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DSEF & BBB: 10 Ways To Spot Work At Home Scams

DSEF & BBB: 10 Ways To Spot Work At Home Scams

work_at_home1-150x150By Kelsey Owen

Beware of “jobs” or “business opportunities” that seem to offer high pay for work you can do at home. Often these programs are bogus.

Common scams involve package forwarding, Internet searches or advertising, envelope stuffing, medical billing, discount or coupon programs, rebate processing, distributorships, sales, or the purchase of special equipment or software to start businesses.

Many people lose large sums of money through work at home scams. Some versions of these scams – like package forwarding – might also involve the victim in crimes such as identity theft and handling of stolen merchandise.

Here are 10 tip-offs that the “opportunity” could be a scam:

Big bucks for simple tasks. Watch out if they promise to pay you a lot of money for jobs that don’t seem to require much effort or skill. Sound too good to be true? It might be a scam.

Job offers out of nowhere from strangers. If they offer you a job without getting an application from you first, meeting you, or doing an interview, it’s probably a scam. Don’t hand your personal employment information to such folk (especially your Social Security number!). That could lead to identity theft.

Requests for up-front payments. If someone wants you to make an advance payment to “get in” on the ground floor of a new business opportunity – especially if it’s a big investment, or you don’t have much information about the deal – this is a big red flag. Don’t do it. “Advance fee scams” are very common and they come in many varieties.

They ask you to wire the money. If you wire a payment to somebody, it’s gone forever. Wire transfers of money are a convenient and perfectly legitimate service. But scam artists often ask you to wire payments that they are requesting (especially to destinations in other countries!) because they know you won’t be able to get your money back.

High pressure to do it now. Don’t be in a hurry to accept an unsolicited offer of work, or to make a business investment, particularly if the other party is asking you to spend your money on the deal.

Take your time. If somebody tries to convince you that this is a “limited time” offer and you have to act now, just tell them to forget it. Ignore anybody who pushes you to agree. High pressure is a big sign that something’s wrong.

– See more at: http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/06/10-ways-to-spot-work-at-home-scams/#sthash.LQEaYFu7.dpuf

DSEF and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) foster honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.

About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visit www.bbb.org/us for more information.

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DSEF & BBB: Identity Theft on Social Media – Are You at Risk?

DSEF & BBB: Identity Theft on Social Media – Are You at Risk?

blue_with_website-225x30022By Katie Burgoyne

Social media is a great outlet to engage with family and friends, but are you sharing too much in the process?  Identity theft can occur with only a few key pieces of your personal information.  And now, courtesy of social media profiles, that information is easier than ever to steal.  For example, an average Facebook profile lists a person’s name, date of birth, and hometown.  So already you have provided a thief with crucial information they need to steal your identity.

The most effective way to protect yourself from identity theft is to make your social profile private.  As well, consider the information your putting on your site. Does your friend of a friend really need to know your home address?  Probably not.  The more personal details you withhold, the safer you will be.

Check out NextAdvisor’s infographic below that presents some alarming statistics about identity theft on social media sites.

na infographic v3 1k 1 Identity Theft on Social Media: Are You at Risk?

To read the full article, visit http://www.nextadvisor.com/blog/2013/04/02/are-we-revealing-too-much-about-ourselves-on-social-media.

 

DSEF and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) foster honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.

About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visit www.bbb.org/us for more information.

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DSEF & BBB: Cut Down on Junk Mail and Spam

DSEF & BBB: Cut Down on Junk Mail and Spam

blue_with_website-225x30022

By Kelsey Owen

There are a few things more annoying than junk mail, spam and unsolicited calls and texts messages. Not only are these unwanted communications an annoyance, but they can potentially lead to identity theft.

But how do you stop them? While it’s nearly impossible to completely eliminate junk mail, spam text messages and unwanted phone calls, BBB recommends taking the following steps for getting your inboxes and phone lines under control.

Unwanted mail shouldn’t cost you your identity. Pre-approved credit card offers are an easy target for identity thieves who can steal incoming mail and use these offers to open fraudulent credit accounts. Stopping these pre-screened credit offers can help reduce the chances of identity theft. U.S. consumers can “opt-out” of receiving pre-approved credit card offers for at least five years by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688) or visit: optoutprescreen.com. This service is offered by the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Canadian residents can visit fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/home for more tips.

