Don't Be Too Eager

As sales likely decrease over the next few months it can be tempting to latch onto any potential sale, but be careful. Scams abound, and while not all are as obvious as this, you should always be wary.

"Greetings sales,
I was looking to order for some of the nice product you have in stock.but before I proceed, I will want to know if you do the below.

1) accept credit card payment
2) lagos Nigeria shipment
3) which of the courrier services you ship with.

kindly get back to me as soon as possible today along with your website address if these are acceptable.

Sincerely.
J"

Isn't that nice of "J"? He wants to buy my nice product, but doesn't even know my website. Nor does he know my name.

This is an obvious scam e-mail and I immediately hit the delete button, but sometimes scammers are more subtle and harder to flush out.

Never send product without payment. Never agree to ship to an out of country address if it isn't the same as the billing address.

I'd personally hold a shipment if paid with a money order - especially on a large purchase - if made from overseas. Money Orders can be faked - sometimes so well that banks can't even tell. If you are at all concerned - listen to that inner voice - hold the shipment. For as long as you need - 10, 15 days. Whatever. If they are legitimate they will understand.

Be careful out there!

Never Trust Your E-Mail

This story is incredible! I never click on links sent to me from someone I don't know unless I know I've signed up for something. Many people follow this line of thinking so somethings legitimate e-mails (like my own, seldom sent newsletters) get ignored.

Unfortunately there must be hundreds of thousands (millions?) of people who ignore all the warnings out there and click on unknown e-mails. McAfee sponsored an experiment to see what would happen if people actually clicked and answered those annoying SPAM e-mails. The results were funny and frightening.

In her guise as Penelope Retch, Mooney answered the e-mail that came into her account. "I'd see an interactive spam, open it, click on it and asked to be removed. That would only make it worse," she says. "They'd say 'no.'"

.......

Some oddball facts that emerged from the experiment are that fake Chase.com was the most common phishing e-mail spotted during the project, and that the British volunteers received the most Nigerian scam e-mail.

Feel safe opening my newsletters folks (besides the fact that I haven't even sent one out in two months!!!). No spam there. But beware of scammers. You never know what that "FREE" offer will cost you.

IRS Rebate Check Scam - BEWARE

Just read an excellent warning post from My Investment Blog about some losers trying to scam you out of your money. BEWARE!!!

Don't Be Fooled - Watch out for Scams

Have you heard of Scam Baiters? What a fun thing to do!

I found out about this from the blog Snoskred, which is a great read.

Watch out for scams. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

Warn Your Grandparents (or Parents)

This story (may require a subscription) in the Wall Street Journal burned my hide. As if seniors don't have enough issues facing them, being tricked into estate planning with insurance companies shouldn't be high on their list of worries.



So here's the scam. A sweet little ol' lady gets a post card in the mail that says - "The government is going to take away your medicare" or "Get Free Estate Planning" or even "Your Estate Will be Wiped Out by Taxes".

"Some cards gush about sweepstakes prizes, and returns may be used by marketers in any number of industries. But state regulators say the most ubiquitous type of card is delivered to seniors on behalf of insurers. Often plastered with American flags, such cards may cite "changes in your Medicare benefits" or
mention "new legislation" passed by Congress that will "affect you and your heirs" -- along with references to research by federal agencies or AARP on how to handle such changes."

Sweet little ol' lady (SLOL) is concerned and fills out and returns the card for her 'free' information, thinking the card is sponsored by a government agency or AARP. Not so much. Said ol' lady then gets a phone call to set up a meeting with an 'estate planner' who then goes on to convince her to transfer her life savings into some mutual fund or insurance policy.

"During their meeting, she recalls, he "asked me what I had in stocks and bonds" and convinced her to move her $170,000 IRA, invested in mutual funds, to an American Investors deferred annuity. She says she only realized later that she was limited to withdrawing 10% a year. Any withdrawals beyond that sum were subject to a penalty as high as 17% in some cases, the state complaint says. "

Most of these policies have huge fees for premature withdrawal and tie up SLOL's funds when she needs them most. The story includes one gentleman who's money was restricted from him until he turned 90!

