Category: beware of scams

By now you should all know that the World Wide Web is not always a reliable source, but you have to also remember that many of the mistruths or bad practices are also found in older types of media.
I was hearing a bunch of wrong information on a radio talk show something like “into tomorrow” about technology. Some of the information was right on correct but others were poor practices and wrong terminology such as calling a computer tower a CPU. a CPU is the Central Processing Unit, a very small microchip that is in computer towers and other devices, which normally is one of the last things to go bad.
When physically cleaning a computer:
It should be turned off.
Do not use alcohol or Glass cleaner on the monitor, especially on older monitors and televisions because it takes away the film that protects your eyes.
use a microfiber cloth on the monitor.
you can use antistatic cleaning wipes on other components(which was mentioned in the program)
try not to touch any of the internal components. touching the case is ok and can help reduce static.
I heard something on a different radio program that seems to be an unsupported claim:
 

For archiving it is best to leave paper as paper.

This is normally not true, because paper deteriorates easily and is a fire hazard and in the long run it is cheaper to scan most unnecessary paper documents.
Claim I seen in a newspaper Brainerd Dispatch and in a poster:

Online businesses bring 0% back to the local economy

Not always true. Maybe it is with some online businesses but not all. There are some local online business. Also, there are local and chain hybrid online /brick and mortar businesses. Also delivery services such as UPS and FedEx can benefit, both happen to have local outlets in Brainerd.
Another claim in Brainerd Dispatch from an unnamed local business person.

High gas prices hurt the economy.

Not always true either. Some businesses take advantage of that in their marketing like Walmart – buy all in one spot. Local business – why drive when you can get it here. Online businesses – no need to drive. Alternative transportation options and higher fuel economy vehicles also sometimes benefit.
It isn’t that these sources are completely or always incorrect. It is that you have to always think twice about what you hear, but you also have to keep an open mind because many of the technologies that are available today people would just laugh in the past if you said that you have them.

1st if you get a call with caller id blocked or unfamiliar area code (especially if you mainly deal with people locally) you may want to ignore the phone call and let it go to voice mail.
If you get a phone call for advertising check:

• Have you heard of this company or used this product? If you haven’t then it is likely not good for your business.
• Do they force you to make a decision on the phone, or even automatically sign you up? Don’t trust them
• If you don’t trust them say no (or no thanks) and hang up. If they call again don’t answer.

Examples of advertising that does not usually work well:

• Print advertising that is self distributed or limited distribution(such as given away at businesses), These can be maps, magnets, directories, phone book covers, or fliers. If you haven’t seen the product in your hands before then it probably isn’t worth it.
• online advertising that you have not heard of(online only yellow pages). If you haven’t heard of them, or any one you know has heard of them then it probably isn’t worth it.
• very short radio or cable tv spots. Not very many people will remember a 10 second or less ad run twice.

Make sure if you are planning on advertising online you have seen the site if you are planning on advertising.  My company offers online only advertising, and there are businesses that have seen successful results from it.  If you are planning on advertising online you may even want to sign up online there are many now that are self serve. be sure that they have a good reputation.

Be weary of phone verifications after order is placed, they may try to sell you additional items.  Sometimes it is necessary, or additional products may be necessary, but normally it isn’t. If the additional products were necessary they should have told you that on the web.
Be very weary of phone calls saying your credit card was declined in an order.  They may be trying to increase the order amount or get your number to hold on to.
Be careful about giving your credit card number or account number out in a public place or written on paper.

• There are many scams, unwanted solicitations, and phishing schemes.
• They can be found on the web, come in your email, your mail, and on the phone, even to your door. Many times they come from companies or individuals you haven’t heard of. Sometimes they are from well known companies and organizations.
• My personal Examples of unknown company:
  • Non-local Advertising Companies: I received a phone call saying it was from Crow Wing County. Turned out it was a company that called itself Universal Adcom/ Premier Impressions calling from another state. I fell for this. There was an actual product, but there was limited distribution, so there were no results. They were very hard to deal with and very pushy.  It was hard to cancel and they kept calling me many times after canceling.
  • I dealt with several other non-local advertising companies that had similar situations and no results, however they were easy to cancel. I will no longer deal with them.
  • Things I learned:
    • Beware when caller id is blocked.
    • Don’t answer or answer and be very cautious.
    • Beware of businesses that you haven’t heard of and are not local.
    • Don’t do a deal with someone that forces a deal done the same day.
    • Say no thanks Hang up.
    • If they call back consider calling the police.
• My personal example of problems from well known companies/organizations:
  • The Better Business Bureau in the Twin Cities solicited me about joining. I had a person from there that said I needed to join telling me a story about how someone got killed. There was some miscommunication that she thought I had an employee, so she also quoted me a higher price to join. She kept calling me to join later a couple times. Later another nicer person from there called about joining but the bad thing from before and the price still high made it  a no go.
  • Beware of Introductory prices for Internet, Cable and Telephone. Many times bills go up in price, sometimes more than double.
  • Beware of Free (especially mail offers)
  • Beware of contracts for Internet, Cable mobile/land line phone. Sometimes a may be cheaper to pay out of a mobile phone contract then to continue with that company. Many times people buy more phone minutes than they actually use, costing them money.
• Internet Scams:
  • Fake antiviruses, Fake Antispyware.  Utilities that aren’t needed.
  • File sharing – people share files that are actually trojans, and spyware that may look like music or video
  • Work at home, and other easy money – There actually are some people that work at home, but there are many schemes on the internet, in newspapers, and on TV
  • Beware of the content you go to:  Porn Sites and Illegal file sharing sites are some examples of sites that cause more trouble than just what they are.
• Email/mail/phone/text scams:
  • Taking care of money/Nigerian/out of country letter
  • Lottery winning
  • Bank account frozen/verifications – Banks hardly ever do this. These are almost always scams.
  • Certain forwards from people you know may also be scams.
  • Fake invoices/bills
• Avoid publicly posting/submitting personal information, if possible. Telephone numbers and addresses can be used to send solicitations.   Social Security number, and credit/debit card/bank number be very careful who you give to and if given on the internet make sure it is a secure connection.  Birth date with year should be careful too.
• Make sure your email provider/email program has a good spam and phishing filter.
• Look at web addresses and names carefully
• Look for misspellings in names, addresses and content
• Be very careful about meeting someone.  If you do decide to meet, consider meeting in a public place.

There will be more on this topic in the future.