Helping You Avoid Life's Financial Mistakes

10 Cloud Computing Security Issues And Risk That Could Affect You In Today’s Online World

May 1, 2012 By 1 Comment

Cloud Computing Security Issues And RiskThe following is a list of the ten most important cloud computing security issues. These problems can be faced by anyone and everyone who wishes to engage in cloud computing practices and the IT firms essentially have to be aware of these cloud computing security risks.

This article has been written on the basis of a detailed IT study and the feedback of IT firms which have been affected by these certain security concerns of cloud computing. The question arises that is cloud computing secure? Hopefully, this article will help you form an answer to it.

1. Legal Factors: Various nations have their own set of laws pertaining to customer data privacy. The amount of cloud security risks is way higher in a country where a customer’s information or data maybe held by the officials. Therefore, the legal factors of a nation are an important factor when it comes to cloud computing security issues.

2. Firewall is not essentially a total protection: Even when a cloud computer looks like it is completely safe and secured there maybe more than one underlying concerns. There is the emergence of new unknown threats and dangers. Also, with networking, there is the possibility of unwanted information stealing while the user stays unaware. Private clouds may claim enhanced security, but it can also be vulnerable. The private clouds have more possibilities of containing security concerns.

3. Different nature of clouds: All the available clouds vary in their level of security and the amount customer assistance required. Some clouds require low customer attention and hence the level of cloud computing risks is high as one has to rely too much on the cloud provider’s preferences. There are different models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS etc) for cloud service delivery and they serve different requirements of the customer. Hence, it becomes important to understand the aspects before moving any important data or anything having greater value to the cloud.

4. Software updating does not mean more security: While it appears to the world that the newly released cloud software help in securing better the information, most of the times it is not the case. Companies release their new software with the aim of ensuring more profits while the actual level of security remains the same.

5. Customer ignorance: Many a times the customer fails to inquire the provider of the various uses and operations of the program. Hence, the user fails to accurately use to program and the level of cloud computing security falls down.

6. Clouds are destructive: With the emphasis being laid on the question “is cloud computing secure”, the other persisting problems are ignored. A user having security concerns or other problems already, faces more problems with the introduction of cloud. Clouds increase the rate of information devastation and soon the machine faces a breakdown.

7. Cyber rooks’ attack: It is evident from recent episodes in the cyber world that hackers and rooks are attracted more to cloud systems. The “perfect security” image of cloud systems forces a challenge on these rooks and they operate more on these machines. Hence, the amount of cloud computing issues concerning cloud systems is boosted up with their advent.

8. No innovation in methods: In spite of the cloud companies’ promises of discovering new innovative and efficient methods of cloud usage for business users, they seem to have done nothing in this section. The repeated mode of usage of these cloud systems lowers its resistance power as cyber rooks are constantly developing new methods of information stealing.

9. Understanding the risks properly: Users need to better inform on the risks that cloud systems actually cover. It has been noticed that users have a vague idea of risks that are secured by clouds. With users being informed better about the security concerns covered, they can engage other efficient programs to cover the remaining cloud security risks.

10. User at fault: No matter what the case is, it is sure that all the legal issues and charges of breaches will fall upon the user and not the cloud company at all. Hence, the legal risk of breaches always pertains to the user and cannot be avoided at any cost or at any time. The user is required to ensure a total legal responsibility during his usage of a cloud. Moreover, it becomes very important to understand that compliance and legal accountability has some importance. Especially, healthcare providers must not forget that the date you are putting in cloud has a risk of bad publicity and it may cause you trouble.

However, with all said and done it cannot be denied that clouds have their benefits as well. The above listed risks, if minimized can result in an effective usage of cloud facilities. The ignorance of these cloud computing security issues can often lead to unwanted consequences.

About the author: Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently did an article on HTC Wildfire price in india. These days she is busy in writing an article on philip crangi.