Stop unwanted direct mail solicitations. To stop most mailings, U.S. consumers can go to dmachoice.org and opt out of mail from members of the Direct Marketing Association. DMA regularly updates its list, but it may take up to six months before solicitations from all DMA members stop. If you live in Canada, register for the Canadian Marketing Association’s Do Not Contact list at the-cma.org.

Has your evening been interrupted by telemarketers? You’re not alone. The U.S. government’s National Do Not Call Registry is a free, easy way to reduce the telemarketing calls you get at home. To register your phone number or to get information about the registry, visit donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register. You will get fewer telemarketing calls within 31 days of registering your number. Canadian residents can visitlnnte-dncl.gc.ca for opt-out information.

Are you receiving spam text messages? First and foremost, don’t respond. Responding to the text message only confirms a working number and opens the door for more messages. If your number is already on the Do Not Call Registry and you’re still receiving messages and phone calls, file a complaint with the FCC or the Canadian Anti–Fraud Centre and consider PrivacyStar. BBB National Partners AT&T and Verizon have partnered with PrivacyStar to give you back control of your smartphone. The smartphone application, available in the U.S. for Android, BlackBerry and iPhone, lets you block unwanted numbers, look up unknown numbers, and file a complaint with the FTC.

– See more at: http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/06/cut-down-on-junk-mail-and-spam/#sthash.tyeG39En.dpuf

DSEF and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) foster honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.

About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visit www.bbb.org/us for more information.

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DSEF & BBB: Be Cool. Know About the “3 Day Cooling Off Rule”

DSEF & BBB: Be Cool. Know About the “3 Day Cooling Off Rule”

blue_with_website-225x30022By Myriam Cruz

One of the questions we often hear at BBB is how to cancel the purchase of a product or service. While there are various reasons for wanting to cancel, many consumers feel they are pressured into making a purchase or signing a contract. They often feel they don’t have all the necessary information to make an educated decision, hence the feeling of buyer’s remorse. However, the desire to cancel a purchase seems to be most often on sales made at a consumer’s home or at a location other than the company’s normal place of business. For purchases such as these, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has guidelines for consumers and businesses.

What Consumers Should Know

The FTC’s Cooling – Off Rule gives consumers three days to cancel purchases of $25 or more conducted at a buyer’s home – even if the salesperson is invited to make a presentation at the home, workplace or dormitory, or at facilities rented by seller on a temporary or short-term basis, such as convention centers, fairgrounds, and/or restaurants. The right to cancel for a full refund extends until midnight of the third business day after the sale and consumers do not have to give a reason for cancelling. However, there are exceptions.

Company’s Responsibility

The salesperson must tell consumers about their cancellation rights at time of sale and provide two copies of the cancellation form, along with a copy of the contract or receipt. The contract should be dated, show the name and address of the seller, and explain the right to cancel in the same language used in the sales presentation.

How to Cancel

To cancel, consumers need to sign and date a copy of the cancellation form – or a letter – and mail it to the address given for cancellation, making sure it is postmarked before midnight of the third business day after the contract date.

Upon cancellation, the seller has 10 days to:

·        Cancel and return any promissory note or negotiable instrument signed;

·        Refund all money and tell whether any product will be picked up; and

·        Return any trade-in

Within 20 days, the seller must either pick up any items left with the consumer or reimburse the consumer for mailing expenses if they agree to send back the items.

If consumers don’t make the items available to the seller and return them in good condition, they remain obligated under contract.

Handling Problems

Complaints regarding the Cooling Off Rule can be submitted online to the FTC atwww.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.

When have you experienced buyer’s remorse? What service have you had trouble cancelling?

 

DSEF and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) foster honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.

About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visit www.bbb.org/us for more information.

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DSEF & BBB: Facebook Page Owners – Beware of New Phishing Scam

DSEF & BBB: Facebook Page Owners – Beware of New Phishing Scam

By Caitlin Vancas

blue_with_website-225x30022If you’re the owner or manager of a company or organization’s Facebook Page, you may be the target of a new phishing scam. Phishing emails are being sent by scammers alleging to be from “Facebook Security.”

This phishing scam attempts to trick Page owners into initiating a “Fan Page Verification Program.” Users are asked to share their Facebook Page’s URL, login credentials and create a 10-digit number as a “Transferring Code.” See a screenshot of this scam.

