Friday, January 29, 2016

FBI Alert as Virtual Kidnap Scams Rise

WARNING: What follows is based on information and advice from the FBI. It does not constitute legal advice from Scambusters. If you suspect you or someone you know may be a victim of this crime, you should seek appropriate advice from qualified legal and/or law enforcement professionals.

The FBI is alarmed about the increased incidence of virtual kidnapping and has posted alerts about the crime.

Virtual kidnapping is a terrifying version of the well-known imposter scam, in which victims receive a phone call from a crook claiming to have kidnapped a relative and demanding immediate payment of a ransom.

Click here to read the full article. 




©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
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Friday, January 22, 2016

Latest Pump and Dump, Tech Support and Utility Scams

Investing in stocks has always been a gamble, but if you’re the kind of person who likes to speculate on stock prices that are affected by current events, you have to be extra vigilant for pump and dump schemes.

Pump-and-dump scammers buy the stock cheap, spread the rumors, and then reap the rewards when prices rocket.

As we’ve previously reported in Are “Hot” Stock Tips Really Hot?, they come up with all kinds of tricks for manipulating stock prices.

Click here to read the full article. 



©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
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Friday, January 15, 2016

Know Who’s Performing Your Surgery

When you go into hospital or a clinic for surgery, it’s natural to assume that the person who is going to perform the work is qualified to do so.

But that isn’t always the case.

Just like any profession or job, the healthcare industry has its share of people who aren’t who you think they are.

Click here to read the full article. 


©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Six Steps to Get Your Audience to Read What You Write

If you’re a self-employed professional who wants to get the attention of prospective clients by writing blog posts, magazine and journal articles, case studies, or an ebook, you already know this problem. Writing material like this takes up time and brain capacity. There’s nothing worse than sweating over a piece for hours and then having only a handful of people read it.

With a bit of care and attention, you can turn that situation around, and start attracting the readers you want. Here are six steps to get your desired audience reading what you write.
  1. Know your audience. Before you write a word, get clear on exactly who you want your readers to be. Go beyond defining them in general terms, and paint a detailed portrait. The most helpful approach is to develop a profile of your ideal reader. Examples: “Midlife professional woman choosing a new career direction,” or “overworked corporate marketing director whose company markets in both English and Spanish.” Then keep that reader in mind each time you write.
  2. Write on a theme. To make writing pay off for you as a marketing strategy, choose just a handful of themes you will write about, and stick to them. This will help you develop a following of regular readers. A theme is broader than a topic; it’s a subject area that many, many topics could fit within. Examples: “Sales and marketing for independent professionals,” “men’s fitness,” “impactful public speaking.”
  3. Be educational, entertaining, or evocative. Every piece you write should aim to educate, entertain, or evoke emotion in your readers. Don’t write just what’s on your mind today. Instead, consider the impact you want your piece to have on the reader. Examples: Educational – “money-saving tax tips for entrepreneurs.” Entertaining – “what my cat taught me about marketing.” Evocative – “your child needs you to show your love.”
  4. Drill down into topics. Write about specifics, not generalities. Short pieces should stick to just one topic. Longer pieces might cover several, but each segment should give enough detail to be useful. Examples: “Five-minute exercises you can do in the office,” not “exercising more often.” “What to include on your website’s contact page,” not “writing for your website.” “How to respond to ‘tell me about yourself’ in a job interview,” not “interviewing for a job.”
  5. Craft a great title. No matter where your work appears, readers will decide whether or not to read it based on your title. Titles should be specific and promise a benefit or result. Examples: “Seven Keys to Design a Stunning Brochure,” not “Graphic Design Tips for Entrepreneurs.” “Lose Your Fear of Cold Calling” not “How to Market by Phone.” “Sticking to Your Diet at Holiday Parties,” not “Dieting During the Holidays.”
  6. Promote what you publish. Don’t wait for readers to find your work online, or count on a print publisher to get the word out. Develop a promotion plan for your writing that includes places and people you will tell about each piece you publish. Your plan might include social media posts, personal emails, mentions on your blog or website, teasers in your newsletter, or printed copies at networking events or speaking gigs.
Spending just a few minutes on steps 1 through 4 before you write, and another few on steps 5 and 6 afterward, will make a significant difference in how many potential clients read your pieces. Not only that, you’ll find that those readers will more often turn into clients, because you’ll be attracting exactly the people you want, and demonstrating to them that you’re an expert in your field. That’s a winning combination for any self-employed professional.

 Copyright © 2015, C.J. Hayden

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Friday, January 8, 2016

Could School Information Lead to Children’s Identity Theft?

Every time you fill in a form or provide school information about your children, you’re putting them at risk of identity theft.

It’s a shocking thought, isn’t it? And of course, most schools have tough security rules in place to protect data about their students.

But, in an age where hacking and other forms of data theft has become commonplace, it’s important to think about protecting your children’s information. Because, chances are that they won’t!

Click here to read the full article. 



©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
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Friday, January 1, 2016

Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) Threaten, Slow Your PC

Have you ever discovered a potentially unwanted program, PUP for short,  running on your computer and wondered how the heck it got there?

It might not only be useless to you, it could also be spying on you, serving up adware or otherwise disrupting your computer usage.

One of the ways these pesky or downright dangerous programs get onto your PC is through “bundling.”

Click here to read the full article. 


©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
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