10 Ways To Protect Yourself From Internet Fraud_66079

10 Ways You Can Protect Your Wallet Before You Make That Next Great Buy at Any Auction Site:

1. The Old Clich? "If It Looks too Good It Is." It's as true today as it was years ago. A Too-cheap price probably means just that. Check retail prices at stores or look at price comparison sites for a realistic number. If it's too cheap or the price is just unbelievable, say goodbye to your cash.

2. Location of the Item. Many new con-artists list an item for sale here in the US, but after you have agreed on a price reveals that you must wire your money to an overseas location. Dealing with overseas sellers is risky and it can be tough for U.S. Law enforcement to prosecute international cases. Don't send your money to addresses not listed in the original ad. Chances are you just donated your cash to an individual you will never hear from again.

3. Go to This Site for a Better Deal. If a seller tells you that you can save money if you go to this new website......all the red flags should go up in your head. If they lure you away from the original auction site, you are being set up. Websites are put up and taken down quickly. These scams get your money quickly and leave no forwarding address.

4. Escrow Watch. Avoid online escrow services that require you to set up accounts with online payment services. Escrow services are in the business of taking money and should be equipped to do so. If an online escrow service states that they comply with US Financial and Business Code, you know it's a phony set up. There is no such code!

5. Push Plastic. The safest way to pay is by using your credit card. Most credit card companies provide charge-back protections. Don't do business with sellers who say they accept credit cards but later tell you that you must use your credit card to do a wire transfer. Wire transfers of this nature have no protection. The con-artist knows this and is literally banking on the fact that you don't!

6. Don't Give out Personal Information. I know this sounds simple. But you'd be surprised how often you can be tricked into giving out information like your Social Security number, driver's license, date of birth, etc. Most auction sites don't need this information to process your credit card. If you are required to give this information out or you've been told the auction site will close your
account...don't buy it. You are being set up for identity fraud and could lose thousands of dollars before you stop the damage.

7. Limit Your Exposure. It's not such a bad idea to get a credit card with a low limit. Use this card only for online purchases and your losses will be limited (perhaps $2,000.00 instead of $15,000.00).

8. Beware of a Competitive Bidder. That's right. Many con artists pay a shill to bid up the price of an item. They want you to pay the highest price possible. This is not so different than a live auction. People find themselves becoming competitive and they keep bidding. Before they know it, they've paid double the price they would have if they'd bought the item anywhere else. If you are the highest bidder many auction sites will require you to follow through or you will be barred from bidding on that site again.

9. E-mail or Call the Seller. Sounds simple enough. Many times when you call the phone number it's disconnected or the E-mail comes back undeliverable. Both should be warning signs to you that you are dealing with a con artist. Just picking up the phone and dialing the number to ask questions could save you thousands of dollars.

10. Print and Save Everything. Save everything! Print the seller's identification number, the description of the item you're purchasing, any e-mail correspondence that went back and forth between you, what you paid for the item and how you paid for it. Save everything concerning the transaction. You may need it if you are indeed a victim.

I hope you're never a victim of online auction house crime, but if you are you should to report it to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, www.ifccfbi.gov. Your complaint will be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.

If you want additional information on this topic you can get more tips from the Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov.

At Baer Insurance, we offer you Better Advice. Better Choices. and we take a personal interest in our customers. We like to share information that comes to help you protect yourself and your family from financial loss.

If you have any questions, regarding this information or your insurance coverage, please don't hesitate to give me a call me at 608-664-2237 or e-mail me personally at jenniferl@baerinsurance.com.

