August 9, 2008

Scams to Avoid Online



If you surf the web, have a web site or ecommerce site, or sell on auction sites, you should be prepared to be scammed. There are thousands of hackers trying to hack your computer, business or scam you out of money each and everyday, here are some tips that help you avoid scams.

There are major ways to avoid scams and hackers online. Have a powerful antivirus program running all the time, do not click on any links that you are not aware of, and if doing business online, never pay with sources other than check, money order or Paypal. You can cut down your risk to being scammed by following these three tips.

Virus software will help you protect you from general viruses as well as spyware and Trojan horses. Trojan horses are small programs that are inadvertently downloaded and find personal information which is then sent to a database online.

Do not click on links that seem suspicious. You can download a Trojan horse or give away your personal and financial information to an entity other than which was stated. If you do business on auction sites, never accept money or merchandise off the auction site and don't pay with Western Union or Cash. Western Union can not guarantee your payment and many times, it is used for scamming purposes. So follow the above tips to avoid being scammed.
One of the most important functions in any online business is the ability to sell your product. Many small businesses fail not because they have a bad product or service, but because they do not know how to sell their product. One of the easiest ways to sell a product or service is to put together a list of leads or people that fit your market that may be interested in your product.

Many salespeople work hard to put together a list of possible customers. Putting together a list takes lots of time, smarts and plenty of hard work. One of the easiest ways to put together a list is just to buy one, while some lists are a good value, if you are selling a certain product or to a certain list of people, you may find that lists are extremely expensive and usually worth the time and effort to create one yourself.

There are many ways to put together a list. One of the easiest ways to create a list is to set up a web site on a specific topic and offer a free product, service or newsletter. However, in order to get the newsletter, the visitor must submit his or her email address. Depending on the amount of traffic, over a few months you can receive hundreds or even thousands of email addresses that are interested in receiving information on products or services. If you are looking to build your business by developing your contacts, check out the above tips on putting together a list.