.
3. Not buying packaged goods. I've been on a resolve to buy as little packaging as possible. I put fresh vegetables into our eco bag and even though I get funny looks at the checkout counter when I unload them, I feel better not taking pointless plastic home with me. I only buy things in cans when I have to, they can be recycled and I avoid most things in any sort of plastic. So the whole 'convenience food' thing is out for me, most convenience foods are in plastic.

I really don't want to give up, tonight I had a delicious sushi which didn't have a scrap of animal products in. It was fun being at the restaurant, sharing the table with a stranger, even with Celine Dion belting out over the speakers it felt very comfortable sitting there in such a small cosy room eating such tasty food. But I can't afford to eat out often and when I do the choices can be limited.

I have to be a better cook otherwise I'll just go back to eating cheese. I love cheese. Don't get me wrong I won't just eat any cheese if I can help it but cheese just makes stuff taste good.

Sigh. How do other vegans do it? Why does my cooking suck so hard...