10 Ways To Own A Successful Home Business_72273

Owning a home business is good; owning a home business that generates good, hard cash is even better. Well, to run an extremely successful home business with ease, all you have to do is follow our tips - and here they are:
1. Do Research: Many people get enamored of the web-based business industry but fail to research each opportunity well. As in the real world, some opportunities sell well and others do not. In order to determine which types of business are viable, it is important to look at product trend, marketing reports and the like in order to get enough information to make a determined decision.
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While you may need to pay a small subscription fee in order to obtain unbiased information, it will pay for itself many times over in time and money savings.
2. The product thread: You must always pick a product that can be followed up by other products as well, which may complement or even substitute it. For example, if you are selling Proactol (a natural fat binder that can help lose weight, get rid of constipation and clean the colon), you can also offer Isabgul (a natural laxative) for people who don't want to lose weight, but just want to get rid of their constipation.
3. It's all in the presentation: Each presentation must be unique. Building a simple, user-friendly website will get you more sales than a fancy, high design site that's hard to figure out. Your presentation should be clear, easy to understand and focused. If you're selling Proactol, the presentation should be about the product, its benefits and the fact that it has FDA approval which is a distinct advantage over other natural herbal colon cleansers that have not been backed by any regulatory seals.
4. The power of good copywriting: Words are power on the Internet. While you want your site to be easy to navigate, you want your words to grab your readers and impact the message you are trying to convey in a sincere, truthful and clear manner. Enticing the reader to take action at the end, you let your word make the case for why they should buy. In this area, avoid doing the writing yourself. This is the job for an expert so outsource it to a professional and reap the rewards of an excellent presentation.
5. Payment system: Tie-up with a reputed merchant banker who offers you a variety of payment options. Also, build in a PayPal ordering procedure, as many freelance professionals prefer to pay via PayPal.
6. Getting the traffic: You can adopt multiple tactics that will ramp up traffic. You must place keywords strategically in your content, offer a free newsletter or other freebies, advertise on search engines using the PPC (pay per click) model, set up a blog, list your website on directories, submit articles, enroll affiliate marketers, join social networking sites and entice their members to visit your website (this is called viral marketing), and so on.
7. Send updates to your mailing list: People have subscribed expect to receive something on a semi-regular basis. If you neglect your list, they will forget you and you will wind up losing people. You build credibility and rapport with people via your emails. Each time someone arrives at your website via email is another visit to your site.
8. Track your progress: As the visitors start to arrive, you will want to track where they come from, not just how many show up. In this way you can track which advertising methods are working and if you need to tweak your traffic campaign. If they come from a certain concentrated area or geographical location, you can build a bigger advertising campaign around that.
9. webhost: Always choose a reputed webhost who employs the latest technology and has redundant space and power capacities.
10. Interest: Finally, always choose a product that you will be interested to work with and promote. There's no point selling guitars if you're not interested in - if you promote a product you have a keen interest in, you will get a nice psychological boost every time a check comes in.
These tips will go a long way towards making you happy and prosperous in your online business pursuits.

Vocational Schools In Chicago_48308

A vocational school is an institution operated for the purpose of giving the students the necessary skills to perform certain jobs. These schools do not aim to further a liberal arts education instead offer to teach job-specific skills.

Vocational education being offered in the past usually focused on specific trades such as becoming an automobile mechanic or welder. Such training and education were then associated with the activities of lower social classes. As a consequence of this, vocational schools attracted a level of stigma. The youth would prefer going to universities and colleges for their education rather than at vocational schools.

However, during the course of time, the labor market begins to develop itself into a more specialized market. More and more economies begin to demand more specialized skills from the workforce.

Governments and businesses are now beginning to invest in the vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives to provide for their need for more people with specialized skills. And also because of this, post-secondary level vocational education is now being provided by an institute of technology,chanel j12 black, or by a local community college.

Vocational education has diversified over the years and now exists to provide training in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology,best replica rolex, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries. People now have a wide selection of vocational training to choose from to personally equip them with skills for their chosen jobs.

If you are looking for Chicago vocational schools, you will be able to find a number of them online. If you are looking forward to honing a certain technical skill in order to land a job,replica chanel watches, a good vocational school may be able to provide you with the education that you are looking for. There are vocational schools all over Chicago that offer a wide range of vocational training.

There is the Chicago School of Massage Therapy for those of you who want to become future massage specialists. There is also the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago for those who want to follow a culinary path to success. The American Academy of Art in Chicago also offers vocational courses for those who are interested in graphic design,chanel ceramic j12, commercial art and illustration.

There are many more vocational schools in Chicago that offer a wide range of training and education for those of you looking to improve or further advance their vocational skills. Such skill will be able to help you help you succeed in a chosen career that you choose to take.