Filed Under: Scams

Spector Spyware – What Is It and How to Remove It From Your Computer

April 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Spector Spyware is a known keylogger that carries a number of malicious functions. In fact, it is a complete spyware suite having seven different integrated software pieces to wreck your security away. It does a number of malicious things including recording your emails which you send and receive, the sites you visit, keywords you type, your conversation on any instant chat messenger, peer to peer file searching and swapping and the number of programs or apps you launch.

So everything you do over your computer system, it is recorded and sent across to the person who has infected your PC or laptop. It enters your PC via some vulnerabilities occurring due to few Trojans which are already present on your computer.

To get away from this type of spyware is not an easy task; you need to run a couple of spyware scanning software programs which you can be found over the web for free.

The way Spector enters your PC

There are two basic reasons why your PC gets a Spector. Firstly, when your computer OS and web browser security settings are too lenient or lax and secondly you do not stick to the safe and secured internet surfing protocols and PC practices. Hence you should be conscious while downloading and installing any kinds of Shareware or Freeware or visiting any questionable websites which can contain a number of Trojans, adware and spyware or using some P2P programs or other apps employing a shared network etc.

Symptoms of Spector

When your computer is infected by Spector software, it may display a couple of symptoms which you can notice while using your PC. You may find things over your PC appearing in a random fashion, the speed of your computer can be seen going down drastically. You may land up to any website which you have never heard or visited ever in the past. At times, you may feel that you have no control over your computer while using it. You may see your computer doing something which you never ask or tell to do it.

You can also see a huge amount of advisements and irritating kinds of pop ups. Lastly, your files stored in your computer may appear and disappear. If you find these symptoms then better run a computer spy program to confirm the presence of Spector. The moment you confirm it, you can then move on to get away from this menace seen at your system.

How to remove spyware from your computer

Once you diagnose your system and confirm the presence of Spector in your computer, it’s time to try out some measurements to get rid of this menace. To completely remove this spyware from your PC, you are supposed to delete the windows registry keys, registry values, files and folders associated with this spyware. The files associated with Spector include- [%SYSTEM%]wwdtnt32.dll, [%SYSTEM%]winnetcl.cnt, [%SYSTEM%]winnetcl.hlp, [%PROGRAMS%]spectorspector.lnk, [%SYSTEM%]netknl.dll, [%SYSTEM%]netknlhm.dll, [%SYSTEM%]winnetcl.exe and [%SYSTEM%]wswinntfp.exe. The folders associated with Spector is [%SYSTEM%]netext.

Deleting Spector files and folders: To get rid of these files associated with Spector you need to follow the below said steps:

1. By using your file explorer, you have to browse for every file and folder which is associated with Spector as enlisted above.

2. Select these files or folders and then press the keys Shift & Delete to rid of these.

3. Click Yes to confirm the deletion of the said files and folder appearing in the dialog box.

At times you may see the deletion of any of these files failing which will appear from a window displaying the corresponding message. Hence to get rid of these locked filed, you will have to use the RemoveOnReboot utility. For this, simply right click on the locked file and send it to RemoveOnRebootutility and then delete the file from this utility.

Removing Spector from the windows registry: Windows registry is a place which stores vital system information like system preferences, installed program information, user settings along with the details of several applications which run when your PC is started. The presence of any spyware, adware or malware generally store references to their respective files in the Windows registry in order to automatically launch them every time you on your PC.

In order to effectively get rid of spyware called Spector from the windows registry, you have to first take a back up of your registry files before you start deleting all the registry keys and values associated with this spyware. These registry keys and values include- HKEY_CURRENT_USERsoftwaremicrosoftwindowscurrentversionexplorermenuorderstart menu2programsspector, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTclsid{58483a6f-ad93-4d13-a1e2-bcdac4a710a1} and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTmapiauthentication.addin which are to be deleted by following set of instructions given below.

1. Go to start menu and click run and type regedit and press enter. You will then see the registry editor window which comprises of two panes. The left pane shows the folders which gives you the registry keys seen in the hierarchical fashion. The right side pane gives the registry values of the presently selected registry key.

