10 Ways To Avoid Phisihing Scams

Don't be fooled by online scam companies, posing as legitimate ones.

How does the website look and feel?

Does the website appear to have a professional look and layout? This is not a total red flag. Scam artists can afford professional designs, however, I have encountered quite a few websites that I have noticed a lot of unprofessional touches to them. Browse the website. How does it make you feel? Does it make you feel as secure as when you shop at a well-known retailer's website? Don't be in a rush to buy. Trust me, those "deals" are not going anywhere anytime soon. Take your time and browse the website. Check out the about section of the company. Does it have a history?

Are the listed in common databases?

Of course, check to see if the company is listed on sites like RipOffReport.com. You might also want to check with your local Attorney General's Office and federal authorities as well as the Better Business Bureau.

Contact Information?

The power of the Internet allows anyone to become an instant merchant. The problem is that anyone can become a merchant, including scam artists. Scam artists can hide behind a professional-looking website and you never know who they are nor how to contact them. Make sure they have a way for you to be able to contact them. Look for a phone number and an address. It is preferable to have a regular, non-toll free number. Toll free numbers can be a means for scam artists to hide behind services that might redirect their call to a distant location.

Next is the address. Some prefer a physical address over a post office box as one can hide behind a post office box address, however, the same can be said for a physical address. I use the FinAid! website to search for a potential mail drop. Never settle for a company that has only a contact form as their only means of communication.

Do they have an email address listed?

It is highly recommended to stay away from any company that uses a free email service (Yahoo!, Hotmail, Gmail, etc) for their primary contact information. These services are fine for the average person to use for communication purposes, but it is more likely that a fraudulent or shady company will use a throw-away type email address on their website.


Who owns the website?

Sure, the "About Us" tells you who owns the company, right? Nope! The scam artist might be telling you about the company they want you to believe in. I always do a WHOIS query on a website. When you register xyz.com, you provide information about yourself (name, address, phone number, email address). This information is stored in a very large database. It is easily accessible and the access to it is free. If a website address ends in .com, .net, and .org, you can also go to any domain registrar and they will have a link to do a WHOIS query.

You are now thinking, "OK, so now what?" Type in the domain and get the WHOIS information. You will see a listing of information about the company or individual that owns it. Does the contact information on the WHOIS query match what is listed on the website's contact page? Is any contact information listed at all?
Is their real information available?

Most of the registrar companies that offer this service have a way for you to obtain the information about a domain. You usually have to send a letter to the legal department of the company requesting the information. Included in the request is your reason for requesting this information. Domain registrars take the privacy of their clients very seriously. In my opinion, though, if you have to go through all this trouble to find out who owns the website, do you really still want to buy from them?

Next you might want to reverse trace this information. You can do reverse phone and address traces on whitepages.com or reverseaddress.com.

What country are they based in?

Once you know what country they are based in, that can help quite a bit. First, you should realize that if you send any money out the country, it can be quite difficult to get it back. When you purchase a product or service, you are usually abiding by the laws of that country, state, or region. In addition, even if you would file suit, how will you get your money back? Have fun trying to convince the Chinese government that you won a court case in Kansas and you deserve your money. This is not to say the Chinese government would make it hard, it's just the simple fact of having to contact people of another country to get your $19.95 back. It will cost you that much just in phone calls. What type of reputation does that region have?

Our friend Google.

You can Google just about anything, names, phone numbers, addresses, website address. The options are limitless. Firstly, I Google the company's name. Let's say the name of the company is My Cool Widgets. Type in "My Cool Widgets" in to the textbox. Please do not type in that name without the quotes. Why? If you search for that company name without the quotes, then Google or any other search engine will look for any websites that contain the words, "My", "Cool", and "Widgets." Granted, search engines are designed to pull up the most relevant search results, but save yourself the time and risk. When you put the quotes around the company name, Google will search for any websites with the term, My Cool Widgets, instead of those three separate terms.
Next try searching for the phone number. Once again, use the quotes. On Google, you can also type in the textbox the following, but without the quotes, "phonebook: 555-867-5309". Google has an online phonebook feature. If the number is listed, it will reverse trace to the number. You can still use the reverse tracing websites listed towards the end of the "Who owns the website" section.

Finally, the same can be said for the address. Firstly, search for just the address (i.e. minus the city, state, and zip code). See what turns up. If you don't find what you are looking for, then try it with the city, state, and zip code.

What forms of payment do they accept?

Trust a company more if they accept a real credit card (merchant system) rather than just PayPal. I have nothing personal against PayPal, however, it common for PayPal and other "processors" have a high fraud rate. Another issue is that PayPal is not a bank, they are merely a payment processor. Therefore, PayPal does not have to abide by the same strict guidelines that banks do.
This is even more so if you are purchasing non-tangible (services such as hosting, an ebook, etc) products. What many do not realize is that the PayPal buyer protection does not protect you against fraud if you purchased a non-tangible item. Your only real recourse would be to file a chargeback with the bank of your credit/debit card.

