All posts in Scams and Fraud

There are said to be three great lies in the world.

1. I love you!

2. The Cheque’s in the post.

3. I’m from the Tax office – I’m here to “help” you!!

Well now there’s another one to be aware of which can cost you a lot of money if you’re not aware of it.

4. Your Computer has a virus and we can fix it

Lots of people are getting phone calls out of the blue from abroad (they seem to be coming from India currently but could be coming from anywhere). They phone you up and say something like – “you have a comuter am I right?” and then go on to tell you that they either are from Microsoft, are some sort of agent or affiliate to Microsoft or Windows and they are of course “Here to help you”.

They say your computer is either at risk or running slowly or they can check it for viruses.  The words are not important, they ALL have one thing in mind. They want your credit card details so they can “sell” you their services.

THIS IS A SCAM! – So this article sets out some advice for you to avoid being ripped off.

We are receiving one or two of these type of calls each week ourselves and it’s pretty obvious that they are quite clever in manipulating you and tell you all sorts of things that make you so worried that you feel obliged to do everything they ask. After all, they are here to “help” you – right?  I actually asked the last one who paid his wages and he gladly confirmed that it was indeed Microsoft!

This sort of manipulation is sometimes referred to as “Social Engineering” – Go Google it.

If you get one of these phone calls, hang up. You may want to wish them a nice day in your own words first, but DO NOT enter any commands on your PC. What they are doing is trying to establishing a remote connection with your PC and then (very often) will either run a simple (and FREE) diagnostic check which you can do yourself. The outcome will of course be that your PC is under threat and if you give them £Lots – numbers vary – they will “fix” the non existent problem for you. If you don’t know anything about computers, this can be both impressive and worrying. THAT is what they rely on. At that point they become your friend and you need their help – or at least that’s how it feels.

Other scams involve loading on a virus or other malicious software and then charging you for “cleaning” your hard drive.

So what do you do if you get one of these nice support calls from “Microsoft” as they will state.

Safety advice.

1. If you get one of these calls, and all evidence points to the fact that you will! Just hand up and don’t worry.

2. If you are concerned that your PC might be online with a remote scammer, you can always turn off the broadband connection during the session. This is no guarantee that no damage will have been done, buy it might just save the day.

3. Invest in some decent anti Virus software and Anti spy-ware and run a full scan immediately.

4. If in doubt, contact a reputable IT company or PC repair outlet and let them take a look.

5. Update your browser. This one is 100% FREE. The latest versions of modern browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer  let you see what the top level domain is. So if you  are reading this article on a later browser you will see this domain at the top of the screen “http://www.dzined.co.uk/2011/your-computer-is-at-risk-phone-call-scams-from-abroad” and you can see that dzined.co.uk is in black and the rest is in grey. That means we aren’t hiding our true identity behind anything else (like a sub domain). If you are asked to go to a scammers website, you might see something like http://dzined.microsoft/pchelpdesk,  but here only the dzined part is black because the .microsoft bit is one we made up to fool you!

6.Always use strong passwords to protect your data

7. Take regular backups of your data – Your PC will be able to do this & set a restore point from the last backup.

8. Make sure you install the latest updates from Microsoft automatically as there are always a number of security fixes that come out. They are always free and can be set to download automatically when you connect to the Internet each time a new one is launched.

9. Remember that Microsoft NEVER make unsolicited phone calls to people – EVER. So always treat such phone calls with absolute skepticism at best.

10. Get an Apple Mac! Scammers will rarely bother with you then because the operating system is completely different on a Mac! Plus they are wonderful to use (but that’s only our bias!). Macs are not immune but they are a safer bet.

If you have received one of these calls and your PC is now infected or you fear it is infected, you can find out more information at the following (genuine!) links. Above all don’t be afraid of the Internet, just apply the same common sense rules that you would in your daily life. Basically if it sound either too good to be true (e.g. you have won the Spanish lottery that you didn’t enter) or it sound plain dodgy – it probably is -  so just walk away.

Helpful links for further information and advice on scams and computer security.