2. In order to delete all the desired registry values in the registry keys area, you need to locate the key in the left of the registry editor window by extending the folders in a proper sequence and as per the path shown over the registry keys section. Then you need to select the key name shown at the end of the path followed by a right click over it (key name) and then check the option of delete given in the menu.

3. In order to delete each and every registry value found in the Registry Values section you have to carry out the similar kind of exercise as discussed above. First of all display the value over the right pane over the registry editor window by extending the folders in a proper sequence and as per the path shown over the registry keys section and then select the appropriate key name.

At the right pane, you now have to select the value name shown after the comma seen at the end of the path. Then you are required to select the value name. Now simply select the option delete via right click given in the menu and get rid of these things.

The Spyware like Spector is usually designed to collect data from your computer and share it to any malicious third party element without your consent. So, whenever you find any, removing spyware should be your basic goal. If you have Spector, you can certainly use the above steps discussed in the article and embark with spyware free computer.

About the author: Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently did an article on eco friendly cleaning products. These days she is busy in writing an article on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 review.

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: , ,

Twitter Scams: How I Almost Got Hacked And Spotted The Fake

January 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Hey everyone thought I would drop a quick post out today about how I almost got hit by a terrible twitter scam.  In fact I was so close to falling for this scam that all I had to basically do was hit enter on my keyboard and @stumbleforward would have been lost forever.

How This Twitter Scam Works

It all started when I received a direct message from a particular individual I was following that mentioned that some people were spreading some horrible rumors about me on the  web and left a shortened URL for me to click on.  Below is what the message looked like.

At this point I began to get very worried that someone was spreading some awful rumors about me on the net so my first instinct was to click on the link, and that’s exactly what I did falling right into their trap.  From their a page popped up that looks like the picture below.

At this point the page to me looked very normal except that they wanted me to believe that I had to log back into my twitter account again because it had timed out.  To tell you the truth everything seemed perfectly normal at this point in fact I was more worried about the fact that someone was putting rumors about me on the net.

So you might be wondering how I figured out this was a scam.

How To Spot Twitter Scams

The first thing you need to do to spot a twitter scam is to look at the URL.  Below is what the scam page URL looked like when it was loaded up.

In the URL section of your internet browser the first part of the URL should always say twitter.com.  On the fake site it was tiwitter.com.  Now I’ll have to admit that it was hard to spot but this is how I knew this site was an instant scam.  On top of that the real twitter site uses an https:// at the front of their URL to identify that it is a secure log in site.  On the fake site it didn’t have that at all.

 Have You Been Hit By A Twitter Scam?

Well their you have it, if I can nearly get hit by a twitter scam, so can you.  In fact, this scam isn’t happening just on twitter but also on Facebook, Paypal, and how many other prominent sites across the net.  So if you would like to learn about these scams check out these articles.

If you’ve been hit by a twitter scam feel free to share your story about the situation.  Also feel free to share also feel free to share any other tips, thoughts, and comments below as well.  In the end by doing this it will help us all avoid these scams altogether.
Filed Under: Scams

My Email Has Been Hacked: What To Do If Your Email Account Has Been Hijacked

January 6, 2012 By 4 Comments

If you’re reading this you’ve probably had your email address hijacked, and if not you may consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Having your email hacked can be an excruciating process so in this article I’m going to show you what you should do if this happens to you, or maybe it already has.

Who Is The Most Susceptible

Back a few years ago one of my brothers web clients had her email hijacked. Things started out simple enough when she received an email from her email provider claiming that her email may be getting hacked and that she needed to log in immediately to lock the account.

So she clicked on the link provided in the email and it brought her to her Hotmail account log in page or what she thought was her log in page. She then signed in and in that second she handed over her entire email log in details to a group of scammers who immediately logged in to her real email account and changed the password.

Sadly, this scam is an all to common story on the internet.  However, do you know who is the most likely to be hit by this scam?  If you answered anyone who has a Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or MSN Mail Account you are correct.  The reason for this is because the scammers can access the log in pages so easily with these free email providers.

