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Every IM Newbie Should Do These Things

So you have resolved that you would like to use the net to make money for yourself and your family. That's amazing, but just what are you supposed to do next? After all, just deciding that you want to do this isn't likely to be enough to send cash streaming into your bank account. The truth is that there are a myriad of people out there who wish to make money on the web but not very many people know how to actually make it happen. What are some of the actions every new Internet Marketer must take after the decision to make money on the net has been made? These are some of the first measures that must be taken.

1. Determine the method that you want to make money on the internet. There are all kinds of ways to earn money on the net. Do you want to produce your own merchandise and promote them? Would you want to offer things that many people have designed? Do you want to provide some kind of service? Once you've figured how you want to earn a living, the other decisions, like your niche, will be quite a lot easier to figure out. Beyond that all you are likely to have to do is follow some simple directions.

2. Get yourself a domain name for you. This is amazingly significant. You should have a domain name--even when you haven't so much already got a website to be put up at that domain name. If you can, you have to come up with a brief and correctly spelled domain name. Hyphenating your domain name seriously isn't a good idea because it is usually confusing for potential buyers and clients. You also have to ensure you don't stoop to just stealing someone else's domain name and then just changing a letter or two. This can be counted as intellectual property theft in some sectors so it is way better to come up with your own name.

3. Make a website to utilize that domain name. This could be a little something as simple as a placeholder site that you can work with until something much better is built. You could create a blog employing one of the free blogging services on the net until you come up with a better way of earning money. At the very least your website needs to contain the name that you plan on utilizing for yourself when you do business, the name of your business (if you have one already), a brief outline of what you will be doing and a method potential clients and buyers can use to contact you. You'd be amazed at how even a thing that simple can bring in requests for more information.

4. Start creating relationships with others who already do what you want to do online. One of the best ways to get effective at making money on the internet is to find someone else who is very good at what you want to do and to study them. Adopt the methods that work for them and avoid the techniques that don't. Ask if they just might help you or coach you. The worst they might do is say no, right?

Don't forget to try to have fun! [http://www.htstechtips.com/2010/12/14/tablet-computers-tablets-tablets-everyw...]iPad tablet After all, this is certainly going to be an awesome adventure and you could build a whole new way of life! [http://www.htstechtips.com/]technology tips

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Every-IM-Newbie-Should-Do-These-Things&id=6134235] Every IM Newbie Should Do These Things

Show Me The Colour Of Money And I Will Follow You: How To Spot Genuine Internet Money Making Systems

Bill Gates, of Microsoft, (IT), Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, (stock and shares), Richard Branson of Virgin, (airlines, transport, and investments) Lackshmi Mittal, Indian steel mogul, Donald Trump, (property investments) Oprah Winfrey, (television), Roman Abramovich (steel, investments), the South African Billionaire Patrice Motsepe, (Mining), and the Nigerian Billionaire Alico Dangote, (sugar, cement, flour) and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, one of the youngest billionaires, all have one common trait, they are money magnets, they are listed on the Forbes rich list and all at one time were like you and me, an average Joe. Wealth came with them using different formulas, in diverse or similar industries. Their beings possess magnetic properties-dormant powers of attraction, which are ignited by ferocious commitment. Give yourself permission to dream a big dream and the rest will follow. Yes, there are genuine money making systems on the internet.

How You Can Zero In On The Right System And The Right Money Making Product On The Internet?

Today I am not going to delve much into the personal backgrounds of the above billionaires but I am going to share with you how you can zero in on the right system and the right money making product on the internet. Like me, you have typed in 'internet business' or 'internet income' in your internet search engines and what did you get? Millions and millions of results with millions of gimmicks and scams all attempting to siphon the little cash you have spared to try and make money on the internet. Now, how then can you know this is the right system or product? I will, instead pose another question, how then did people like Mark Zuckerberg become a billionaire via the internet? Could it be he was so lucky, could it be he stumbled on a pile of cash, or could it be he was so meticulous in his planning and approach to things in such a way which is so different from the way you and me do. To an extend, yes, but not completely.

