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IN THIS ISSUE:
Editor's Notes
Inspirational Quotes
Featured Articles
How to Spot a Scam a Mile Off
7 Important Tips on Investigating a Business Opportunity
Great Sites
Advertising
Shameless Self-Promotion
Feedback
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Instructions
One of the most popular pages on about-the-web.com is about
avoiding scams, hoaxes and urban legends on the Internet
(http://about-the-web.com/shtml/scams.shtml).
So I thought
I'd take this opportunity to publish a couple of good
articles I've read lately on the subject of scams.
As a general rule of thumb, beware of any offer that sounds
too good to be true. This applies to products being offered
on auction sites and especially to any unsolicited offer or
spam. My advise is to "can the spam" by immediately hitting
the delete key on any email from anyone you don't know.
The term "spam", in case you don't know, refers to any
unsolicited bulk email. If it's not addressed to you, or
you don't recognize the sender, or you're being asked to
buy something or pass along questionable information, then
that's spam.
The best way to avoid spam, is to be very careful about who
you give your email address to. My advise here is to set up
a free email account and to give this email address to
anyone you don't absolutely trust with your personal
information. It almost never does any good to fight back
against spam. Your best course of action is just to delete
any unwanted email.
In addition to spams and scams, the other thing to watch
out for on the Internet is hoaxes, urban legends and false
information. There are many of these floating around the
Internet these days. Beware of any email that asks you to
send money for any cause or to forward the email to all
your friends. Almost all of these are hoaxes. An excellent
resource for information on hoaxes, urban legends and false
information is http://urbanlegends.about.com/index.htm
Another category of hoaxes involves virus warnings. If you
receive information that indicates you can get a computer
virus from doing anything except opening an email
attachment or running an application, then this is probably
false information.
Most computer viruses are passed by users opening email
attachments that contain the virus. NEVER OPEN AN EMAIL
ATTACHMENT THAT YOU ARE NOT EXPECTING. Even if you
know the sender, make sure the attachment is legitimate
before opening it. It is much safer to delete any
questionable attachments and ask the sender to resend them
than to assume that the sender intended to send that email.
Your best defenses against computer viruses are: caution in
downloading programs from questionable sources, regularly
scanning your drive with virus protection software, and
backing up all your important data to a different drive or
media (floppy, Zip or CD-ROM) as soon as possible.
Always check out any offer or information you receive
before sending any money or passing along the information
to someone else. Most of this stuff is just junk mail.
About-the-web.com is a resource for new users to the
Internet. Our mission is to provide newcomers a place to
learn about browsers, e-mail programs, search engines,
making money, avoiding scams, creating and promoting web
sites, and some simple tips for a better web surfing
experience. More advanced users will find useful links to
other sites.
We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. We
also welcome any tips, tricks or great web sites that you
would like to share. Send me an e-mail and we'll publish
all the most relevant ones in this newsletter.
Welcome to the seventh issue of What's New About-the-Web!
I intend that you find this newsletter interesting and
inspiring. Please pass it along to a friend.
"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does
not ask remains a fool forever."
Chinese Proverb
"If you believe everything you read, better not read."
Japanese Proverb
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Featured Articles:
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-------------------------------
How to Spot a Scam a Mile Off
-------------------------------
Copyright 2001 Elena Fawkner
Received the following forwarded email from a subscriber
this morning:
"I am an Executive Director with the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and a member of the Contract
Advisory Committee (CAC). I am seeking your assistance to
enable me transfer the sum of $26,500,000 (Twenty Six
Million, Five hundred Thousand United States Dollars) into
your private/company account."
Carole told me she has received "3 or 4 of these in the
last week, I think from different people. I deleted the
others. It makes me nervous. Sounds like a dangerous scam. "
That's exactly what it is, of course. Maybe you're reading
this thinking "I can't believe people are still falling for
the Nigeria scam after all this time". On the other hand,
maybe you're reading this thinking, "Wow, I might have
responded to that. How am I supposed to know what's a scam
and what's real?
The reality is that there are hundreds of thousands of
people coming online, for the first time, each year. Many
of these people have simply not been exposed to scams like
the ones that are constantly touted on the Internet before.
Many of these people come online to try and find a way to
make money with their computers and/or they're looking for
ideas for making money from home.
The fact that they may not recognize scams off the bat
doesn't mean they're naive or stupid, it just means that
they haven't been in an environment where this sort of
stuff came their way before now. And don't the scammers
know it.
Like vultures circling overhead, they await their prey.
