Legal Resource Center

If you are struggling to make money on the internet, there are several reasons why this might be the case. The challenge is you may not know what the issue is so you do not know how to fix it. Today, I will reveal several areas that might be limiting success in your business.

The first challenge is a lack of a product or service to market. One of the best types of products to market is an information product because selling information works very well online.

The second area that a lot of people struggle with when they attempt to make money on the internet is exposure. Marketing outside of where you are located can be challenging. This is especially true if you are marketing a service that does not work well for a national audience. As an example, there is not a huge demand for an attorney outside of the city he or she practices in. You need to have people you can market to in order to make money.

Another challenge to making money online is getting in front of the right people. Qualifying people over the phone can be challenging. When I used to do remodeling I know it was difficult to determine over the phone if a potential client was really looking to get a project done or if I was wasting my time. When you invest time with people who are not interested and will not buy from you, it limits your ability to make money.

You also cannot make money on the internet when you fail to capture the attention of prospective customers. You are not going to hold the attention of a person through traditional advertising like ads and commercials. This is even truer if you are marketing a complicated product or service, which are almost impossible to market outside of face-to-face interactions. This is true for financial professionals, real estate professionals, medical professionals and legal professionals. Your services require one-on-one interactions, which are difficult to book online.

Finally, if you fail to create a sense of urgency in the mind of your prospect to purchase from you now, this limits your income. Providing a strong deadline or incentive to purchase immediately allows you to make more money faster and acquire more customers.

You can see there are many reasons that can limit your income online. The key is to identify which of these reasons might be holding you back so that you can make money on the internet.

-By: Stephen R. Beck

Stephen Beck shows people how to make money on the internet. Get his 3 free videos at http://www.8weekstoprofits.com so you and your family can begin today.

Nothing stands still in cyberspace. From the time the first packet made the transit from one lab to another, the infrastructure that fostered the Internet and gave birth to the World Wide Web has been undergoing steady, progressive change. Such is also the case for web security. IT administrators tasked with giving their organizations the communication benefits of a global network, while countering a steady succession of evolving threats, know that the phrase eternal vigilance is more than empty rhetoric. Threats are countered. New threats arise. Small- to mid-sized businesses in particular may lack the internal expertise to identify and cope with the latest concerns in the rapidly changing security landscape.

Adapting to the changing nature of security threats requires first identifying the paths of greatest risk, the types of transactions prone to theft or exposure and the potential mechanisms by which hackers or intruders might gain access to information. An equally relevant concern is identifying and preventing the activities by which insiders might abuse network resources, access information that is legally prohibited by age or policy, or inadvertently expose other network users to circulating viruses or malware. The effectiveness of a web security solution can be measured by success in accomplishing these goals in a manner that does not disrupt daily business operations or place an undue burden on the organization’s staff members, partners, or customer base.

There is a wide range of approaches to web security, from strengthening end points using client-based software to fortifying the firewall by adding additional gateway functionality to seal out emerging risks. This paper describes the advantages of a centrally managed approach enabled by an all-in-one security gateway that can also enhance and complement existing measures. Using tools developed to counter today’s most critical web access issues and applying them consistently across the organization offers many advantages over clientbased solutions that may not be uniformly deployed or may be circumvented by users. This paper also discusses the benefits of consolidating web security mechanisms in an easily deployable hardware appliance or a convenient, selfcontained virtual appliance (running under VMware). The deployment and maintenance of web security measures can in itself be a costly, resourcedraining activity if implemented in a piecemeal, uncoordinated manner.

Change: The One Indisputable Constant

The Internet has become vital to a broadening spectrum of business operations, but with the increased growth of worldwide networking, businesses face an expanding range of threats and vulnerabilities that, if left unchecked, can negate the advantages of an open business model. Anyone who has been involved in IT management or administration has undoubtedly noted that the technologies designed to counter network vulnerabilities are, by necessity, constantly changing to cope with the inventiveness of data thieves and hackers attempting to breach security measures. The viability of the network itself also faces internal risks, from the downloading of software that contains viruses or worms to the network slowdowns that result from excessive traffic associated with file-sharing sites and peer-to-peer exchanges.

Go to GlobalETM to read more.

-By: Michael Le

Astaro LTD

Someone you know views internet pornography.

Accurate statistics are almost impossible to find but there is considerable evidence that internet pornography is growing both in volume and in the damage it is doing to men and women. Indirect evidence shows that more and more people are indulging in the viewing of porn and they doing it for longer and longer periods of time.

The Growing Internet Pornography Problem

Careful observations of recent trends demonstrates the problem.