If a company does accept credit cards via a merchant system as well as via PayPal, then that is not as bad. Some companies use PayPal with their merchant system because they might have customers that still feel safer using PayPal. In any case, make sure that when you enter personal information on a website that it is being sent securely. First, look for the locked padlock at the bottom right corner of your browser. You can double-click that to see the information of the company that owns that secure (SSL) certificate. Secondly, make sure that the address begins with https and not http. When you see that https, then that means the page you are on encrypts information that it sends.

Is it a home-based business?

I am not saying that all home-based businesses are fraudulent. It's just another thing to watch out for. I like to use Google Earth. If you are able to get the physical address of a business (via WHOIS query, website address, Google search, etc) then you can type that address in to the program. Look at the general area of the address. Does it look like that might be office buildings or does it look like a rural/community type terrain? If it looks like a rural area, then the company is probably based out of a home. As previously-stated, just because a business is home-based does not mean that it is a fraudulent practice.

Are they a drop shipper or do they actually send out the products?

Drop shipping is a very common tool for those running an online business. It doesn't require any stock, so upfront costs, and no need to worry about going to the post office and shipping anything. Drop shipping is basically where your customer buys from you, you place the order with the drop shipping company, that company sends the order to your customer with your business name/address as the return label. If an invoice is included, either your company info is printed on the invoice or no company info is printed on the packing slip.
If you can find out if they are drop shipping, you might be able to get the product for cheaper elsewhere. In addition, if you plan on buying wholesale form the company, then why pay them when you could get it cheaper by buying direct from the company they buy from.
I use our old friend, Google. The first thing I search for is the product number. The higher ranking result (usually within the top 5, if not the first listing), is the company they are buying from. If you are a business, then contact that company and just buy direct from them. If you are a regular consumer, look for the best bargain. One search I performed on a product number I knew was from a drop shipping source came up with 273 results. The very first listing was the company that was the original company.

Call Them.

After you have all of your information compiled, call the company. Never, and I do emphasize, NEVER be afraid to ask questions. If you ask questions and you don't feel comfortable that the person on the other end knows what they are talking about, ask to speak to someone above them (e.g. their manager or higher up personnel). If they avoid your questions or try to belittle you, then that's a huge flag. Stay away! They are not the only folks in the business.

8 Ways Protect Your Identity from Scams

1. Guard your financial information closely. Never give out your bank card, credit card, social security number or financial information unless you initiated the transaction and you trust the merchant.
2. Beware of imposters. Cons may look and sound like a company or bank you do business with, but trusted merchants will never call you to obtain personal information.
   
3. Only call a known company phone number and when online, never enter a website from an email—type the known URL into your browser.
4. Protect your snail mail. Pick it up promptly, have it picked up when you're away, and if possible, get a secure, locked mailbox.
5. Shred all offers you receive by mail. Once your trash can is on the street for pickup, it is public property, so anyone can help themselves to what's inside.
6. Lock your "valuables". Keep a fire safe for important documents such as wills, titles, financial information, passports and social security cards. Use passwords to protect your computer, PDA, phone or any device that has identity information.
7. Memorize your passwords and PINs. Never keep them with cards, your wallet, your car or other identifying information.
8. Check your credit report regularly. It's like going to the dentist…you don't enjoy it, but doing it keeps you healthy and prevents problems later.
9. Want to know how to spot a fake or "phishing" website?

Better Business Bureau Warns of Phony Debt Collectors

The BBB has released a warning to be aware of scammers calling to threaten people with arrest for defaulting on payday loans. These debt collecting scammers have huge amounts of personal info on their victims, including Social Security and drivers license numbers; old bank account numbers; names of employers, relatives, and friends; and home addresses.

“Because the scammers have so much information about potential victims, BBB is concerned that this may be the result of a data breach,” said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson.

Article Here:

Better Business Bureau Warns of Phony Debt Collectors

Fred T Riesman And Associates

Below is an actual email from one of our readers.

Dear FightBigBusiness

Re: Fred T Riesman & Assoc

If you are thinking of leasing or renting from this "so-called" developer, you better have your lawyers ready. Fred T Riesman & Associates are a bunch of fucking vultures that prey on small business owners with predatory and questionable tactics. Before I get into why these assholes are a bunch of con artists here is some background:

Fred T Reisman & Associates
4800 Sheppard Ave E Scarborough, ON , M1S4N5
(416) 297-6616

Suffice to say that I myself am a small business owner, that had the grueling misfortune of being trapped in a lease with Riesman & Assoc, for the worst 3 years anyone could imagine.

It all started when I was searching high and low for a small unit to set up shop. Previously I had operated out of my home, but found it very inconvenient after a while and was looking into expanding. Also, I was in the process of moving, and where I was moving to was inadequate as far as any sort of business operation. Cheap was pretty much my only prerequisite, when I stumbled onto a business realty website advertising a small unit [1000 sq ft] for a pretty decent price.

So I got a hold of a company called Starland Realty, as they were the agents acting for Riesman and associates. [I came to find out that this Realty company pretty much a front for Riesman & Assoc, but more on that later.] I met up with the agent and he pretty much glossed over the 10 page leasing agreement, and even agreed to give me a month free rent! Wow, I thought. That seems like a pretty good deal, so I signed the lease.