Tap Into Your Dormant Powers Of Attraction

You got to tap into your dormant powers of attraction. Think money and you attract money. Associate with like- minded people and you get like minded ideas. Interact with people who have seen it all, talk to someone who is already having what you are looking for. Among other things, these personal traits are paramount;

-focus,

-dedication,

-unwavering determination to succeed,

-fear of failure,

-unbridled belief in one's abilities and capabilities.

How Many Business Articles Have You Read On The Internet And Abandoned Halfway Through?

Back to billionaires again, Bill Gates was intelligent enough to study and finish his degree but a burning desire from within propelled him to abandon college and focus on his passion, creating a model to a PC for every single home in the world, the birth of Microsoft. Did he not face setbacks? Did he not get discouragement? Was what he was embarking on tried and tested on the market before? He faced all sorts of setbacks like we do in our everyday life. So what then catapulted him to riches beyond imagination? Focus, unbridled belief in one's abilities and capabilities, and sheer determination to succeed and get rich. You too can do it, yes you can, because the universe is fundamentally abundant, awash with money, no shortage except in ones own mind. As I have mentioned earlier, hang around with like-minded people and you will get like-minded ideas.

The Birth Of A Mobile Phone And Now Apple's iPad

Let's take for example the birth of the mobile phone, some 25 years or so ago, to the majority of the world population you would have been considered insane, had you suggested you could speak to someone using a cordless mobile gadget, but today almost every corner of the globe someone has a mobile phone. How about Apple's iPad, inspired by Microsoft? You too can decide to become wealthy or to start making money now, and the Universe will cheerfully provide. The mobile phone industry is now a multi-billion pound industry. It all starts from nothing, in the beginning there was your mother, father and nothing. Now there is You, the universe cheerfully provided. A thought, an idea, manifested, lets have a child and who is breathing now, You in existence, period.

Yes You Can Manifest A Thought But Still How Can You Start Making Money?

I challenge you today, believe and proclaim that everything is there for you in abundance. My father once told me that we are what we repeatedly do. If we constantly think of abundance we will end up being in abundance. The Reverent Martin Luther King had a dream and he turned that dream into words and words became reality. In the United Kingdom and now in the USA, take for example Simon Cowell, the UK television guru, he personally confesses that he disliked school when young but he had a dream, he manifested it, took it up to the people he felt could make it a reality, at first a prominent broadcaster reject it, but the conviction Simon had did not deter him. He went to another, and the rest is history, who does not know The X-factor, today? There are other easier ways and very easy to start generating income if you have access to a PC or Laptop, thanks to the internet.

Every Successful Person Has A Mentor; The Quickest Way To Internet Riches Is To Have A Mentor

Starting to surf the internet, you want to hit the right income generating system on the first click but to use the old adage, its like looking for a live fish on dry land. I started searching for internet money making systems blindly and I lost money, thousands of pounds to internet scams, at one time I lost 2500 pounds to an internet property investment company where they were telling us that you could buy a property without putting any of your money, true to an extend but the situation does not apply to everyone, and I was not one of them. I also lost 1800 pounds to an internet marketer who promised that he would do everything for us including website creation and giving us the products to sell on that website, and ours was just to rake in the profits. It turned out that it was not that simple and I did not make any penny from it. I learned the hard way.

I say to you, today, get the right mentor and you have joined the internet profits stream, simple. On the search for prosperity via the web, I narrowed my focus on sports spreads and stumbled on a website, [http://wealthwisdomtoday.com]http://wealthwisdomtoday.com, where a Cornell University PhD graduate in statistics who discovered an unbeatable sport betting system that has been producing 97% win rate over the last 25 years of sports! Yes, its true. For the first time, he was releasing his unbreakable sports betting system to the market, I tried it and the rest is history. The internet is awash with money but know where to put the funnel and trap it. Welcome to the world of wealth enlightenment.

Chatambudza Tapa.

Internet Cash Streams Systems Researcher

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Show-Me-The-Colour-Of-Money-And-I-Will-Follow-You:-How-To-Spot-Genuine-Internet-Money-Making-Systems&id=6086538] Show Me The Colour Of Money And I Will Follow You: How To Spot Genuine Internet Money Making Systems

Start An Online Business For All The Right Reasons

With the economy being as sluggish as it is, businesses are laying off more and more workers. People are looking for better ways to make ends meet. That's why people from around the world are looking to start their very own business. And many of them are looking to the internet to start an online business. Here are some of the top reasons why people should consider a home based online business.

My Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Start An Online Business

You've wanted to fire your boss for years and with an online business you now have the freedom to do so! Time spent with family and friends is more important than time spent at the office working for someone else making them rich!
Build your online home business in your spare time: morning, nights or weekends. It's your choice! When you've created a steady income that equals or surpasses your job's income you now have a decision to make: when to quit your day job! Now that's a great feeling!
One of the best reasons to start your own online business is because of the very low start up costs. When other businesses will costs you hundreds to thousands just to start, an online business could be started for less than $100.
You set your own work schedule! Work as much or as little as you like. At first you will have to put in the time to get your business up and running. But after that you will be able to freely arrange your schedule to do what you like to do. Shopping, exercise or volunteering can now be a regular part of your routine when you have the freedom and money to do so!
Another great reason to have an online business is that when you need money for something special like an Ipad or vacation, you just put more effort into it and reap the returns.
With today's technology, many of the normal daily tasks of owning a business can be automated or outsourced leaving you more time to do more important things.
With most businesses, if your not there to run it, then it's closed. With an online business, it can be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even making sales while you sleep!
The ability to reach customers from your home town to people around the globe is your normal capability when you have an online business. There are no limits to where your customers can be!
Everyday more and more people come online which means you'll always have access to customers!
With a home based or online business you really could work in your pajamas if you want! Who's gonna know? What a great feeling you will get knowing that you could walk just feet from your bedroom to your office, make a great income and have the freedom to live life on your terms! It's priceless.

Tony Novelli http://www.tonynovelli.info

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Start-An-Online-Business-For-All-The-Right-Reasons&...] Start An Online Business For All The Right Reasons

Three Steps That Must Be Done Before Opening a Home-Based Tutoring Business

Tutoring is a great industry to invest one's time and money. It's one of those worthwhile businesses that have low start-up costs and can easily be run from home. Before starting a home-based tutoring business, it is very important to consider a few things, which are the following:

1. Legalizing the Business: A home-based tutoring business must be registered with the county's office for proper licensing. Once the business license has been obtained, it is very important to open a business checking account and take payments using one's "Doing Business As" (DBA) name. At this point in one's business, it is very important to accept cash, money orders, or checks. This will help with saving costs at the beginning and eventually saving to use credit card machines. With technology being a supertrend, there's a new way to accept credit cards from clients without the hassle of paying ridiculous fees. The mobile credit card processors are great to use, but one must invest in a Smartphone such as an iPhone or Smartphone that is compatible with Android. Another way that business owners may take credit cards using mobile credit card processors is by using an iPad. In any event, one must choose how he or she desires to accept payments from clients.

2. Finding a Space for Tutoring: There should be a designed room dedicated to tutoring one's clients. Depending on one's specialty (subject area), there are some instructional resources that will need to stay out and it will get harder to try to prep for every tutoring session once business is booming. The goal is to minimize repetitive tasks and maximize instruction. Family members must understand that when tutoring sessions are being conducted that they may not interrupt tutoring sessions unless there is an emergency.

3. Deciding on Your Niche: Individuals need to think about their skills. What is he or she good at? A home-based tutoring business should be designed based upon one's gifts of knowledge. True success will come if individuals stay within their niche. Once the clientele is up, then focus on expanding. A great way to expand one's knowledge base is to take additional classes or workshops.

These are the most important decisions that must be made before opening one's tutoring business. By starting one's tutoring business at home, he or she has many opportunities to work out the kinks and build a strong tutoring brand.