After providing the requested information, the scammer has been given the ability to post spam and malicious links to your Page followers. Why are Facebook Page owners being targeted? Pages usually have more followers than private users AND fans of the Page are more likely to click on posted links, trusting the source.

DSEF and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) foster honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.

About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visit www.bbb.org/us for more information.

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Becoming a Money Wise Woman

Becoming a Money Wise Woman

We have only to examine a few statistics to understand why it’s important to become educated on financial issues and begin planning our futures now. Between raising children and taking care of parents, women are losing an average of 14.7 years from the workplace. A woman who is out of the work force for one year must work five years to recover lost income, pension coverage and promotional opportunities.  In spite of our best intentions, between the 43% divorce rate and the fact that women tend to live seven to ten years longer than men, the reality is that if we aren’t already, most of us are going to be the sole person responsible for our financial security at some points in our lives.

Marcia Brixey

Women are by nature, caretakers. We take care of our children, husbands, partners, grandchildren and parents. We take care of everyone, but ourselves. But, ladies we need to be proactive and make an investment in ourselves. The investment we make now will determine our quality of life both financially and personally in the years ahead.

I wrote this in my first Kitsap Sun article – Becoming a Money Wise Woman in January 2003. Although 10 years later the statistics are still much the same, Money Wise Women has provided thousands of women with the tools and education to live financially healthy. More than 6,600 women have attended 70 Money Wise Women Conferences in Washington, California, Idaho and Oregon since November 2002.

Several years ago Money Wise Women joined forces with the Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) to educate and empower women on their financial and business goals through the Money Wise Women Teleseminar Series. The free teleseminars (thanks to DSEF’s sponsorship) cover a variety of topics relating to finance and business. Topics include investing, credit reports, credit card debt, goal setting, time management and much more.

Each monthly listeners have the opportunity to listen live to my interview with powerful women who are experts in their field. We tape the teleseminar allowing women to listen and learn at their leisure in the comfort of their own home. Upcoming Money Wise Women Teleseminars include:

  • Treating Your Business Like a Professional with Deb Bixler
    May 7, 2013
  • A Single Woman’s Guide to Retirement with Jan Cullinane
    June 11, 2013
  • Calling All Super Complainers with Michele Corey
    July 9, 2013
  • A Man is Not a Financial Plan with Candace Bahr and Ginita Wall
    August 13, 2013
  • Business in the You Economy with Tara Gentile
    October 8, 2013
  • Communicating with Many Generations with Jennifer Fong
    November 12, 2013

If you’re ready to get financially healthy and/or take your business to the next level visit Money Wise Women Teleseminar website – www.moneywisewomengetsmart.com to listen to past teleseminars and sign up for upcoming teleseminars.

“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.” Goethe

About Marcia Brixey 

During her 26 years working for the Social Security Administration Marcia Brixey met thousands of women who experienced financial difficulties resulting from a personal crisis – husband’s death, divorce, illness or loss of a job. In August 2002 she founded Money Wise Women Educational Services to ensure every woman is financially articulate, confident, secure and independent. Today she hosts and speaks at Money Wi$e Women Conferences throughout the Western United States. Marcia also hosts the popular Money Wi$e Women Teleseminar Series. She is the author of The Money Therapist: A Woman’s Guide to Creating a Healthy Financial Life (Seal Press). Ms. Brixey regularly blogs for Money Wise Women and Forbes.com.

Ms. Brixey’s been the featured speaker at numerous conferences including the Women’s Money Conference in Reno and Las Vegas; Central California Women’s Conference in Fresno, CA; Prudential Financial Stepping Out Conference in Santa Clara, CA and Chicago IL; Choice Hotels Convention in Orlando, FL; Oklahoma Society of CPAs Invest in Herself: Journey to Financial Freedom Conference in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, OK; Washington State Employed Women in Vancouver, WA; Today’s Woman Expo in Boise, ID; Invest in Yourself Strategies for Women Conference in Costa Mesa, CA; and Northwest Women’s Show, Seattle WA and Portland OR. She’s also spoken at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI.

