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Home » Business And Finance Articles » Outsmart Fraudsters And Protect Your Identity

Outsmart Fraudsters And Protect Your Identity

One of the most frustrating aspects of Internet Marketing is born in the WHOSITS database. This database, owned by Google, lets anyone see the information submitted when a small business owners purchases a domain name.

Unfortunately, anyone can gain access to the information. Most small business owners learn this within hours of buying a domain. The first calls come from internet marketing companies that promise to get their clients at the top of the search engines for a paltry $20 - $100 a month. Of course, what they don't tell the prospective client is they use black hat SEO tactics which usually lead to the site being banned â€" forever.

The next set of calls come from telemarketers selling everything from magazines, to loans, to business opportunities. It is frustrating.

Filling in Forms

There are several ways to remain anonymous on the web. The most popular method is to use a bogus business name that leads to a PO box in a 'mailing center.' This way, the fraudsters are frustrated by the 'ghost.' And, if lucky, the business owner may entice the fraudster to use the information resulting in legal retribution.

There is also no reason to enter your real information into forms. Remaining vague, or using the wrong prefix before your name, can protect your identity.

Save Your Password

Everyone knows what spyware is. Few people know that it can tap into the 'save your information' services on your PC. Many people use the 'fill form' tools in Windows and in their computer browser. Spyware comes in, collects this data, and then sends it to fraudsters.

Never include any information in these boxes. Another way the PC collects sensitive data is the drop down box that asks "Do you want to save this password." Always select no.

PC Protection

Any website that is linked to the internet needs a firewall, spyware cleaner, malware cleaner, and virus scan. AVG has a free virus scan that many businesses swear is the best in the world. It not only removes viruses, worms, and trogans, but also can remove malware.

Yahoo has a nifty little spyware remover on their browser tool bar. This tool, in conjunction with lavasoft's spyware remover has offered many businesses almost 100% protection.

Windows comes complete with a firewall. However, many business owners shut this down and use ZoneAlarm.

These tools will protect most PCs from phishing attacks and spyware that roves the net looking for small business owners who must include their information on the web.

Web Information

Many small businesses must include their address, and contact information on their website. However, saving the information in a gif image makes it invisible to spyware and hackers.

Encrypting the email or leaving a space is another way to protect email addresses. Many small business owners are starting to show their email addresses like this: smallbusinessowner @mydomainname.com

Notice the space â€" this makes the email addy invisible to spyware. However, users can copy and paste the link into their browser.

Instead of posting the email at all, why not consider adding a form to the website. Most forms can be set to automatically email the owner the moment the form is submitted â€" but the information remains invisible to hackers.

One last tip: Change passwords once every two to three months.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Don't Need No Stinking PR?

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 955 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

Don't Need No Stinking PR?

Almost assuredly you do, especially when your most important external and internal audiences behave in ways that stop you from achieving your organizational objectives.

With that attitude, you could have a long wait before you see community leaders strengthening their bonds with you; customers making repeat purchases; unions bargaining more frequently in good faith; prospects becoming customers; employees beginning to value their jobs; political leaders and legislators starting to think of you as a key player in the business community, and suppliers working hard to expand your relationship.

Lighten up and use public relations in your own best interest, and benefit from a really cost-effective assist to your business, non-profit or association.

And there's another reason to do so. Tough times require tough tactics. Luckily, PR firepower can do for you what it was meant to do – help you achieve your operating objectives by moving those people whose behaviors have the greatest impact on your organization, to actions YOU desire,

You know it's worth it, so give it a shot!

Best place to start is by listing your most important audiences, or "publics," and ranking them according to the impact they have on your enterprise. Let's work on the outside audience at the top of that list.

How aware are you and your colleagues as to how that audience views you? Could there be negative perceptions out there that, inevitably, will morph into behaviors that hurt your organization?

You really can't afford to ignore that possibility.

So get out there and interact with members of that target audience and ask questions. The alternative is to spend a LOT of money on a professional survey. Instead, make the time commitment to do some home-grown research. After all, PR best practice says you should be in regular touch with target audience members anyway, so this interaction is probably long overdue.

Ask questions like "Do you know anything about us? Have you heard anything good or bad about us?" Stay alert to hesitant and evasive responses. Notice any negative undertones? Do inaccuracies crop up? Any misconceptions or rumors that need your attention?

The answers you gather are the fodder for your new public relations goal – i.e., the specific perception to be altered, followed by the behavior change you want.

Which requires that you set a public relations goal aimed at clearing up that misconception or nameless concern, correcting that inaccuracy or untrue belief, or disarming that rumor for good.

Now, what happens to that goal? You select a strategy to get you where you want to be. The choices are few indeed when it comes to perception and opinion. You can create perception where there isn't any, change existing perception, or reinforce it. That's it. You should, however, match your strategy selection to your newly-established public relations goal.

Clearly, the most sensitive, even difficult step in this problem- solving sequence is message preparation. At ther same time, it's your opportunity to write something that will change somebody's opinion, and that is a really satisfying experience.

First, your message must stick to its knitting and not ramble. Address the inaccuracy, misconception, untruth or rumor clearly and in a believable and as compelling a manner as possible. Remember what it must do if the public relations program is to be successful – alter, change or reinforce what a lot of people believe. And that is a big job and a big responsibility.

If the message is the bullet, your "beasts of burden" are the gun, the means by which your communications tactics carry your message to the eyes and ears of members of the target audience.

And what a list of tactics offer themselves to you. Everything from open houses, feature articles, press releases and speeches to personal contacts, broadcast appearances, newspaper interviews and so many more.

Your measuring stick for each tactic is, does it have a proven track record for reaching people like those who make up your target audience?

So, you will get antsy and wonder if you're making any headway with your new public relations program. Best way to tell is to monitor target audience perceptions all over again. Use questions similar to your first monitoring session.

Big difference this time, however. Now, you need to see indications that perceptions are being altered as a result of your corrective message.

If you want to speed things up, you can always add a few more tactics to the mix, AND increase some of their frequencies. The message should also be re-evaluated for the strength and persuasiveness of its underlying facts, as well as impact and clarity.

Yes, you may believe you "don't need no stinking PR," but there's no denying that people in your area behave like everyone else – they take actions based on their perception of the facts they hear about you and your operation. So, you must deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach them.

And what that means is, in your own best interest, you must persuade many of your stakeholders to your way of thinking, thus moving them to take actions that lead to the success of your organization.

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