About the Author

Alicia Holland-Johnson, EdD, is a proud mother of two beautiful daughters and an educator with ten years of teaching experience at all levels, including university teaching. She also works as a professional tutor at Realistic Measures & Consulting ( http://www.rmctutoring.org ) and a consultant in the education industry. Her passion is helping individuals believe in themselves and go far. To receive a free special report, join the blog at [http://www.becomingabettertutor.blogspot.com]http://www.becomingabettertutor.blogspot.com.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Three-Steps-That-Must-Be-Done-Before-Opening-a-Home...] Three Steps That Must Be Done Before Opening a Home-Based Tutoring Business

How To Turn A Space Into An Efficient Home Office

Working from home is the dream of many people and if you have taken the leap and decided to start a home business, there are a lot of things to think about. You may feel overwhelmed by everything you need to do to prepare, not to mention the actual work that will need to be done in order to make a profit. If you are in the process of getting things rolling with your home business, putting together an organized workspace should be at the top of your list. Having a space to keep your work-related items and to accomplish your work is very important. Just as you would have a cubicle or office if you work outside of the home or a space that is strictly for work duties makes a big difference when it comes to how efficient your work will be. When you are a business owner working from your home, having an organized office is imperative to your success. To begin your organization process, make sure any items you need for your work are functioning. Take care of iPad repair or iPhone screen replacement before you get going so you will not need to use work time for these tasks.

Once any broken items are fixed, it is time to move onto getting organized. Begin with your files and paperwork. One of the most frustrating parts of being a business owner is dealing with the plethora of paperwork. Keeping these things organized is important because it helps you stay focused and allows you to handle any problems that may arise. You never know what you may encounter when dealing with business at home, so be sure you back everything up and know where to find things quickly and efficiently.

When it comes to working, you need to create a comfortable environment. One of the most important parts of working comfortably is having adequate lighting. Make sure your office or workspace is lit well and that you have a combination of overhead lighting and task lighting. Also consider how frequently you will be working on the computer. Your lighting should be adjusted to prevent glare on your computer and if need be, you should adjust your computer to handle the light needed in the rest of the room.

In addition to lighting for room comfort, be sure you have a comfortable place to sit and a desk large enough to handle your work. This is going to vary from person to person, so the best thing to do is to head to a retail store that sells office equipment and test out the chairs. Remember how often you will be sitting in the chair. You do not want to have to stop your work because you are uncomfortable and while frequent breaks are a great idea when you are working, but breaks do not always come as scheduled when you are self-employed, so you want a workspace that will be comfortable for long periods of time.

Finally, make your space welcoming. Even though you may be the only person spending time in the room, you still want to feel good when you are in the space. Each morning when you head into your office, you want to feel motivated and ready for a day of hard work.

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Turn-A-Space-Into-An-Efficient-Home-Office&i...] How To Turn A Space Into An Efficient Home Office

Why I Sign Up for Google Places - And Why You Must Too?

Local search is huge..

Google re-branded its Local Business Center as Google Places, and begin to show an incredible number of Local-related results for nonspecific search phrases.

Get a Google local places page for your business. Complete your listing and go through the verification process. Google with sent you a 4 pin variation code in the mail to the location address to make sure that you're the correct owner of the business. The process takes about two weeks. I am waiting for my pin to come to my local business address as I am writing this post..will keep you posted.

Get reviews on Google Places--important. Google is not counting on yelp and order third partly review sites. Google local places is now being place in the organic search area.

National companies with no local searches will be challenge...get a local location or lose

According to Google, 20 percent of all searches are related to location. Since rel=nofollow [http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/4/comScore_Releases_...]comScore reports that 14.3 billion searches were conducted through Google in March, this means nearly 3 billion Google search queries contained local terms.

Already, there are over 400 million local searches every month and growing.

70% of these are searches looking for local products or services. This significant change in local search is underpinned by the fact that 67% of people search online instead of looking in Yellow Pages

the yin and yang of shopping

If a person searches for a plumber, you will only get plumbers in your local town. If you are having a night out and want to find an Indian restaurant and search on your mobile phone or I-Pad, you will get displayed three or more within your immediate vicinity. You can enter their websites, look at the menus, make a choice and 'phone to book a table. Or you may be so close that you just walk in.

So there you have it. Claim your "places" now and thank me later. The future of search will be more and more targeted.....local-mobile-pervasive.....?

Please leave us a feedback...your input is very important.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-I-Sign-Up-for-Google-Places---And-Why-You-Must-Too?&id=5522472] Why I Sign Up for Google Places - And Why You Must Too?

