My first Facebook spam

Tricksters are getting trickier. Right on my birthday, i got my first Facebook spam message from Barrister Jamal Bob. Through experience, they must've learnt that victims are most likely to respond on a birthday.

So Barrister Jamal Bob is a personal attorney to Late Mr. Johan. C. Lagad, who died in a motor accident with his wife and his only daughter and left US$6.5 million dollars with a bank in Africa... for who else but me! Lucky me!!

Its a variation of the Nigerian 419 scam - called as the Inheritance scam. And wikipedia tell us that in 2008 an American woman lost $400,000 to this type of scam, after an e-mail told her she had inherited money from her long-lost grandfather. She actually had a grandfather whom her family had lost touch with, and whose initials matched those given in the e-mail. My dear friend Barrister Jamal Bob was slightly off target.

Here is the original Facebook message:

Dear Tejas Lagad,

I am Barrister Jamal Bob, personal attorney to Late Mr. Johan. C. Lagad, a national of your country,
Who died in a motor accident with his wife and his only daughter along Kpalime express Road and left some huge amount of money with a bank here in Lome Togo West Africa, valued at US$6.5 million dollars. I have contacted you to assist me.
I will email to you further details as you show full interest.

REPLY TO MY PRIVATE EMAIL FOR FURTHER DETAILS. jamalbob001@yahoo.com

MAY GOD BLESS YOU HE WILL GIVE U SUCCESS.
Mr. Jamal Bob.

City vs Jazz vs Verna

A cousin recently asked for my help to choose between the Honda City 2008, Honda Jazz and the Hyundai Verna. Here is the quick analysis:

Summary

Feature	Honda City 2008 1.5 V MT	Honda Jazz Mode	Hyundai Verna VTVT SX 1.6
Cost effective			
Safety			
Space			
Mileage Overall (km/liter)			
Power			
Maneuverability			
Folding Rear-Seat			
Alloy Wheels			
Tubeless Tyres			
Front Fog Lights			

Technical

Feature	Honda City 2008 1.5 V MT	Honda Jazz Mode	Hyundai Verna VTVT SX 1.6
Price (Ex-Showroom Mumbai)	Rs. 9,35,400	Rs. 7,69,160	Rs. 7,52,667
Air-Bags			
Overall Length (mm)	4420	3900	4310
Overall Width (mm)	1695	1695	1695
Overall Height (mm)	1480	1535	1490
Mileage Overall (km/liter)	14.8	13.8	10.78
Displacement (cc)	1497	1198	1599
Power (PS@rpm)	118@6600	90@6200	103@5500
Minimum Turning Radius (meter)	5.3	4.9	5
Folding Rear-Seat			
Alloy Wheels			
Tubeless Tyres			
Front Fog Lights			

Source: carwale.com

Verdict

Jazz has the poorest value for money. So junk the Jazz unless you fall for its looks. I didn't.

Verna has the best value for money. It delivers an almost complete car at the cost of the Jazz. Yes, the mileage is poor. But it's not poor enough to outrightly reject it as a viable option. At current fuel prices (@50 Rs per litre) you will need to drive 145,000 kms to match the higher cost of the City. Of course, once fuel is deregulated and the world economy bounces back this may change - @100 Rs per litre, you will break even with the City at 73,000 kms.

So a Verna is highly recommended – unless airbags are an absolute must for you. They are for me.

City delivers good value for money. You just need to decide whether you are willing to pay an additional 2 lacs for the improved safety, mileage… and a bit of status.