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Business Revolutions

In 1996 Walter Wriston, the former CEO of Citibank, was quoted in Wired Magazine as having said: "Revolutions aren't made by gadgets and technology. They're made by a shift in power, which is taking place all over the world". (Wired 1996). Wriston, unfortunately, has confounded shifts of the sociological paradigm with technological revolutions, as the movement of power in this century has been the direct result of technology. Wriston is highly regarded as the most powerful banker in the world, and has invested heavily in technology, which most will agree has been the driving force behind the 20th century economy. Currently this so called "shift in power" has swung vehemently towards the way of the United States, a sparsely populated (for it's total surface area) country located in a temperate climate in the mid America's. The United States has not always been the driving force behind the World economy, as in retrospect we see it was actually considered to be weakling amongst giants. It wasn't until the British Empire lost her reign on the colonies that the United States began its intrepid quest for the proverbial "king of the hill" title. 100 years later the United States is still the world leader in most industries with an annual Gross Domestic Product of $9.33 trillion dollars, but other countries are rapidly gaining ground. GDP is just one of the crucial indicators in measuring how an economy is performing, and the bulk of the United States GDP comes from its Service industry

In the mid 1990's the Information Technology revolution elevated business, research, and culture to a new level, with the center of operations concentrated in Silicon Valley, California. The capitalist plan of attack was simple: if you hype it up, they will come. Never before had such a large-scale commercial venture taken place in such a small area in such little time. Entrepreneurship was on the tip of everyone's tongue, as tech startups raced each other for fresh ideas and an incessant elixir of capital. The taste soon became sour though as most companies were worth nothing more than the paper their balance sheets were printed on. Falling stock prices, decline in sales, and job uncertainty forced many companies to declare bankruptcy or at least provide a fa�ade to conceal their imminent doom (it is common place to see many of these companies websites have only the phrase "down for renovation" up for many, many months). Was this all an inevitable consequence of expanding too rapidly, or was it because this new economy was not meant to be? The answer is still unknown, but some say a bit of both are at fault.

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Beware of Fraudulent E-mails

A little while ago, a client sent me this message:

"Hi. I just received an official looking e-mail from my small business payment processor that looked suspicious. It said that the company noticed fraudulent activity on my account and wanted me to log-in to verify that the account was mine. For my protection, it said, the account would be on hold until I verified the account. I have a lot of clients paying me online through that processor and can't afford to have my account suspended. I clicked the link in the e-mail. The company's homepage and a form popped up asking me to enter my ATM card number, user name, password and social security number in order to verify and unlock my account. I was hesitant to put all that information in there, so I took another look at the e-mail. The e-mail address sending the e-mail was from my payment processor, but there were a lot of spelling errors in the e-mail. It also said 'Dear Sir.' Usually e-mails from this company say 'Dear Company Name.' I don't know if it's really official, but I don't want to lose my online payment privileges. What do I do?"

Have any of you received similar e-mails? They appear to be from your bank, payment processor or credit card company, but something always seems suspicious. Well, you are right to be wary of those e-mails. The practice of using an "official" looking e-mail address to gain client information is called spoofing or phishing. Read on to learn how to protect yourself from these fraudulent e-mails.

According to the Anti-Phishing Workgroup, a group of people dedicated to stopping these e-mail scams, "phishing attacks use 'spoofed' e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool recipients into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, etc. By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known banks, online retailers and credit card companies, phishers are able to convince up to 5% of recipients to respond to them."

With a little knowledge, you can recognize a spoofing or phishing attempt and not be fooled.

- Beware of any e-mails asking for personal information. Banks and online retailers rarely, if ever, ask clients to change personal information via a link in an e-mail. Instead of following the e-mail link, call the company on the phone or log-in directly by typing the web address into your browser.

- Be wary of any "official" looking e-mail that does not address you personally. Most spoofed e- mails address you in general terms, such as Dear Sir or Madam, or even by your e-mail user name. Legitimate banks and retailers will have your name on file and address you by your first and/or last name.

- Always make sure the browser is secure before entering personal information. The URL should read https:// if it is secure, not http://

- Check the destination of the URL before you click it. You can do this by running your cursor over the URL. In most e-mail programs, a little yellow box will pop up showing you the destination. Other times you can check the left of your browser's status bar. That is the gray bar at the bottom of the web browser. If the URL says anything except: https:// www. yourbankname.com

...there is a problem.

-Do not download suspicious looking attachments. Even if it looks to be from your bank, most likely it is a computer virus.

If you've received a spoofed e-mail, report it to the real company. Citibank, for example, has an e-mail address where they accept forwards of all phished e- mails using the Citibank name.

What if you've already clicked the link and given out your personal information? You could likely be the victim of credit card fraud, bank account theft, or even identity theft. rel=nofollow [http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs2.htm]Visit Anti-Phishing.org for some tips on what to do if you are in this situation. Overall, be suspicious of any e-mail asking for your personal information. With the appropriate knowledge, you will not be fooled.

Dequiana Brooks has been an entrepreneur for as long as she can remember. She now focuses her energy on helping other businesses succeed through her marketing strategy & design company, Inspired Graphics Media. Let her inspire your business to new heights by visiting http://www.inspiredmedia.net and scheduling your free consultation today!

(c) Copyright - Dequiana Brooks. All Rights Reserved.

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