How to Find Joint Venture Partners for Your Online Business

Finding great joint venture partners can bring a waterfall of sales through your doors. The relationship is generally a win/win, because both sides make a lot of money from the transaction while providing a valuable product for their customer base.

How do you actually meet joint venture partners? Here are a few proven strategies.

=> Meet a Them In Person

Meeting JV partners in person is by far the most effective way to go. Who would you trust more? Someone you know personally, or someone who called or emailed you?

Someone's customer email list is often their most closely guarded business asset. Unless they have absolute trust for you and your product, there is absolutely no reason they would just hand that over.

Meet the real people behind the email lists. Meet them at industry conferences, trade shows and local meetups. Meet them at both internet marketing oriented events and at events targeted towards your specific industry.

Once you meet someone who you have potential to do business with, stay in touch with them. You may not work out a deal right away, but that relationship could prove to be very fruitful in the long run.

=> Calling Up Potential JVs

On the other hand, you may want to reach out to a potential JV partner when you haven't met them in person yet. The best way to do that is to pick up the phone and call.

There are few things with less credibility than a cold email out of the blue. A warm voice on the other end of the phone carries much more credibility than an email.

Before you call, try to get at least preliminary conversion rate and EPC (earnings per click) data. Don't call someone up and try to test your salesletter on them.

Instead, tell them "If you send me X people, you can expect X amount of sales and X dollars."

=> Create a JV Launch

A powerful technique for getting super affiliates to promote your product is to create a JV launch.

A launch is when you get as many affiliates to launch your product for you, all at once.

Often times a contest is involved. The first place prize might be a top of the line laptop, second place might be an iPad and third prize something else.

Believe it or not, affiliates that are earning $2,000 a day or more will still pour in their resources to win this $2,000 laptop - Even though they make that much in a single day.

Why? Because they're competitive and like to win. Use this to your advantage by creating a contest, pitching top affiliates against one another. You'll make much more than the cost of your prizes.

These are just a few ways to get JV partners for your online business. The bottom line is this: There is no magic pill or method to getting JV partners. Instead, go out there meet people and make contacts. Get people to trust you and believe in your products. Then, ask for the JV deal.

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So What Does the Future Hold for Digital Broadcaster Google?

Google commenced business in 1996 and created for itself, a simulated roadmap to emerge as the eventual 'disruptor' - it bent the aspects of advertising in such manner that people thought was impossible which subsequently restructured the characteristics of the perceived media. Google then characterised the way the world looks at maps, online videos and mobile phones.

Come 2001, its founders hired Eric Schmidt as chief executive to instil in the organisation what was proclaimed as "adult supervision". Fruitful information did come Google's way late on Thursday night as the digital broadcaster announced pre - tax profits of just about �7 bn. And while this wasn't the only attention seeking news, the co-founder Larry Page was also declared as the current CEO as Schmidt is now occupying the position of executive chairman. Analysts predictably droned at the displayed numbers and from the critical angle, Schmidt was agreeably entitled to step down after a great run indicating productive numbers during his tenancy.

Probing further into the intricate details of these embedded achievements: the moulding effect on advertising was reflective in nature due to Google's model as it provided advertisers very accurate data with regards to each click that they had on their respective ads. In contrast, where the media earlier just charged for ads based on what the market would demand Google had much to offer with information based on the worth of advertising on an individual basis.

The advertising generated revenue however, has been personified as the intrinsic returns generator for Google which has allowed it to produce all its other consequent, market changing investments. This has been effectively recognised with the advent of Gmail which provided users a substantial inbox and gave advertising a persona. YouTube nonetheless has also been a platform where most of the population under a specific age bar goes to watch videos from a large spectrum of choices and with regards to their mobile operating software Android, analysts suggest that predictably as time passes, it will take over the market share of Apple's iPhone. Funnily enough though, none of these creations from the digital broadcasters has done what the advertising did. In context to Google as a whole however, as the company has leapt ahead, it has with it become inexorably - reflexive and self-protective.

Mike Davis, of analysts Ovum, said "The challenge for any company post initial public offering, is always the contradiction in being innovative/leading edge (which is risky) and satisfying the earnings per share requirements of risk averse investors. Google knows it cannot live on search derived advertising revenues forever, hence its continual release of 'Beta' products and push towards both the smartphone and enterprise markets."