"Soon after they mailed the reply, a living-trust marketer, and then an insurance agent, showed up at the couple's Morganton, N.C., home, Mr. Williams said in an affidavit filed in state Superior Court in Raleigh. Mr. Williams, an 83-year-old retired factory worker, says the agent talked him into transferring much of the
couple's $179,000 nest egg into annuities that barred them from tapping the bulk of their money, unless they paid high penalties, until Mr. Williams was nearly 90. The commission on such products is typically 9.5%"

My full time job is in the financial world. I'm not a financial planner or anything but even I know that when you're retired - the whole point of your retirement funds is to live! Not to invest your money and then not be able to touch it. That's where I am in life, not where my grandfather is.



These slimey tactics are how companies are currently getting around the "Do Not Call" registries. Be sure to warn your grandparents and parents (well, you too I guess) to not fill out any kind of card that offers "free" assistance and definitely check into who is trying to sell you stuff. Nothing in life is free...my mama taught me that!

Don't Fall for it

I'm not normally a naive person. I've become more and more skeptical as time has gone by, but sometimes I get a little off my game and slip up a little. Wednesday was one of those days apparently.

My website has a 'contact me' page. I prefer this to having people try to e-mail me directly. Mainly because if they e-mail me from their own e-mail address the Spam filter might snag it, but when using the contact page the message always comes through just fine. The only drawback to me is that when I see that I have a message I get a little excited...somebody is contacting me!

Lately, I don't get nearly as excited. Maybe 1 in 10 queries is an actual customer who wants or has a question about jewelry. The other 9 times it is someone who wants to sell me something, link to me (nothing wrong with that), or wants me to join something. Sometimes these are also important messages, but often they are not.

Soooo...I got a message on Wednesday:

"Dear Madam:Our affluent readers have questions about your items for sale.When is the best time for me to call or email you?
Sincerely,Lisa M.
Fashion Avenue News Network"

Her contact information was also listed (phone, web address, e-mail) but I don't really want to give them a free link. Go ahead and google them if you're interested.

Needless to say I must have been tired that day because I actually fell for it! I e-mailed her back with my contact information and that I'd be happy to answer any questions. *sigh* Yesterday I get a reply...and what a shock. She's asking me if I'd like to give her $500 to advertise on their website. Some question.

I love their pitch (*enter sarcasm here*). Trick me into thinking they're actually interested in an interview or my work. Then ask me to give them money: "Our affluent readers have questions about new designs - where to find the latest designs? We want to suggest your name to all our affluent readers."

Okay, I get it. You think your readers are affluent. Try another adjective. K?

Please don't try to trick me into advertising. I may fall for the initial inquiry but $500 is not a small amount of money and I'm slowly learning what avenues are worth my advertising dollars and which are not. I'm sure as heck not going to invest in some company that tries to trick potential advertisers. To me that is dishonest and a little too 'slick willy' if you get my drift.

Beware the "Secret" Scam

Oh dear. Why do people think they can get away with these things? Probably because people fall for it. Please don't!

I have gotten two e-mails through my contact form on my website. It seems they found me through the Secret Pal shopping site and I'm not the only one they've contacted. I haven't changed any words or grammar at all.

want to send a gift to someone in edmenton canada , but i m living in other
country(egypt) is that possible and my second question is it possible to keep my
all information anonymous to the person reciving the gift like my name and
location and address thnx in advance .. and i would also like to ask .. in that
case of keeping my details anonymous if the person contact u up to ask about the
details will u hv to give it in that case

The second message, in the same day...

hi
i want to send a gift to someone in edmenton canada.. but i m living in
egypt and i m gonna pay by visa card is it possible .. and if yes i want to send
it as an anonymous gift without my name or address or my location .. and where
to type that when i m signing out , and i got yr site through secretpalsites.com
.. will i get my free shipping.. and my last question ..if the person contact u
to ask about the sender will u hv to give the information out .. as i contacted
many sites regarding this .. i m not ordering right now ,, but for sure i m
going purchase many things from yr site its lovely
thnx

Apparently these scammers are trying to take advantage of us Independent artists and crafters. The same message was brought up on The Soap Forum (which I had no idea existed!).

I was uncertain when I got the first one. I mean, after all, someone from Egypt COULD want to send a secret gift. But I'm not so desperate for a sale that I won't question it.

Verdict: SCAM! Run far far away if you get this e-mail!