Microsofts safety & security centre

Microsoft Windows Forum on Scams

Microsoft developers forum on Scams

If you would like any further help or advice on PC security, please contact Dzined on 01992 350066 or email us via the website

Have you ever received an unsolicited lett in the post from a company politely asking you for $75 – $90+ (they are usually in US dollars not £) for you domain name renewal. We also get quite a few worried phone calls from our clients asking if they need to renew with this (previously unheard of) company.

Well the answer is NO – YOU DON’T!!

These type of letters are not actually scams as such because they are offering a genuine service. But they are charging you 10 – 20 times as much as you need to pay for the majority of domain name renewals.

What you need to know about domain name registration.

Just for clarity a domain name means www.yourwebsitename.com or www.yourwebsite.co.uk.  There are loads of variants which end in all sorts of things like .tv, .net, .info or .uk.com etc. but they are all domain names.

Some facts about domain website domain names and registration of a domain name to use for 1 – 10 years at a time.

1. ANYONE - And that means ANYONE can do it for you.  You absolutely DO NOT need to pay someone $75 or more to do it for you!
2. You never “own” a domain name, you only ever rent it. That’s why it is renewed at certain times.
3. You will need to register each domain name through a registrant like 123-reg or any one of the others available.
4. Each domain name type (e.g. .com or .org etc) has its own price structure to renew. Sometimes special offers are available as well like domains for £0.99p.
5. You can register domain names for between 1 and 10 years at a time (.uk domains for 2 years at a time only)
6. You can have as many domain names as you want
7. You can register absolutely anything as a domain name as long as it isn’t already registered
8. A domain name called www.abcwidgets.co.uk (say) can be used by company A to build a website but a domain name www.abcwidgets.com could be a totally different company – even a direct competitor to company A. For this reason we recommend you buy ALL the domain name extensions related to your business. It’s more secure for you that way.
9. You don’t have to use a domain name just because you have registered it. Some people “bank” domain names and sell them on to others if they turn out to be desirable in the future.  Also it blocks competitors using the name against you with a different domain extension (see point 8).
10. Domain names can be used to build websites or run emails. You don’t necessarily have to have a website just because you have a domain name, it may just be used as a “hosted email” solution.

If you can’t sleep and want the full chapter & verse on .uk domain names, visit the  nominet website which is a good resource.

Conclusion

If you receive a letter in the mail telling you that your domain name is up for renewal, have a look at this quick reference chart below to see if what they are charging you is anywhere near what you should be paying. Then bin the letter unless you know for sure that you are about to pay the right price.

We use this scale of charges for any client that we look after so you always know you’re paying the right price for your domain renewals.  Please don’t fall foul of people who are usually taking advantage of what is (sadly) widespread uncertainty about the cost of website domain name renewal fees.

If all else fails, call Dzined on 01992 350066 and check!

Typical minimum charges for domain name renewals. These can vary with the volume you buy & the registrant company.

• .co.uk domains – £7.00 + VAT for 2 years
• .com domains – £10.00 + VAT for 1 year
• .org domains – £10.00 + VAT for 1 year
• .net domains – £10.00 + VAT for 1 year
• .info domains – £10.00 + VAT for 1 year
• .biz domains – £10.00 + VAT for 1 year
• .uk.com domains – £70.00 + VAT for 2 years
• .org.uk domains – £7.00 + VAT for 2 years

There are dozens more extensions available from countries all over the world and new ones are released periodically – a bit like cherished number plates from DVLA, but these are the most commonly used ones in the UK.

Have you had a call from Facebook or Google recently. Did you think “I’ve done it, I’m so successful Facebook want to get in touch with me and offer me some great opportunities“. Are you being offered fantastic advertising deals, No.1 position in the search engine in no time – Guaranteed!? Then read on!

Its now verycommon for businesses to receive a cold call that’s starts or “Hello, I’m calling on behalf of Google” or even worse “Hello, I’m calling from Google“.

…. “On behalf of“, that’s quite a vague choice of words…..