For future prospects, Page now has to realise his new role to first and foremost, have a better grip on the tablet market. Figures suggest that 90 per cent of grid has been monopolised by Apple's iPad. Nevertheless, as the mass output of the Android tablets have already been announced to hit the market, it is considered pivotal for the growth of Google as their competitors are just as 'street-smart' and in view, more competent. The phone market thus, also demands the same.

An unsettled subject however is whether Google needs to approach social networking; the bittersweet business on the leader board from Google's standpoint is Facebook with more page views and a colossal database of over 500m users. It has also just unveiled a new mobile phone app that would permit users in developing countries to access the platform more effortlessly. But as Facebook takes a leap forward, so does Google with the development of the operating system which is still being worked on named Chrome OS. To sum up then, Page's mainframe would primarily include the assessment of how many innovative products he can keep churning out; only after which can digital broadcasters Google be able to take back the throne as the unruly, pioneering business it once stood to be.

Michael Shai is a proud contributing author and writes articles on many subjects including online marketing, website design, social media, ecommerce and many more online techniques. You can view more information on our [http://www.digitalbroadcasters.co.uk]Digital Agency London or Web Design London services at [http://www.digitalbroadcasters.co.uk]Digital Broadcasters.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?So-What-Does-the-Future-Hold-for-Digital-Broadcaste...?&id=5784378] So What Does the Future Hold for Digital Broadcaster Google?

Penny Auctions EXPOSED

Penny Auctions have exploded in the last year, and unfortunately many thieves have taken this popularity and launched fake penny auction sites or sites that employ bots (automatic programs that drive up the prices).

As an internet marketer I have seen more than my fair share of shady websites offering "free trials" or "how to make $$ online" but I feel the need to explain that not all penny auctions are scams.

There are several legitimate companies that do not use bots and are NOT scams, they have a strong community and offer exceptional products and customer service.

However, even these legitimate sites are hard to spot, one reason is that because of their popularity they have many new users who may not fully understand what the rules of these penny auctions are and how they work. What happens in many cases is a user will see an advertisement online that says "Get a MacBook for $11" and they assume that they can sign up and buy a MacBook for $11. You have to play, its entertainment shopping, and you can get deals, if your patient. This is one of the reasons that penny auctions always, no matter no legitimate they are, always have a ton of bad press.

Its important to know what Penny Auctions actually are.

basically when you sign up you are prompted to make an account and buy bids, this gets most people thinking there is something fishy. But, penny auctions unlike eBay work like this. You buy a pool of bids (usually for $0.60 a bid) and you place those bids at auction.

These websites also differ from eBay because the auctions do not have a set ending, its modeled after the traditional live auction. When you place a bid a small amount of time is added to the clock allowing other bidders to continue.

Its a game of wits and patience but it is not rocket science.

One of the most successful strategies is to wait until the last second or two and then place your bids. Also as convenient as auto bidders are you should avoid them as they bid instantly and do not wait until the last seconds.

Another solid tip is to research what the product has sold for recently, unfortunately it's usually the iPads or the MacBooks that gets everyone and their mother bidding. If the last iPad sold for $50 don't start bidding at $10 wait till it reaches it upper level until you bid.

So how do you tell if an penny auction is legitimate?

I highly recommend you do some research on what sites are real before you sign up with your hard earned money, Read reviews, ask your friends and look at the site carefully. One of the biggest tricks is the big ticket winners. The infamous Honda civic for $1100 is a great example. now I want to say I can say I have confirmed that at least two cars have been won. One on the now defunct (and shady) SwipeBids and the other on the largest penny auction website Quibids. If you see a site that is not Quibids showing a car or multiple cars as winners, take a step back and do some research before you sign up.

If you are looking for a deal don't be afraid of penny auctions, just be informed!

Max Dennis is an internet marketer and blogger for over 10 years. [http://www.pennyauction-review.com]PennyAuction-Review is an independent review site that rates penny auctions

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Penny-Auctions-EXPOSED&id=5642105] Penny Auctions EXPOSED

Not the 12 Days of Christmas But "the 12 Computer Hoaxes of Christmas"

McAfee is one of the worlds' leading Internet security companies and they have come up with a list of what they call "The 12 Scams of Christmas" which we'll go over here.