Marcia is a former columnist for The Kitsap Sun newspaper, which serves the Kitsap Peninsula in Western Washington. She has been a guest on Northwest Afternoon (Seattle, KOMO TV), View from the Bay (San Francisco, ABC affiliate), Good Day Sacramento, About the Money (Seattle, PBS affiliate) and Sonoran Living Live (Phoenix, ABC15 TV). Marcia’s been interviewed on numerous radio shows and featured on CBS Report of the Week with Brian Banmiller. Marcia’s print media appearances include Quick and Simple, Redbook, Family Circle, Reader’s Digest, Ladies Home Journal, Puget Sound Business Journal, Seattle Woman Magazine, and US News and World Report. She is a member of the My Own Business Institute Advisory Panel. Ms. Brixey received the 2006 YWCA Woman of Achievement award in Kitsap County.

Marcia was inspired to take early retirement from her public relations job with the Social Security Administration in August 2002 after reading the quote “Our purpose in life is to find our gift, perfect it and give it back to others”. Ms. Brixey’s experience with the Social Security Administration includes District Manager, Supervisor, and Public Relations Specialist. She graduated from California State University, East Bay with a B.S. degree in Business Administration.

 

Blog / Contest

NCPW 2013 Contest Winners

NCPW 2013 Contest Winners

NCPW2013_285x285A big thank you to everyone who participated to make National Consumer Protection Week 2013 our best celebration yet! From folks that put together amazing, free consumer protection resources, to the companies that donated prizes, to all of you who entered, it’s been a great week dedicated to helping people make better decisions as consumers and business owners.

Comments from You

We’ve had comments from you like:

“I love the Wifi protection article. I don’t think many people realize how easy it is for hackers to get into your wifi devices.” ~ Sunny Downes

“I found the Five Tips for Safe Mobile Banking interesting – it is something I have been thinking of starting to use!” ~ Traci Rasmussen

“I found the article about the 4% charge on credit/ debit cards. I never noticed till last week when I was in at KFC that I was charged a different price. When asked she pointed to a sign smaller than a business card. WOW” ~ Lindsey Duprel

“I love the Money Wi$e portion and the Free Ebook…that I share with everyone I know! lol…

Thanks for being there…I really love everything about the DSEF so many great tips and tricks that I share on a daily basis with my team!!

xo” ~ DivaVal

Donating Companies

A big thank you to all the direct selling companies that provided prizes this week. They clearly demonstrated the commitment the direct sales industry has for consumer protection:

Winners

Congratulations to our winners this week! We gave away a collection of more than 20 products each day from the companies above. Our winners are:

  • Monday: Sue Williams
  • Tuesday: Dawn Mulvey
  • Wednesday: Jennifer Hartman
  • Thursday: Kimberly Allar
  • Friday: Lindsey Pierce
iPad Mini donated by Nu Skin for our National Consumer Protection Week 2013 contest at http://dsef.org

iPad Mini donated by Nu Skin for our National Consumer Protection Week 2013 contest at http://dsef.org

And thanks to Nu Skin, we also gave away an iPad Mini this week. The winner was selected at random from the nearly 1,000 entries we received this week.

And the winner of the iPad Mini is…

  • Alice Andreat

Congratulations to everyone who won. And please continue to take advantage of the consumer protection resources we’ve provided on this page. There are a ton of them! We are committed to making sure you can find the consumer protection information you need to make the best possible choices for your business and family.

Blog / Contest

National Consumer Protection Week 2013, and a Contest (Day 5)!

National Consumer Protection Week 2013, and a Contest (Day 5)!

NCPW2013_285x285It’s the 5th and final day of our National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) celebration! We’ve already given away four gorgeous Initials, Inc. bags stuffed full of amazing products from direct selling companies, and today we’re giving away one more! We’ve also been highlighting some of the amazing resources available on the web to help you make informed choices as a consumer and business owner.

Each day this week, we’ve posted a question. Use the NCPW resources we’ve provided to answer the question, and you’ll be entered to win an amazing (and gorgeous!) bag full of products from a number of companies in the direct sales industry. We’ve provided some bonus entry options as well.

You can win this iPad at http://dsef.orgAnd thanks to a generous donation from Nu Skin, we’ll also be drawing the name of one winner from among all entries this week to win an iPad mini!

 

Prize Details

Win this bag full of products from direct selling companies in today’s NCPW contest! (Prizes may be slightly different than those pictured, and there are more than those shown!)