“I’ve had a look at your business online and searched in Google and see your customer’s can’t find you in the search engine, but we are here to help.  We can get you on the first page of Google in under 24 hours, for only £120 per month. Based on what you sell, there are five keywords that we have reserved specifically for your business and can guarantee you a  lot more site traffic and business”.

There’s not much point continuing with the rest of what it contained in the sales call, as the most misleading and ludicrous claims have already been made.

Who is this calling me?

Whilst we can’t guarantee it’s not Google, you can be pretty sure it’s not, but is instead a “Marketing company” somewhere in the world, whether it be in your country or another.

We know this is exactly what goes on because we have first hand experience of  these type of calls almost every week. These tactics are used by only a small number of businesses that are run with bad ethics,  high pressure sales calls, bullying and emotional tactics, that’s not what marketing is about. For the purposes of this article we shall refer to these unethical companies by the generic term of  ‘XYZ’!

Remember the “on behalf of opener”?

Next time you get one of these calls, see how long it takes you to obtain XYZ’s registered company name and company address. You may even find the conversation is cut dead and they hang up the phone. Now I know for sure if anyone rings our company and wants to check us out to make sure we are who we say are, we are more than happy to oblige and give them what is already “public” information.

If you are successful in your interrogation you will get a name, “XYZ“. So there’s your first hurdle overcome, you now know  who they are and they’re not Google (or Facebook for that matter), but are indeed an independent business. If you continue further you will with almost certainty have no affiliation with Google and are not calling on their behalf. But they ARE calling on their own behalf.

Tactics and methods of persuasion

They say “Your customer’s can’t find you” – Well how do they know?  Have they spoken all of the customer’s you have not been found by? Are they specialist’s in your industry and understand your products and services fully in order to ascertain what your customer’s might be looking for?  Are they the sort of company that might find out how you operate & talk to your customers?

No of course not, it’s a bit of a “make you panic and put you into submission to accept the sale” trick. What’s even worse is that it’s quite common for the salesperson on the phone to only have your business name and the industry you are in and not even to have looked for you online. Why not ask them what they though about your site, what products were interesting to them…listen out for the furious tapping of keys at the other end!

Now it maybe true that your website is difficult for your customer’s/potential customers to find, however there are a dozens of things, that can be done to rectify this. Best of all a huge number of then are completely free and you can do them yourself – today.

Promises

“We’ll get you on to the first page of Google” – Great! Where do I sign?

The fist page of Google,what more could we want?  What’s the first page of Google?  Well actually the first page of Google is www.google.co.uk?  If you type that into your browser, notice how there are no ads from anyone (not even Google), its just the Google logo and search box, plus a few Google links to useful resources.  This is because Google is mostly dynamic, meaning, that pages are built on the fly in response to your customers typing in a search term – sometimes called queries or questions.

How specific are our friends at XYZ being?

If you type in beauty salons into the search box and click the Search button you get a new page full of results some in yellow at the top, some on the left, some on the right. That page has been dynamically created for you (in 0.02 seconds or similar)  because you asked Google to show you all the beauty salons in the world. That search query returns around 35.6million results currently. This does not mean there are 35.6 million beauty salons, but it does mean Google has recorded the location of 35.6 million pages containing those two specific keywords.

So that first page promise is sounding pretty good eh? OK lets try refining the search to beauty salons hertfordshire now there are (only!) 1.4 millions results, try beauty salons hitchin now there are only 294 thousand results. Notice the more specific we get the less results there are.  This means there is less competition, and the less competition, the easier it is to get to page 1.

Now here’s the key part of information that neither we of XYX have told you…. there are two main types of results in Google; Organic listings and Sponsored Listings.

Organic Listings

Organic listings don’t cost you a penny. They are determined by a multitude of factors that clever Google computers put into an algorithm to determine your position in the results. These include: your website domain name, the speed your website is delivered to visitors, the location of your hosting, the key words used in your site and how relevant it is to the search terms people use. Now THE key thing to know here is that Google NEVER (and that means NEVER) publish how to get to “The first Page in Google” – Why? Because unethical “Marketing” companies would cheat!  Google DO publish best practise articles & video’s which are well worth looking at. The organic listings are determind by many factors but the one that comes up time after time is relevance. Relevant page content to the searches get high ranking – and that’s free!