Christmas is the time of year when the public is most vulnerable because they are geared up to spend money and shop online. It would be good to heed the warnings and be aware of these potential but very real threats to your security online.

Be aware of the following popular scams for this holiday season and beyond.

1. Free iPad offers. This scam began as soon as Apple launched its' new iPad. There are at least two versions of the scam: via email and social media.

Email:You are contacted via email that you have won a free iPad. You're asked to buy something in order to get this free gift and what do you do? You provide them with your credit card details. No iPad appears and now you have to deal with a stolen credit card and hope like heck that you report it before there are charges on it you didn't make.

Social Media:This is a little beauty. On your social media site you are asked to take a quiz to get your free iPad. Part of the deal is you need to enter your mobile or cell phone number which you do of course, being unaware that by doing this it will cost you $10.00 a month and...no iPad.

2. "Help, Help, I've been robbed!" The con-artist portraying the innocent traveller who has been robbed or mugged but now has no money or credit cards. This person will ask you for money with the promise to pay it back. Don't believe that for one second! These con artists often tap into your social media accounts and send emails to your friends pretending to be you.

3. Phoney gift cards.Again, social media sites are targeted by criminals who tempt you with an offer of a high dollar gift card for free. All you have to do is give them your contact details and maybe even credit card details, all for the sole purpose of identity theft.

Maybe you saw this one on Facebook recently. This scam offered a "free $1,000 Best Buy gift card" to the first 20,000 people who signed up for a Best Buy fan page". This was a fake fan page. The victim had to apply for the gift card and some quizzes. Again, all your personal information is gone to the criminals.

4. Special job offers during the holidays. You need extra cash for the holidays so when you get an email with a special job offer which pays really well, of course you want it. What do you do? You give them your personal details like email address, home address, phone number etc. What do you get? Nothing but a stolen identity.

5. Phishing via SMS, now called "Smishing".Just like the email versions, this scam is done by testing to your mobile phone. They pretend to be your bank or similar institution and claim there is something wrong with your account which you need to take care of right away. Just call this number to take care of it. DON'T return the call!

6. Holiday rental scams. Lots of people want to go away over the Christmas break. Here comes an offer of inexpensive rentals and you jump at the chance. These are fake sites and fake holiday rentals. You've been scammed again.

7. The recession offers new opportunities for scammers. Here they take advantage of those least able to deal with it. People who are suffering in the financial crisis with loans and mortgages get approached by these crooks who offer low interest loans to help them out. All it will cost you is a small processing fee. You guessed it...right into the pockets of the scammers.

8. E-cards. Cheap, clever and convenient. Lots of people like to send and receive E-cards, so what's the big deal? The cyber crims put viruses and malware on fake versions of these cards and then sends them out. They may even send them to your friends, pretending that they come from you.

9. Auctions and bogus classifieds.These guys make you offers on things that are too good to be true. In return you give up your credit card details and you get nothing in return but headaches.

10. Scams disguised as charities. Who doesn't have a soft spot in their hearts this time of year and the scammers are fully aware of this. You may begin getting phone calls and emails asking for donations for one cause or another. Especially if there has recently been a disaster. Make a donation to help these unfortunate people and the money goes into the scammers wallets.

11. Screen savers, jingles, etc. designed for the holidays. If you download them, they are often full of viruses and malware.

12. Public WiFi. The holiday season is often the biggest time for travellers who use airports, hotels, trains and buses. Scammers know you will want to check your emails so they will tap into the public wifi. They will do their best to access your personal information by hacking. Whatever you do, refrain from using your credit card or bank from a public wifi. And, if you visit a site where you need to login, be sure to log off when you are done.

If you stay alert for the 12 Scams of Christmas, you will certainly enjoy the 12 Days of Christmas.

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Not-the-12-Days-of-Christmas-But-the-12-Computer-Ho...] Not the 12 Days of Christmas But "the 12 Computer Hoaxes of Christmas"