In fact, scammers will actually build websites that look exactly like these sites all to get you to input your log in details and gain access to your email account.

So now that we know who will be the most likely to get caught up in a scam and what to look for let’s look at what you should do if you have had your email hacked.

My Email Has Been Hacked – Now What?

Step 1: The Point of No Return.  If your email has been hijacked the first thing you need to realize is that you are not going to get it back.  In most cases once your email is gone you have little if any chance to get it back.  Now if you are one of the lucky ones and have managed to get it back please share how you did this in the comments below.  I’m sure our readers would be interested in how you achieved this.

However, in the case that this does happen to you one thing you could do is back up any important emails to your computer or to an online back up service such as Carbonite.

Step 2: Contact Everyone On Your List.  The next thing you need to do is get a hold of everyone that was in your contact list and let them know that your email has been hacked and to remove it from their contact list and not open any of the emails.

The reason for this is because scammers will likely send out emails.  As in my brothers case he received an email from his client claiming she was stranded in Europe and that she needed $2000 in order make it home.  In fact it wasn’t until he got this email from his client that he knew her email had been hacked.

When it comes to contacting these people on your list you may have to call them individually, use your spouses email, or even a secondary email address if you have one.  This is an instance were having a second email address can come in very handy.  For example, if your Gmail address is your primary address get a Yahoo Mail address as a backup.

Step 3: Change Your Passwords.  Finally, the last thing you need to do is change any and all passwords associated with that email address.  One thing you can defiantly count on is that these scammers are going to sift through your email archives to find any kind of sensitive information.

This could be log in details for your PayPal, eBay, and Amazon accounts.  It could even be sensitive bank information.  The point is any info these scammers can get their hands is going to use to their advantage.  So one of the best things you can do is to keep a list of all the places you use your email address at, so when you do get hacked all you have to do is change the passwords on the list.

Has Your Email Address Been Hijacked?

If your email has been hacked share your story with us.  Tell us how it happened to you and together we can hopefully protect others from getting hit by this terrible scam.  Feel free to share your thoughts, questions, comments and tips below.

Cheers!

This article was recently featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance by Diva In Debt.

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With:

Facebook Scams And More: How To Avoid Falling Victim On The Social Networks

November 30, 2011 By 3 Comments

Facebook users everywhere are being warned about a new scam hitting the social network, to add to the ever-increasing list of things to watch out for on the site.

This latest ruse is a phishing attempt in the form of a private message informing the user that their profile violates the network’s policies on annoying or insulting behaviour, and will be deleted within 24 hours unless the account is re-verified. The message contains a link which leads to a page like this:

Notice the field asking for the first 6 digits of your credit or debit card…which you’re asked for again on another page:

You’re also asked for your webmail details, and armed with all this information scammers can hijack your account, send further phishing messages to everyone on your friends list, your email contacts and more.

You can read about more Facebook-related scams at www.hoax-slayer.com.

Nobody’s Safe

It’s not just Facebook users at risk of falling victim to phishing. If you use Twitter you’ve probably had a message like this:

Clicking the link will invariably lead to what looks like the Twitter login page, and unthinkingly you enter your details again…Whoops; the scammers now have your details and can get up to all kinds of mischief with them.

This works partly because the URL in the message uses what’s called a ‘short URL’, which cloaks the actual URL of the page. I clicked this link hoping to get a screenshot of the site it leads to, but it came up with a DNS error. However I could see that the URL it led to was “itwitterl.com/” – someone who just glanced at this would probably just see the ”twitter’ part and think nothing of it.

Phishing Emails

And it’s not just the typical social network users who get targeted by phishers. As a player of an MMORPG called World of Warcraft I have had more than my fair share of phishing emails claiming to be from Blizzard (the company who creates the game), attempting to get my account details.

The emails typically contain a warning that my account is under suspicion of ‘illegal’ activity such as gold-selling (which is against Blizzard’s policies), and a threat of account deletion unless I verify my details. The link given appears to be a Battle.net link  (Blizzard’s official domain) and leads to what looks like the real Battle.net login page. You can guess the rest! Read the full story at lifeofwarcraft.wordpress.com.