Sponsored Listings

These are small ads you place with Google to show a link (actually a small advert with a direct link)  to your website for a small fee. This is usually what XYZ are offering you dressed up to seem like something else.

They will offer to get you on the “first page” of Google using 5 keywords or phrases for only £129 per month.  What they don’t tell you  is you could set up a Google account yourself, and there are lots of vouchers available for £35, £50, £75 that Google themselves actually give you for free to get you started. And… there are no minimum spends and no annual contracts.

Now in the interest of balance, XYZ are setting up an account on your behalf and spending  £50 of your money on ads with the remainder being a free voucher, then pocket the difference as their fee. For the following months they will  run the campaigns for you and take their charges out of the monthly fee.

Lack of transparency

Whilst there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing a Google adwords campaign, and to be fair that’s a healthy business service,  there is a huge smoke screen that covers up what really goes on, so you never realise what’s happening and that you can run a monthly Google Adwords campaign yourself (for free) and spend a budget that YOU control, generating site traffic for your business.

What they also don’t do is monitor the quality of customers these leads are providing for you. You could be spending £100 per month with XYZ and every lead coming through the door as a resultcould be a waste of time, and seeing though you are now tied into a contract for 1 year with XYZ that’s £1200 or more, WASTED which you will NEVER get back.

Ok I’ve read all this, I’m not sure what to do now? Help?

It really is simple. Follow the information below and remember the facts.

The facts:

• You can almost be certain its’ not Google, Facebook or Yahoo calling you. It’s most likely another company that does not have any affiliation with them.
• You will be bombarded will technical information and vague claims that are designed to throw you of the scent and lull you into a false sense of security with the salesperson. They rely on your unfamiliarity with the subject.
• You can run all of these campaigns yourself for free and pay for only what you need and most importantly, can really afford.
• Without knowledge of your sales and any analytical data you have already collected about your website visitors its is very hard for the salesperson to give you information on how well your site is working.

Here’s what to do

• Find out who you are speaking to, are they a registered business, where are they, what’s their phone number?
• Search for them online and look for reviews and testimonials (be careful not to be sucked in by false reviews). Try searching for their name and a negative phrase like XYZ rip off or XYZ bad service. See what comes up.
• Write all of the details of the offer down, and the full name of the person you spoke to and a telephone number you can call them back on (If they make excuse like “It’s only and outgoing line” or other excuses, then just don’t bother with them.
• Tell them you will call them back once you have decided.
• Don’t commit to anything on the first call and definately NEVER more than one month at a fixed amount, and make sure the amount is fairly small, e.g.  £50 -£100
• Ask for a written contract/agreement.
• If they won’t help you with anything in the above list then just say thank you but I’m not interested & hang up.
• Sometimes they slip up & you can dial 1471 and get the phone number. Try searching win Google using that phone number & see what happens.

Ok so I’ve got rid of them. Now what?

Do some research, look for a company like ourselves or any of the thousands of genuine and reputable Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM) companies out there and get some quotes, don’t commit to any fixed term contracts initally. Understand fully what you are paying for and monitor any results carefully once you start a campaign.

Never spend more than you can afford to lose when trying out something new and always start small.

If you would like to discuss this with us further and learn how Dzined can help your business with Marketing your website online, please email sales@dzined.co.uk

Conclusion

We’re definitely not saying tha  all companies that offer SEO and SEM services are bad and not to be trusted, but we care enough to provide a comprehensive synopsis of what goes on and hopefully save a lot of people a lot of stress and a lot more money, by simply raising awareness.

Google do not need to call you up and sell you SEM services because they make billions of dollars each year with legitimate companies and individuals.

If in doubt – Hang up! You won’t damage your business if you do that but you just might if you continue to waste money each month.