How Scammers Steal and Trade Your Airline Miles

The theft of millions of airline miles from accounts at two big U.S. airlines provides proof, if it were needed, that you should never use the same password on more than one valuable online account.

As many as 10,000 accounts at American and United Airlines were accessed by crooks, but not by directly hacking them.

They apparently got the usernames and passwords by hacking third party servers not connected with the airlines.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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7 Key Medical Frauds, Misleading & Money-Making Tricks

Unscrupulous mobile labs and clinics providing diagnostic tests, dental treatment, and psychological assessments may be contributing to more than $200 billion of medical fraud in the U.S. every year.

In some cases, they dupe their “patients” into becoming unwitting accomplices in scams that target health insurers.

Or they simply charge their victims for tests and procedures they don’t need and which, in some circumstances, could even be dangerous.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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Life Insurance Scammers Trick Bereaved Spouses

Scammers are playing a cruel trick on widows and widowers by claiming their deceased partner had a life insurance policy that promises to pay out a large benefit.

The crooks claim to be from an insurance company or even Social Security, and tell victims their partner was behind on the premium payments but if they make up the shortfall they’ll get the full insurance payout.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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SPEAKING TO GET CLIENTS: FIVE STEPS TO SUCCESS

"I've had several speaking engagements lately," my client told me, "but I'm not getting any clients from them. I know speaking helps other people get business. What am I doing wrong?"

Public speaking can be a powerful approach to building your business as a self-employed professional. It's always been a significant component of my own marketing plan, and it's served me well. But it's not just the exposure of speaking in public that produces results; there's more that goes into it. Here are five steps to make sure your speaking gigs bring you paying clients.

1. Speak to the right audience. When you are new to public speaking, it's okay to speak anywhere that will invite you, just to gain experience and a track record. But for speaking to turn into paying business, you must get in front of your ideal clients. Speaking is a time-consuming activity; you need to use it judiciously. Instead of speaking to audiences that might contain a few prospects, seek out groups with a profile that closely matches your most desired target market.
2. Choose the best topic. There may be dozens of topics you could speak on, but they won't all be equally attractive to prospective clients. What is the number one issue that a new client typically brings to you? That's what you should be speaking about. Picture one of your favorite clients, and make a list of the questions and problems that client asked you to help with when you first began working together. This will help you design a topic to attract more clients like that one.
3. Showcase your expertise. Take every opportunity to show the audience that you are an expert. Write your own bio for the organizers to use when promoting your talk and introducing you at the event. Make sure it includes the most impressive elements of your credentials. Give examples from your work when you speak, and tell stories about the positive results you've produced for your clients. Allow yourself to shine.
4. Deliver a memorable experience. Craft your talk to provide your audience with takeaways - key ideas, realizations, or action steps that they will carry away with them. Give them something tangible to remember you by, such as a handout or tip sheet (with all your contact information, of course). Prepare and practice so you can present without being glued to your notes. This will allow you to better connect with your audience.
5. Follow up with everyone who attends. This crucial step can make the difference between a talk that brings only applause and a talk that brings clients. If the organizers will not be sharing the guest list with you, hold a drawing for a book, CD, DVD, or other gift to collect contact information from the audience. After the program, contact each audience member to thank them for attending, offer to answer questions about your topic, and ask if you can stay in touch.

Public speaking can help you fill your marketing pipeline while boosting your credibility. Follow these five steps, and you'll begin to see why so many self-employed professionals swear by public speaking as a path to getting clients.

Copyright © 2015, C.J. Hayden

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Military Scams, Bogus TV Box Replacements, and Dubious Cancer Tests

Military scams that target our incredible servicemen and women are surely among the most despicable, and there are plenty of them, as we’ve previously reported in The 7 Most Common Veteran Scams.

But the military cause is also used as a cover for scams aimed at the public, notably with crooks posing as lonely-heart vets on dating sites.

Pretending to be a member of the armed services is a simple and clever way of building up victims’ trust.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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3 Ways to Spot a Fake Census Survey

Seems like every day we’re bombarded with opportunities to provide feedback on our experiences or complete surveys about our preferences and intentions.

It’s enough to drive us nuts.

In fact, there are so many now, the survey field provides rich pickings for scammers, spammers, and smooth-talking sales reps.

Click here to read the full article. 



©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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