Why do scammers do this, you might ask? Well a Warcraft account is an extremely valuable commodity and can be sold for real cash, used to ‘farm’ in-game materials and currency which can be sold for real cash and, because WoW is a subscription game, used to gain personal information such as bank details.

And that is essentially what all phishers are after – your personal and bank details. With them they can commit identity fraud, get access to goods and services under your name, spend your money or take out credit cards in your name, getting you into all kinds of trouble and debt.

To remain safe, don’t click on the link within an email even if it looks like it’s genuinely from your bank or other trusted source. Instead, manually navigate to the site it’s meant to go to and see if there’s anything there. If not, it’s pretty safe to assume the email’s a fake.

You can also tell in most cases by hovering over the URL in the email. The actual address will be displayed in the lower left corner of your browser, and it’s unlikely that it will be the one you expect!

This article was written by Louise from MoneySupermarket, a price comparison site dedicated to saving households money. Don’t throw away your hard earned cash by falling victim to phishing scams!

This post was recently featured as an editors pick in the Carnival of Personal Finance by Afford Anything.

 

Filed Under: Scams

Auto Insurance Fraud: Don’t Do It!

November 17, 2011 By 2 Comments

Did you know that auto insurance fraud cost the insurance industry about $30 billion a year? While most law-abiding citizens would never dream of committing fraud or felony, there are other elements of society that make their living off of deliberately scamming people. Here’s what you need to know so that you don’t get involved in auto insurance fraud, either intentionally or accidently.

First, let’s understand the two types of auto insurance fraud.

Hard Fraud occurs when a perpetrator stages a scenario like a collision, theft or personal injury so as to lay claims for compensation from an insurance company. It could include a ring of conspirators who play out a scenario to dupe unsuspecting victims and insurance company investigators. Sometimes, doctors, lawyers and insurance agents play an active role in these fake accidents.

Soft Fraud or opportunistic fraud occurs when a perpetrator exaggerates or lies about an event in order to claim compensation. For instance, a person with insurance may exaggerate the damages to his car after an accident in order to claim a bigger compensation than is actually due to him. Or a person applying for auto insurance may misrepresent information so as to get lower premium rates. Soft frauds are the most common type of fraud, but it’s not always intentionally. Some people accidently provide wrong information.

Common reasons for auto insurance frauds – it’s easier done than you think!

  • Providing inaccurate information while signing up for a policy because you forgot the specific details. If you can’t remember whether you’ve got any parking or speed tickets, go through your records before you answer these questions. Remember, ignorance is no excuse!
  • Providing inaccurate information about past insurance claims, damages, and accidents.  For instance, some people deliberately give an inaccurate estimate of their daily mileage just to get cheaper auto insurance quotes.
  • Not collecting enough evidence on the spot, after an accident. Take pictures and write down any details that will help support your insurance claim. It’s important to get your facts straight.
  • Listening to “good” advice even from close friends who may tell you to fudge information so as to get cheap auto insurance quotes. Be wise – these intentional “exclusions” may come back to bite you later.

How to avoid being caught in an auto insurance fraud

  • Watch out for organized fraud rings trying to lure you into a paper accident or a staged accident scenario. There are techniques such as the T-Bone, Sideswipe, Wave and Swoop & Squat employed by organized fraud rings. Make sure you are aware of these and be on the alert. Those who stage such crimes will try to bleed you out for all the insurance claims they can get. Remember, some may even have doctors and lawyers in their scam ring!
  • It may seem tempting to get more out of a legitimate accident from your auto insurance company by exaggerating the damages, especially when you consider all the premiums you have already paid your insurance company.  But don’t give in to temptation! Some have reported fake hit and runs or laid claims to non-existing damages and later have had to face the consequences. It may seem like a fool-proof idea but think through it before you actually do it.
  • Collect as much hard evidence as you can after an accident. Write down notes so you don’t forget, take pictures, videos on your cell phone. This will help you confidently put your case forward to the auto insurance company. 

