The thought of bedbugs may send a shiver down your spine but when it comes to bedbug treatments, the Federal Trade Commission is twitching -- warning of unrealistic claims about some products.
We all know about the scam artists on eBay who sell knock-off copies of high-end branded items like watches, sunglasses and clothing.
But here's a sneaky new trick that turns this eBay scam on its head.
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Mortgage Securitization Scams Add to Homeowners' Woes
Masquerading under the impressive-sounding title of a "mortgage securitization audit," a new scam is bleeding financially-pressured homeowners out of their dwindling funds.
Also sometimes simply called a "mortgage audit" or a "forensic document review," the service supposedly combs through all of the documents relating to a mortgage, looking for mistakes or even frauds in those documents.
The purported aim is either to help homeowners escape foreclosure or to strengthen their case for a loan modification, which will ease their repayments.
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
Also sometimes simply called a "mortgage audit" or a "forensic document review," the service supposedly combs through all of the documents relating to a mortgage, looking for mistakes or even frauds in those documents.
The purported aim is either to help homeowners escape foreclosure or to strengthen their case for a loan modification, which will ease their repayments.
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Mobile World Sparks Cell Phone Spam Onslaught
With more than half the world's population now using mobile communication devices, cell phone spam is on the rise -- despite government clampdown efforts.
Mobile phone spam, also known as m-spam, can arrive in two forms -- either as an email or as a text or SMS message (which some clever person labeled spaSMS).
In most cases it's illegal, but what's really infuriating is that unless you have an unlimited text plan with your cell phone service provider, you end up actually paying for this garbage.
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
Mobile phone spam, also known as m-spam, can arrive in two forms -- either as an email or as a text or SMS message (which some clever person labeled spaSMS).
In most cases it's illegal, but what's really infuriating is that unless you have an unlimited text plan with your cell phone service provider, you end up actually paying for this garbage.
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
Saturday, July 9, 2011
AVOIDING THE FEAST OR FAMINE TRAP
It often seems that it's the destiny of the independent professional to exist in a constant state of feast or famine. Either you are working day and night to keep up with client demands, or you're wondering how much is left in your savings account and whether the phone will ever ring again.
When you're having a feast of business, there's plenty of money coming in, you're getting recognition for your talents, and your energy level is usually high. But you may also feel constantly pressed for time, have to disappoint some clients you can't adequately serve, and lose out on future business because you can't respond to new opportunities.
When a business famine strikes, you have the time to develop new business and provide good service to the clients you still have. But you may also be low on cash and not feeling so good about yourself, which gets in the way of effective marketing.
There's a simple answer to this dilemma. You need to market for new clients consistently and persistently, no matter what state your business is currently in. But like many simple answers, this is not necessarily easy.
Here are some suggestions for how to always make time for marketing:
1. Sometimes the customer comes second.
If you spend all your time doing client work, you will go out of business. You need to set aside time not only for marketing, but to answer correspondence, keep up in your field, and oh yes, send out the invoices. Every time you rush to help a client with what they call an emergency, you set a precedent that you will be available on short notice. Learn how to say no compassionately, but firmly, when client requests interfere with you running your business to your own benefit.
2. Establish a time budget for marketing.
It's helpful to have two different budgets -- one for when you are busy, and one for when things are slow. If you're busy, a minimal budget will keep your marketing rolling. In two hours per week, you can go to lunch, make phone calls, send out letters, or make contacts about speaking. When business is slow, you should increase your time budget up to 30-50% of your work week -- more, if you aren't doing any client work at all.
3. Make marketing a priority in your calendar.
Work expands to fill the time allotted to it. Think of the last time you wrote a proposal. If the deadline was next week, you probably wrote and re-wrote until it was perfect. If the deadline was today, you probably miraculously completed it on time. If you block out marketing time in your calendar, and schedule other important activities around it, you will find that those other activities somehow get done. Treat your marketing time just like an appointment. If something truly urgent comes up, reschedule it; don't just erase it.
4. Get your marketing done first.
Sit down at your desk in the morning, and before listening to voice mail, reading email, or looking at your project list, tackle whatever marketing activities are on your agenda for the day. Spend 15 minutes, an hour, or two hours -- whatever makes sense for your current marketing time budget -- and then start your regular day. This has the added benefit of allowing you to engage in marketing when you are fresh.
If despite your best efforts, you do hit a famine period, there are some things you can do:
1. Take advantage of the lull to make a plan.
This could be a new marketing plan, or it could be a business plan where you do some financial modeling or revisit your strategic direction. I usually do this myself during the month of December, when I can expect a seasonal slowdown as my regular clients take vacation time and new clients don't want to begin until January.
2. Send out a reminder.
This could be in the form of a postcard, email broadcast, or letter, with an announcement, special offer, or helpful information for your target market. If you are thinking, "Send a reminder to who?," you need to take some to time to update and...
3. Use your contact management system.
Every independent professional needs some type of contact management system to track your clients and prospects, whether it's sheets in a 3-ring binder, or software on your computer or phone. When business is slow, every potential client in your CMS who hasn't heard from you in the last 30 days is worth a phone call, email, or letter. You are much more likely to get a client quickly from following up than you are from contacting someone new.
If you use a CMS, you'll be able to...
4. Research where your business comes from.
If you track the source of every lead, you can then determine which sources actually delivered people who became clients, and then how much money each of those clients spent with you. It's an extremely worthwhile use of some down time to find out which sources of business put the most money in your pocket, and then see what you can do to replicate them.
If you do a good job at consistent and persistent marketing, inevitably you will attract more business than you can handle, at least at certain times. Don't be so afraid of this possibility that you allow it to hold back your marketing! If a client calls and you are not available, they will often wait for you. Having a waiting list makes you more desirable, and it also allows you to raise your rates because of the perceived demand for your services.