They know they have only a narrow window of opportunity
because it doesn't take newbies long to catch on so they
have to be quick about it. And how do they do that? They
hang out where newbies hang out so they can get them while
they're still young and fresh and vulnerable. They're
nothing but predators looking to pick off the easiest game.
Wouldn't want to have to engage in any real work, after all.
In this article we look at several main scams and how to
recognize them.
=> Nigerian Advance Fee Scheme
The gist of this worldwide scheme is that small to
medium-size businesses receive a letter from someone who
purports to be an official of the Nigerian government or
major utility or similar who needs to transfer some huge
amount of money out of the country. The money typically is
an overpayment by the government on a procurement contract.
The object of the exercise is to get you to provide your
bank account details (for the purpose of wire transferring
the money of course). Surprise surprise, there's a transfer
all right but not INTO your account!
=> The FTC "Dirty Dozen"
These are the top 12 scams that have been identified by the
(U.S.) Federal Trade Commission as the most likely to arrive
via email:
1. Business Opportunities - often pyramid schemes (see
below) thinly disguised as legitimate opportunities to earn
money. What to look for: high returns with little or no
effort or cash outlay required.
2. Bulk Email - offers of lists of thousands of email
addresses all of whom, of course, are just dying to receive
your marketing message. What to look for: "Bulk Email Works!
10,000 addresses for $9.99."
3. Chain Letters - send $5 to the next name on the list
then cross the bottom name off the list, replace it with
your own, then forward the letter to 500 of your nearest
and dearest. What to look for: A jail cell. This is a
pyramid scheme and is illegal. The letter goes to great
pains to say that it is not illegal.
4. Envelope Stuffing - think you're going to be paid for
stuffing envelopes? Think again. You get a kit that you can
turn around to recruit others to an envelope stuffing scam
of your very own! Watch out for craft assembly work as
well. You'll probably find all of your hard work is not up
to their exacting "quality standards" and therefore you
won't get paid for your work.
5. Health and Diet Scams - magic pills that eradicate the
need to eat fewer calories than you expend in order to lose
weight. They don't work.
6. Effortless Income - no such thing. As the FTC says, if
they worked, everyone would be doing it.
7. Free Goods - you're told you'll get a free computer. You
have to pay a fee to join a club and then told you have to
recruit other members. You get paid in computers. They're
nothing but pyramid schemes.
8. Investment Opportunities - look for outrageously high
rates of return with no risk.
9. Cable Descrambler Kits - they probably won't work and
even if they do, you're stealing a service from a cable
company and committing a crime.
10. Guaranteed Loans or Credit - pay a fee and you're given
a list of lenders, all of whom turn you down. Credit cards
never arrive.
11. Credit Repair - no matter how bad your credit, pay
these people and they'll fix it. They generally just advise
you how to lie on future credit applications - how to commit
fraud in other words.
12. Vacation Prize Promotions - your accommodations will be
so bad you'll want to pay for an upgrade. You'll probably
have to pay to schedule a vacation at the time you want as
well.
=> Pyramid Schemes
Make money by recruiting members into the program without
giving anything of equal value in exchange for membership
fees. Contrast MLM (multi-level marketing schemes). These
are not pyramid schemes because they involve the sale of
products and services in return for membership.
=> Medical Billing
Prepackaged businesses requiring an investment of $2,000 to
$8,000. Few people who purchase one of these "businesses"
are able to find clients, start a business and generate
revenues. Competition in this area is fierce and
concentrated around a few big, well-entrenched firms.
=> Your In Box
Finally, go to your in-box now. You'll find no end of scams
sitting right there. Here's one that just arrived in mine ...
"Subject: How to make $1,000,000 in 20 weeks selling to
Newcomers on the Net"
Like all the rest, it gets the one-finger salute - index
finger to the delete key. Works beautifully every time.
Where to go for more information on internet scams:
FTC Website
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm
Scambusters
http://www.scambusters.org
Netscams
http://www.netscams.com/frameset.html
__________________
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ...
practical home business ideas for the work-from-home
entrepreneur. http://www.ahbbo.com
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7 Important Tips on Investigating a Business Opportunity
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Copyright 2001, Angela Wu
!!! Get In On the Ground Floor!!!
We'll Build Your Downline Using Our Unique Spillover System
that Guarantees an Income of OVER $5000 EVERY WEEK! HURRY!
THIS IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER!
Give me a break.