Consequences of auto insurance frauds

  • Denial of Claim. If you provide incorrect and/or insufficient information to the auto insurance company at the time of claiming compensation after an accident, your insurance claim may be denied and you would have to bear the entire loss on your own.
  • Cancellation of Policy – Your auto insurance company can cancel your policy if they find you have misrepresented information on past claims, accidents, speeding records etc. This would force you to find another car insurance company and face obscene premium rates.
  • A Misdemeanor Conviction is the worst possible consequence of a soft fraud accusation. The conviction details vary across different states, though in severe cases it may go up to five years of imprisonment or a fine of $ 15,000. Generally, cases of accidental fraud do not lead to convictions but you should always be careful. Make sure you manage your policy well and don’t provide incorrect information.

Now that you’ve read about the details of auto insurance fraud and how easy it is to accidentally cross the line, this should serve as a wakeup call – keep your eyes open and alert to the possibility of you being duped by a scamming operation. Check your auto insurance policy to make sure everything is in order. Don’t think that this could never happen to you. Fraudulent claims are not only affecting insurance companies, but innocent lives as well. Don’t be their next victim!

 

About The Author:

Bethany Collins is a mother of two kids and lives with her husband. She loves travelling and writing. Her interest lies in reading finance related books, articles and blogs. She has continued writing since last 10 years on topics like auto insurance, Classic car insurance and several car insurance related topics.

This article was recently featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance by My Personal Finance Journey.

Filed Under: Scams

3 Debt Settlement Scams To Watch Out For

March 10, 2011 By 7 Comments

If your in the process of searching for a debt negotiation program that will magically whisk all of your debt problems away for good, think again.  The world of debt negotiation is a complicated one and if you don’t know what your doing it could put you in a world of hurt with your finances. So in this article I’m going to cover 3 basic debt settlement scams that these companies will use to rip consumers like you off.

The Fee’s

The first thing you have to watch out for with debt settlement scam companies is how much they charge for their fees.  I can tell you of all the companies I’ve researched I rarely find a company that is willing to disclose their fees publicly on their website.

Two typical fees that a debt settlement company will charge are an upfront fee, and a monthly fee. Most debt companies will usually charge the monthly fee, but not everyone will usually charge the initial up front fee.

The problem comes when these companies fail to disclose just how much of a fee they are really taking out of your monthly payment.  For example, one company that I’ve found to disclose their fees is Debtmerica.  They charge around 17% of the total amount of debt that is placed in the program.  So if you place $10,000 worth of debt into the program it could end up costing you around $1700 in fees spread out in monthly payments.

scam

How Fee’s Are Charged

The next scam you need to watch out for is how the fees are charged.  Debt settlement companies will be very sneaky about how they implement this tactic.

What will happen is these companies will operate a lot like a mortgage does, charging their fees in the beginning rather then spreading them out equally.   With the debt companies though they will take their fees out up front to get their payment first.

Now you might be wondering why would they do this?  The reason is simple, debt settlement companies have high turnover rates and most people end up quitting before they ever finish the program so they’ll try to get as much out of them before you bail.

Your Credit Gets Trashed

The last thing that happens is your credit gets trashed.  If you start a debt relief program with good credit chances are you won’t end it this way.  The reason for this all has to do with how the debt companies and creditors report your debts to the credit bureaus.

Typically what will happen is your creditor will report them as either paid as agreed,or pay for delete.  The problem with this is it will have a severe negative affect on your credit score if they get marked this way. Instead you want the debt company to report the debt as paid in full.

Final Thoughts…

Have you ever fallen for any of these debt settlement scams?  Please take the time to share you story with us below.  Spreading the knowledge about these terrible debt settlement scam companies will benefit everyone from falling into these traps.

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3 Big Internet Scams To Watch Out For

January 7, 2011 By 2 Comments

Lately I’ve been doing some research on the internet and have come across several internet scams that have been going on for some time now.  These scams have been ripping people off and taking advantage of those that are the most valunarable.  In this article I will cover three of these scams.

