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Example of a Cleverly Disguised Hijacking Attempt

Watch out for all the very well done cleverly disguised attempts to get your login name and password to various websites such as PayPal, Amazon.com, your Bank accounts, Facebook, plus email providers such as Gmail, and other sites.

For example, reprinted below is one of the more clever ones making the rounds today, which I am sure could work very well for the hijacker of your account:

“Gmail technology team has recently launched Google web software to protect and secure all Gmail Accounts. This system also enhanced efficient networking and fully supported browser. You need to upgrade to a fully supported browser by filling out the details below for validation purpose and to confirm your details on the new webmaster Central system.

ID:
PASSWORD:
LOCATION:

Note: Your account will be disabled permanently if you failed to provide the details required above within 72hours. Gmail will not be held responsible for your negligence. The Google web Service.”

A Way to Deal with Phone Solicitors & Junk Mail

Three Little Words that Work are “Hold  On, Please…’ Saying it while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming so boiler room sales could grind to a halt if a lot of the public did this.

Then when you eventually hear the phone company’s ‘beep-beep-beep’ tone, you know it’s time to go back and  hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task. Another little know benefit doing that is the spammer will need to hang-up on his end for a number of seconds before it will disconnect the line.

Most callers are in a hurry so they often only hang up for a second or two, which is insufficient time for the equipment to disconnect the line but they often don’t know that. It’s always fun listening to the spammer desperately trying to get a new dial tone so he can call his next victim and wasting lots of his spammer time.

(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the  other end? This is a  telemarketing technique where an automated machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone. This technique is used to  determine the best time of day for a ‘real’ sales person to call back and get  someone at home.

What you can do after answering, if you notice there is  no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # (pound) button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as  possible. This confuses the machine that auto-dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their call system. What a shame not to have your name in  their system any longer! 

(3)  Junk Mail Help: When you get ‘ads’  enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these ‘ads’ with your payment.  Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.

When you get  those ‘pre-approved’ letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd  mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope. 

Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs  them more than the regular 41 cents postage ‘IF’ and when they receive them  back. It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was  around 50 cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In  that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these  cool little, postage-paid return envelopes.

One  of Andy Rooney’s (CBS 60 Minutes TV show) ideas. Send an ad for your  local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If  you didn’t get anything else that day, then just send them their blank  application back!
If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name  isn’t on anything you send them.

You can even send the envelope back  empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 41  cents.

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to overwhelm them. Let’s let them know what it’s like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they’re  paying for it…Twice!

Let’s help keep our postal service busy since  they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that’s  why they need to increase postage costs again You get the idea!

Email Marketing

When I first got started on the internet back in 1996, when I received an email message I was extremely excited and couldn’t open my inbox fast enough for the joy of reading it. It was a new and innovative way of communication and people loved it. Of course, what came next is what has led to what we know call “SPAM”. With the emergence of email as a common and reliable way of communications people took advantage of that medium, and started emailing people with commercial messages that they did not request. This led to the Federal Government having to step in and pass laws to govern the sending of commercial email.

Now, there is a reason why SPAM is so popular, and that’s because you can make a substantial profit in a short period of time by sending your messages to people. Keep in mind that SPAM is illegal, but email marketing is not. There are ethical ways you can go about email marketing. You can build an actual email list of your customers who truly are interested in the products and services that you have to offer. If you build such a list, then you are not spamming, but instead you are email marketing.

Do not be turned off by email marketing, as it actually works well if done the right way. There are many ways you can go about building an email list, but the easiest way is to simply have a form box on your website, that allows visitors to your site “OPT IN” to receive email announcements regarding the products and services that you offer. You can then send messages to all those who sign up, ensuring that you give them the option to “OPT OUT” if they no longer want to receive any messages about what you have to offer.

Anther big threat is virus and spywar issues, Be sure you are always running an up-to-date antivirus anti-spyware progarm. However, even with spyware, virus and spam issues you should still never underestimate the immense power of email advertising and Internet marketing.