Win this bag full of products from direct selling companies in today’s NCPW contest! (Prizes may be slightly different than those pictured, and there are more than those shown!)

Today’s winner will receive a beautiful bag full of products, including:

How to Enter

Simply leave a comment answering today’s question: We’d love to know…which of the resources on our NCPW Resources Page was your favorite? (Here’s the link to our NCPW resources page – Opens in a separate window)

p.s. Please be sure you actually leave a comment in the comment box below the Rafflecopter widget (don’t just click the button on the widget!). If we can’t find your comment, you can’t win!

Congratulations to Friday’s gift basket winner, Lindsey Pierce!

Our iPad winner is Alice Andreat. Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone for playing! We hope you had fun, and found some great resources!

Click here to see all of this week’s winners: http://dsef.org/2013/03/09/ncpw-2013-contest-winners/

* Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada, ages 18 and older. Final winners will be announced tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9am!

Good luck, and don’t forget to tell your friends!

Blog / Contest

National Consumer Protection Week, and a Contest (Day 4)!

National Consumer Protection Week, and a Contest (Day 4)!

NCPW2013_285x285It’s day 4 of National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), and the fun continues! We’ve already given away three gorgeous Initials, Inc. bags stuffed full of amazing products from direct selling companies, and today we’re giving away another one! We’ve also been highlighting some of the amazing resources available on the web to help you make informed choices as a consumer and business owner.

Each day this week, we’ll post a question. Use the NCPW resources we’ve provided to answer the question, and you’ll be entered to win an amazing (and gorgeous!) bag full of products from a number of companies in the direct sales industry. We’ve provided some bonus entry options as well. We’re giving away a bag stuffed full of amazing products each day, so be sure to come back each day to enter!

You can win this iPad at http://dsef.orgUPDATE! This Just In!

Thanks to a generous donation from Nu Skin, on Friday we are going to draw one name from all of this week’s entries to win an iPad mini!!! You can enter each day, so the more days you enter, the more chances you have to win!

 

Prize Details

Today’s winner will receive a beautiful bag full of products, including:

All entries will also be entered into the drawing on Friday to win an iPad mini, donated by Nu Skin.

How to Enter

Simply leave a comment answering today’s question: What’s the difference between an extended warranty and a service contract? (Find the link to the answer on our NCPW resources page! – Opens in a separate window)

p.s. Please be sure you actually leave a comment in the comment box below the Rafflecopter widget (don’t just click the button on the widget!). If we can’t find your comment, you can’t win!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Kimberly Allar, the winner of Thursday’s drawing!

Click here to see all of this week’s winners: http://dsef.org/2013/03/09/ncpw-2013-contest-winners/

* Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada, ages 18 and older.

Good luck, and don’t forget to tell your friends!

Blog / Contest

National Consumer Protection Week 2013, and a Contest (Day 3)!

National Consumer Protection Week 2013, and a Contest (Day 3)!

NCPW2013_285x285It’s day 3 of National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) and we’ve already given away two gorgeous Initials, Inc. bags stuffed full of amazing products from direct selling companies! We’ve also been highlighting some of the amazing resources available on the web to help you make informed choices as a consumer and business owner.

Each day this week, we’ll post a question. Use the NCPW resources we’ve provided to answer the question, and you’ll be entered to win an amazing (and gorgeous!) bag full of products from a number of companies in the direct sales industry. We’ve provided some bonus entry options as well.

We’re giving away a bag stuffed full of amazing products each day, so be sure to come back each day to enter!

ipad_TransparentUPDATE! This Just In!

Thanks to a generous donation from Nu Skin, on Friday we are going to draw one name from all of this week’s entries to win an iPad!!! You can enter each day, so the more days you enter, the more chances you have to win!

Prize Details

Today’s winner will receive a beautiful bag full of products, including:

All entries will also be entered into the drawing on Friday to win an iPad, donated by NuSkin.

How to Enter

Simply leave a comment answering today’s question: What is one way you can keep yourself safe when using mobile banking services? (Find the link to the answer on our NCPW resources page! – Opens in a separate window)

UPDATE: Congratulations to Jennifer Hartman, who won Wednesday’s drawing!

Click here to see all of this week’s winners: http://dsef.org/2013/03/09/ncpw-2013-contest-winners/

* Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada, ages 18 and older.

Good luck, and don’t forget to tell your friends!