So don't stay trapped in the feast or famine cycle. A steady diet of just enough clients will feed a happier, healthier, wealthier you.
Copyright © 2011, C.J. Hayden
Read more free articles by C.J. Hayden or subscribe to the GET CLIENTS NOW! E-Letter.
When you're having a feast of business, there's plenty of money coming in, you're getting recognition for your talents, and your energy level is usually high. But you may also feel constantly pressed for time, have to disappoint some clients you can't adequately serve, and lose out on future business because you can't respond to new opportunities.
When a business famine strikes, you have the time to develop new business and provide good service to the clients you still have. But you may also be low on cash and not feeling so good about yourself, which gets in the way of effective marketing.
There's a simple answer to this dilemma. You need to market for new clients consistently and persistently, no matter what state your business is currently in. But like many simple answers, this is not necessarily easy.
Here are some suggestions for how to always make time for marketing:
1. Sometimes the customer comes second.
If you spend all your time doing client work, you will go out of business. You need to set aside time not only for marketing, but to answer correspondence, keep up in your field, and oh yes, send out the invoices. Every time you rush to help a client with what they call an emergency, you set a precedent that you will be available on short notice. Learn how to say no compassionately, but firmly, when client requests interfere with you running your business to your own benefit.
2. Establish a time budget for marketing.
It's helpful to have two different budgets -- one for when you are busy, and one for when things are slow. If you're busy, a minimal budget will keep your marketing rolling. In two hours per week, you can go to lunch, make phone calls, send out letters, or make contacts about speaking. When business is slow, you should increase your time budget up to 30-50% of your work week -- more, if you aren't doing any client work at all.
3. Make marketing a priority in your calendar.
Work expands to fill the time allotted to it. Think of the last time you wrote a proposal. If the deadline was next week, you probably wrote and re-wrote until it was perfect. If the deadline was today, you probably miraculously completed it on time. If you block out marketing time in your calendar, and schedule other important activities around it, you will find that those other activities somehow get done. Treat your marketing time just like an appointment. If something truly urgent comes up, reschedule it; don't just erase it.
4. Get your marketing done first.
Sit down at your desk in the morning, and before listening to voice mail, reading email, or looking at your project list, tackle whatever marketing activities are on your agenda for the day. Spend 15 minutes, an hour, or two hours -- whatever makes sense for your current marketing time budget -- and then start your regular day. This has the added benefit of allowing you to engage in marketing when you are fresh.
If despite your best efforts, you do hit a famine period, there are some things you can do:
1. Take advantage of the lull to make a plan.
This could be a new marketing plan, or it could be a business plan where you do some financial modeling or revisit your strategic direction. I usually do this myself during the month of December, when I can expect a seasonal slowdown as my regular clients take vacation time and new clients don't want to begin until January.
2. Send out a reminder.
This could be in the form of a postcard, email broadcast, or letter, with an announcement, special offer, or helpful information for your target market. If you are thinking, "Send a reminder to who?," you need to take some to time to update and...
3. Use your contact management system.
Every independent professional needs some type of contact management system to track your clients and prospects, whether it's sheets in a 3-ring binder, or software on your computer or phone. When business is slow, every potential client in your CMS who hasn't heard from you in the last 30 days is worth a phone call, email, or letter. You are much more likely to get a client quickly from following up than you are from contacting someone new.
If you use a CMS, you'll be able to...
4. Research where your business comes from.
If you track the source of every lead, you can then determine which sources actually delivered people who became clients, and then how much money each of those clients spent with you. It's an extremely worthwhile use of some down time to find out which sources of business put the most money in your pocket, and then see what you can do to replicate them.
If you do a good job at consistent and persistent marketing, inevitably you will attract more business than you can handle, at least at certain times. Don't be so afraid of this possibility that you allow it to hold back your marketing! If a client calls and you are not available, they will often wait for you. Having a waiting list makes you more desirable, and it also allows you to raise your rates because of the perceived demand for your services.
So don't stay trapped in the feast or famine cycle. A steady diet of just enough clients will feed a happier, healthier, wealthier you.
Copyright © 2011, C.J. Hayden
Read more free articles by C.J. Hayden or subscribe to the GET CLIENTS NOW! E-Letter.
Update Your Browser to Block History Sniffing
Towards the end of 2010, a new report showed how dozens of sites were checking visitors' surfing history by exploiting a browser feature most of us know well.
A visit you make to any site is "remembered" by your browser so the next time the site name shows up in a search you make or on another website, it's colored purple instead of blue. That way, you instantly know you've been there before.
But this handy feature, which has been around almost as long as the Internet, means your previous Internet activity potentially could be "read" by simply looking for the color purple in your browser's records.
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
A visit you make to any site is "remembered" by your browser so the next time the site name shows up in a search you make or on another website, it's colored purple instead of blue. That way, you instantly know you've been there before.
But this handy feature, which has been around almost as long as the Internet, means your previous Internet activity potentially could be "read" by simply looking for the color purple in your browser's records.
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
Friday, July 1, 2011
How to Do a Credentials Check on Almost Anyone
Many other types of employment require membership of professional bodies that provide online or postal credential checks and verification.
However, there are other individuals whose credentials may be important to us but are more difficult to verify.
For example, how do you know whether a utility worker or charity collector who arrives at your doorstep is genuine or a threat?
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
However, there are other individuals whose credentials may be important to us but are more difficult to verify.
For example, how do you know whether a utility worker or charity collector who arrives at your doorstep is genuine or a threat?
Click here to read the full article.
©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org
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