Debt Relief Scams

The first scam to watch out for is the debt releif scams.  The truth is thier are legit debt relief companies out there and their are some downplayed on the internet as scams which are not such as the Debtmerica Relief Scam.  Then their are some debt relief websites that portray debt relief companies on the internet but are not.

Instead what some of them will do is get you to sign up for their program and once you’ve paid their up front fees they vanish.  This type of scam is what is plaguing the industry and ripping people.  However if you’re still interested in working with a debt negotiation company check out my previous article on how to spot legit debt relief companies.

Timeshare Scams

The next scam you have to watch out for on the internet is the timeshare scams.  If you own a timeshare and you’ve been looking to sell it you may have come across several timeshare resale companies who are offering to list your timeshare on their website, for a fee of course.

The problem is once you’ve paid the fee, usually $500 to $600, they will collect the payments and disappear never to be seen or heard from again.  If you would like to learn more about this scam read my previous article on timeshare resale companies.

PayPal Scams

The final scam is for those who use PayPal.  This scam is by far one of the hardest to spot.  In fact to prove my point I almost fell for this one myself when I recieve in email a few years back from what I thought was PayPal who wanted me to varify my account info.

These scammers went as far as to set up a fake PayPal website that looked identical to the real PayPal site.  However before I did this I contacted PayPal about the situation and they explained to me that it was a scam and that I should discard the message.

To learn more about this scam read my previous article on 5 red flags you should look for on PayPal scams.

Share Your Story

Have you ever been hit up by an internet scam? Share your comments and stories below.

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Debtmerica Scam: Why It’s Not A Real Scam

January 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment


If you’re searching for a debt relief program around the Internet you my have come across debt company called Debtmerica Relief.  However one of the big rumors going around the web is that these sites are being considered nothing more than a scam, such as the Debtmerica Relief scam.

However when your talking about debt relief companies I’m going show you why they are not a scam.  Don’t get me wrong some debt companies are a scam but then their are some that a perfectly legit but then their are some that fall in that grey area and in this article I’m going to cover a few of those grey area tactics companies like Debtmerica may be using this way you don’t end up finding out the hard way.

The Hardship Rule

If you’re looking at using Debtmerica to help you get out of debt you need to understand that they will not accept you unless you are facing some sort of hardship.  However some companies don’t abide by this rule and accept almost everyone.

The problem with accepting everyone is that if you are not facing a financial hardship you will more than likely have at minimum decent credit.  When you enter a debt negotiation program such as Debtmerica Relief your credit will more than likely be ruined but if your facing a hardship and your credit is already to the point of no return than it doesn’t matter anyways.

The Unsecured Debt Rule

Another rule that Debtmerica enforces is that they will not deal with any other debt other than unsecured debt.  This may seem like a scam since this will not in effect solve your entire debt problem.

For example if you have a home mortgage or a car loan or any debt backed by an asset of some sort these debts won’t be allowed in the program.  The reason for this is that unsecured debts are only backed by the value of your credit, such as a credit card.  However if you have a car loan and the debt negotiation company fails to make a payment on that loan for a period of time the lender could be forced to reposes the car.

The Fees And How They Charge Them

Finally, the last thing Debtmerica will do is charge a fee for the program.  With Debtmerica Relief the normal fee is around 17% of the total amount of debt placed in the program.  So if you have $10,000 of debt in the program they will charge a fee of $1700 for the program. 

However this fee isn’t usually paid up front but instead is paid along with the installment payments that pay off your debt balance.  However their is one big issue with this, when the debt company gets the payment a lot of times the first payments made will go towards paying he fee that is owed with the debt company and the debts that are owed toward your creditors my go on hold till fee paid up.

The reason for this is because their is a high drop out rate with these kinds of programs and these companies want to get their money first before this happens.  In fact this process kind or works like a mortgage does.  With a mortgage in most cases you will pay mostly interest and very little principle but over time you will pay less and less interest and more and more principle, however when a debt company does this it could end up costing you more because they are neglecting to pay your creditors which could ruin your credit.