We'd all be millionaires if claims like the one above were
true. If you're looking for a business opportunity on the
web where scams feed on the dreams and weaknesses of
everyday people, the thing to remember is to *take your
time*. Good opportunities don't disappear overnight.
To investigate an opportunity, check out the following:
__Do You Know EXACTLY What You'll Be Doing?
Have you ever read over a business opportunity and at the
end of the article you think, 'But what am I SELLING?'
You're not alone. There are endless opportunities touted
online as being the cream of the crop, the best of the
best, the ultimate money-making opportunity destined to
give you the freedom and flexibility you desire.
They just don't tell you HOW.
Don't send money for more information. If they're not
upfront about what's involved in their opportunity, then
run the other way and don't look back.
__Can You Independently Find Others Who Are Successful?
Message boards are a fabulous source of first-hand
information from people who have been there, done that. Ask
for other people's experiences with an opportunity before
you join. If you can find a number of people who have had
good experiences, that's great. If you can't, and all you
hear are negative comments, then learn from them: even if
you doggedly pursue it and find one positive testimonial,
it won't mean much if you've heard 20 other negative
comments.
__How Long Has the Opportunity Been Around?
New opportunities don't yet have a history of success.
There is no way of knowing how well the average person will
do with them.
Don't worry about 'getting in on the ground floor'; it's
far better to have a solid history that shows a viable
business opportunity.
__Are You Selling an Opportunity or a Product?
When the focus is on earning income by signing up others,
you're part of what's known as a 'pyramid scheme'. To be
brief: they're illegal.
Every opportunity should allow you to earn an decent income
by selling a product or service to customers. If it focuses
primarily on recruitment, reconsider.
__Are Claims and Testimonials Verifiable?
Is contact information provided so that you can verify a
testimonial? Can you find people who actually make what the
opportunity claims you can make?
Don't take income claims too seriously. Everyone's
different, and although one person may think it's a perfect
opportunity, it might not be for YOU. A blanket statement of
'You can make up to $5000 a month or more' can be safely
ignored. A statement of AVERAGE earnings is more useful.
Exercise caution if an opportunity 'guarantees' that you
can make money. How could they possibly know? It is
completely beyond their control; it's your efforts, your
skills, and your motivation that determine whether or not
you'll make money.
__How's the Service?
One thing I like to do is ask a bunch of questions by email
or phone (they DO have contact information posted, right?).
If they answer me quickly, courteously, and in detail,
that's another point for them. Emails that are ignored or
phone calls not returned are a bad sign; if they treat YOU
that way, how do they treat the rest of their customers?
Why are they hiding?
But keep in mind that just because they may answer your
emails or phone calls, that does NOT necessarily mean that
they're 'legit'.
__Does the Opportunity Fit YOUR Interests?
There's no point in doing something you hate (heck, some of
us left JOBS that we hated - we don't need to start a
business that we also hate!). For example, if you would
rather dig out a tooth with a butter knife than sell face-
to-face, then don't join a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
opportunity. If you love talking to people, look into
something like party planning, children's book sales, etc.
If you're the quiet, shy type, look for opportunities that
will allow you to work nose-to-nose with your computer most
of the time. You get the idea.
Sure, it's time-consuming to do all this investigative
work. But it's a necessity: prudence and planning now may
pay off by saving you money and frustration later.
There's simply no such thing as a simple 'business in a
box'. However, there are many legitimate opportunities,
both from other companies and those of your own dreams.
Happy hunting!
__________
Angela is the editor of Online Business Basics, a
newsletter for eBusiness beginners, featuring step-by- step
tutorials on how to build a money-making online business
without emptying your wallet! To find out how it can save
you time, money, and guesswork, visit http://www.onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html
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Great Sites:
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Scambusters (http://www.scambusters.org/)
is my favorite
site about scams, virus information and dealing with spam.
For information on hoaxes, urban legends, viruses and false
information see http://urbanlegends.about.com/index.htm
We will be accepting a limited number of advertisements for
this newsletter. Rates will be $5 per line (60 characters)
for one issue. $4 per line for three to five issues and $3
per line if you sign up for more than five issues.
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"Big thanks in my moment of panic. Got to tell you that I
am very glad that I came upon your site. I have learned
alot and am getting more self confident about this. Please
keep up the good work there are alot of us out there who
appreciate you. Thanks again, the fiddlers 3"
Let me know what you think about this newsletter, our web
site, or what topics would you like to see discussed,
either in this newsletter or on our web site. Just send me
an e-mail! Please!
Thanks for participating in this Internet experience!
