Malay Mail 8 December 2005

It’s a con, says netpreneur
SUSHMA VEERA
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8

The public are advised not to fall for any pyramid scheme involving Internet entrepreneur Noor Irfan Khairi Noor Azmi.

Noor Irfan, who is better known as Irfan Khairi, said certain parties are circulating an SMS, urging people to join the scheme, which they claim was initiated by him. "I am shocked," he said.

Noor Irfan, 29, said he got to know about the scheme last week when friends and relatives started calling him to find out if it’s true.

"One of the readers of my book had also called to confirm if I had initiated the scheme. This is a serious issue and it can affect my credibility," he said.

The SMS, which is in Bahasa Melayu, states: "Program sharing SMS oleh Irfan Khairi, jutawan Internet Malaysia. Modal RM6.20 sekali sahaja, dapat 50 sen setiap x orang register hingga 3 level. Pegguna prepaid mesti ada kredit RM7 untuk register. Lepas dapat ID hantar kepada kawan seberapa ramai. Taip EBOOK REG XXXXX dan hantar kepada XXXXX. Ikut arahan seterusnya."

Translated, it goes something like this: Sharing programme by Irfan Khairi, Malaysian Internet millionaire. Invest RM6.20, once only and get 50 sen for each person who registers, up to three levels. Prepaid users must have a credit of RM7 to register. Upon getting the ID, forward to as many friends. Type EBOOK REG XXXXX and sent it to XXXXX. Follow the next instruction.

Irfan lodged a police report on Nov 23. "I recently announced plans to motivate youngsters and run self-development programmes for them. Such SMS will jeopardise my credibility," said Irfan, a multimedia system developer and consultant.

"I would like to inform the public that I am not involved with any Internet pyramid scheme.

"As a professional in the Internet industry, I treat this as a serious matter. Any wrongdoing on the Internet will jeopardise the ICT industry of Malaysia. If no action is taken against such a nuisance, there will be more irresponsible parties misusing ICT.

"An investigation is underway and I have been liaising with my lawyers on legal action," he said.

Irfan, a graduate in multimedia design from United Kingdom, has created an Internet learning system for schools in the United Kingdom, called the Learning Grid.

He started his Internet business, working from home using his laptop. His Internet business, which is under the name of Idea Bubble, has served more than 3,000 customers around the globe.