So is their a Debtmerica Scam or not, share your thoughts below.

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: , , ,

Primerica Scam: The Truth Behind This Legit Business

December 3, 2010 By 2 Comments

With so many different financial service companies around you may be wondering are they all legit.  As covered in a recent article on the World Financial Group scam, I showed how this company was a legit and a real financial company.  However the same is said about other financial companies and in this article I going to cover another company that has gotten a bad rap as being claimed as a big scam, Primerica.

Who Is Primerica

Primerica is a financial services company that coined the phase buy term and invest the difference.  They are located in Atlanta Georgia and are the largest financial services company in the United States.

This company was founded in 1977 and has been a leader in helping people cut down high insurance cost and invest that money to work harder for them.  On top of that they also offer a business opportunity that is nearly second to none.  So you might be wonder with a company this great how could they possibly have ever been labeled as a scam?

What Primerica Does

Primerica has one business philosophy, and that is to help people cut down their cost by shifting them into a term life insurance policy and helping them cash out their costly whole life or universal policy.

Permanent policies will usually carry much higher premiums as a result and by switching to a term policy you’ll be able to cut down the cost of the monthly premium and invest the money that was in the cash value of your life insurance policy to a more suitable location like a Roth IRA or mutual fund.

This is obviously an easy way to cut down the cost in the long run but it can be a costly one if you’re not careful.  One thing to watch out for when cashing a permanent policy in is the surrender period.  For example, a variable universal life insurance policy will usually have a 10 year surrender period on it typically.  If you cash the policy out before the surrender period ends you could end up paying a large sum of money to the insurance company depending when you close the account.

Another issue I’ve seen happen was were a client of mine had previously worked with a Primerica agent and the agent closed out their permanent policy and helped them set up a term life policy but in the end never followed through and helped them invest the money properly and the couple ended up spending all the money on a new car.

In the end Primerica is a legit and real company but just because someone is in financial services doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing.  You have to take the time to research and understand all of your options before switch or it could end up costing you big.

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: , ,

Why The WFG Scam Is Not Real

December 1, 2010 By 1 Comment

Back several months ago I wrote an article about the World Financial Groups scam and why they are not true.  I gave valid reasons why they are not a scam however their are other reasons that this company is not a scam as well and in this article I’m going to cover those reasons.

What’s Their Focus

First off, while working in WFG one of the main reasons I joined the company was because their focus was on helping people solve their financial problems.  I helped people put a budget together, help them lower the cost of their insurance, and even help them increase their financial knowledge over all in the end.

This is how WFG separates themselves from other business opportunities their focus is not on making money but rather helping people achieve their financial goals.

A scam company would not focus on helping people but rather give testimonials and show impossible results that they can help you become a millionaire in no time at all.  The reality is this just doesn’t work this way.

Products and Services

The next difference is that World Financial Group offers an array of different financial products and services.  They work with companies like Prudential, Western Reserve Life, Transamerica, and Pacific Life.

These companies would not team up with an organization like this if they were  a scam.  On top of that they also offer excellent services like helping people put together a budget and put a debt plan in place.

Companies that are  scams don’t offer legit products and services.  In fact if you looking at a similar business opportunity and you can’t explain what it is they do they’re more than likely a scam and should be avoided.

Location

Finally, the last and most important reason their is no WFG scam is because they have a real and physical location.  World Financial Group is located in Duluth, Georgia.  This is located on the northern end of Atlanta.

To boot I’ve been to their home office several times while working for them.  The first time I went with my branch office manager and the second time I went was with my wife for red carpet day event.  This is an event where they open up the home office for a whole day just show what they really do.

A scam company would not have a physical location like this nor offer an open house event.  In fact a scam business wouldn’t have a phone number, email address, or anythings else like this.

In the end if you’re looking at joining the WFG opportunity and you’ve found this page I highly recommend you check it out.  You may be surprised at what they really have to offer.

Filed Under: Scams Tagged With: ,
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