Now I must pause at this point and kick myself in the ass. Signing that lease was a huge financial mistake. Yes I should have had someone from the legal profession look it over, yes I should have shopped around for something better, etc. Not that I am making excuses or anything, but I was under a lot of pressure at the time, and opening up a shop was very exciting to me.

With that being said, let this be a lesson to you, and always make sure you have a lawyer on your side when signing any kind of legal agreement [like a lease], especially if it seems like it is too good to be true.

So I ponied up the first and last month's rent, [or so I thought] ]the security deposit as well as the $50 deposit for the key to the mailbox and took possession of the unit.

Misplaced Cheques

A few weeks went by and all was good in small business land. One sunny day I received a rather condescending call regarding the rent I hadn't paid.

"What are you talking about, I haven't even been here three weeks??"

How could I have even been here without paying? I was threatened with being locked out of my brand new shop by a bailiff, plus I was informed there would be a lot of fees to get my shop re-opened, as I would have to pay the bailiff fees.

"Surely there is some sort of mistake. Let me sort this out and call you back."

As I went online to see if my cheques had cleared, I received another call from the office of Fred T Riesman. I have to admit the tone was a little more respectable, and so was the news. Apparently there was some sort of an accounting error and they had located my payments and that I had actually overpaid. At that point, I corrected them saying I was looking at the amounts in my banking records and they all added up properly to what I had expected in the leasing agreement. They told me they would look into it and follow up with me, and I never heard another word of the matter.

Increased Rent
Approximately 3 months[less than 90 days] into my stay in "Fred T Reisman Hell", I recieved an updated invoice for my rent for the upcoming year. It was increasing 21% the next year! Ok, this has to be another error I thought. 21% of what I was paying at that time was a fair chunk of dough. Nevermind the fact that it totally blew my budget for the upcoming year.

Nope. I was rudely told that it was all in the lease I had signed, and sure enough it was. "Increases due to upkeep of common areas" or some bullshit.

I suspected that the increases were to cover the cost of one of their units that had suddenly erupted into flames after an accident occured in the meth lab that was operating out of it. Seriously - one day I go to get my mail, and a team of police in hasmat suits have roped off the entire area. Fire trucks, cop cars, hasmat trucks you name it. I found out why later on the local news broadcast. It was far enough away from me that it was not a big deal, although I could only imagine what I would be inhaling over the course of the next few days and weeks. I also wondered when we would receive information regarding the incident from the landlord, we never did.

Special Delivery

When the office of Fred T Riesman has to get in touch with you, they call you, and if you do not answer them within a period of their liking they use their special delivery service, which I will describe for you.

This is a hand written note on a scrap of paper, taped to your door. The tape of choice is apparently duct tape or electrical tape. The handwriting on the notes leaves quite an impression on the reader, as it is obviously is the product of a struggling illiterate or a person who has mastered the talent of writing with their feet due to the fact that both of their hands were broken.

I inquired about a notice once, and was informed that they were probably put there by the maintenance crew at the request of the landlord, Fred T Riesman & Assoc. Once I even sent one of thier notes back to them as an attachment to my rent cheque. I don't think they liked that very much.

Stay tuned for these upcoming topics.


The Lockout
The 2nd Increase
The Maintence Guys
The Move Out

CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds

With all the recent turmoil with our economy lately, I am sure that we've all heard that the big three automakers have been going to the government with cap in hand, looking for a taxpayer handout, both in the US and in here in Canada.

Ford, GM and Chrysler have asked for about 25 billion in the US, and about 4 billion here from the Canadian government to avoid going bankrupt.

So when the big execs went to Washingon to plead their companies cases, how do you think they got there?

"All three CEOs - Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler - exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM's $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone. " reports ABC News.

Article here.

Rogers, Bell, and Telus Rip Offs

Lately, the major cellular phone companies here in Canada - Rogers, Bell, and Telus have all introduced discounted pricing plans to their discounted services - Fido, Solo, and Koodo respectively.

The main "hook" for these new reduced plans centre around what's called the System Access Fee. It turns out that these companies want to save us so much money they have all dropped these fees for their newly resructured plans plus threw in a few extras.

Emboldened by limited competition, providers have not hesitated to pad their prices by adding the deceptive "system access fee." Contrary to popular belief, the fee, which adds nearly $100 per year to every wireless phone bill , is not a government-mandated charge but rather a slick method of camouflaging higher prices.

Another impetus to can the System Access Fee is a $20 billion class-action lawsuit for "unjust enrichment," as well as a newer one launched in protest of artificially inflated 911 fees. The lawsuit charges that the System Access Fee is misrepresented as a mandatory government charge for licensing the radio band—which it was, until the government discontinued it in 1986.

How will these providers ever get by without the System Access Fee? Take a look at the fine print. Fido will start charging from the second you press SEND until the second you press END, which now includes the ring time. Even worse, incoming calls are also now billed from the moment the initiating party dials, so better answer quick or shorten that voicemail message.