1. More and more pornography sites on the web. The increasing number of porn sites is evident by the frequency in which they appear in otherwise innocent internet search results. Search engines like Google and Yahoo are careful to prevent trash sites from popping up in searches but the sheer number seems to be more than the engines can keep up with. Searches for some medical problems or a search to find information about a celebrity are almost certain to generate porn sites included in the listings.
2. More and more pornographic spam email. How often do you find odd emails sent to you from people and places you do not know? Many times these emails promote internet sites that specialize in various forms of adultery or pornography. The fact that they are being sent so frequently suggests the technique works; that people actually open and respond to the messages.
3. Increases in internet pornography as a component of marital discord. Marital counselors are seeing more and more clients where addictive internet pornography viewing is at least a part of the problem. Men and women steal intimacies from their spouses by consorting with internet porn sites.
4. Corporate IT departments verify rising pornography viewing on the job. Businesses are spending more and more time and money preventing the viewing of pornography on their corporate networks. Businessmen are concerned about the vast amount of time spent on such sites and the damage such viewing can bring to their employees.

There can be little question that internet pornography is growing. Some estimates suggest that web-based porn generates more revenue than that from ABC, CBS and NBC combined. It is big business and it is growing. 20 to 33 percent of internet users go online for sexual purposes according to studies done as recently as 2005.

Juice Plus business markets a product that has been around for a very long time. They currently have the prestige of having their products being recommend by doctors and health professionals to their clients. If you are looking to market the juice plus business you are part of an established opportunity. The vast clinical research done by juice plus has been published in peer reviewed medical and scientific journals. Juice plus business provides a plethora of information on their websites regarding vitamins, minerals, fruits and vegetables and much more.

Juice plus is more than just a multivitamin since it provides more essential antioxidants phytonutrient and other key nutrients for the body all in whole food form unlike traditional multivitamins as well as some fibers. The juice plus business would say they’re not a MLM company but because they use a network marketing compensation plan they are indeed an MLM company. Lots of companies like juice plus business don’t like to admit they are a network marketing companies due to the bad reputation in America for MLM and it is perfectly legal to state such a face.

If you are a distributor looking to market the juice plush business you should first immerse yourself on a daily bases becoming knowledgeable and establishing your expertise in the industry around your juice plus business. Get to know your target audience and don’t try to market to everybody. You need to think like a business owner and not an employee. Leading with the juice plus business opportunity would be a costly mistake because everyone you enrolled would just want to make money and statistics show they would soon drop out after 3 to 4 months when they don’t see success.

You’ll need to take the time and improving your skill set in three key areas when it comes to marketing your juice plus business. The telephone, the internet and the written word. There is no need to use traditional techniques such as making a list of your friends and family or passing out business cards. You can grow your juice plus business without ever needing to leave your own home or host a single house party. Belly to belly marketing hasn’t been affective since the 1950s and the internet has come into its own in the past 2 to 3 years. Mastering on the internet takes some time and patience but can be done for free.

You must also develop a communication skill set in the art of reading scripts and buying response leads and buyer leads. This method is recommended before internet marketing because it puts you into profit much faster. It’s also requires that you develop your own live or recorded presentation call that leads with the product, not the opportunity.

To ascertain more juice plus business building techniques and obtain a free report titled “The Heavy Hitter Report to adding 3 reps a day”, visit http://www.networkgurusecrets.com

-By: Jawaune Saad

Jawaune Saad is a home based business consultant living in Tampa, FL who is currently helping thousands of people to achieve their business dreams.

Jawaune can be reached at:

Email support@7figurenetworkerkit.com

Phone 813-315-6575

Marketing for small business owners does not need to be expensive. There are a variety of affordable things small business owners can do to really promote their businesses. Give just a few of these tools a try and watch your business grow.

1. Determine your niche. Almost everyone has some type of competition. Determine what makes you stand out from your competitors, and focus on that. Your niche could be the type of work you do such as creating artistic custom cabinets for high-priced homes. Or it could be the type of customer you have such as accounting services for single, professional women. Niche marketing helps you focus, and also ensures people will remember you.

2. Establish a network of like-minded people. Many professionals are familiar with the idea of networking. There are many different ways to do this. Most Chambers of Commerce have networking groups. Your local newspaper probably also has a list of regular networking meetings.

The key here is to be sure you are networking with the right people. Like attracts like. The people in your networking group need to be like the people you want to be your customers. If you need customers who are top-level professionals, don’t waste time networking with people who are just getting started in their career.

3. Develop a referral reward program. How much is a new customer worth to you? Determine that figure, and then decide how much you would spend to acquire that new customer. Let your past customers and people in your network know you will reward them for referrals. Be aware of any legal restrictions in your industry. Rewards can be monetary or gifts. But rewards can also be intangible. Think of things like recognition and training.

4. Create an email newsletter. Most professional know having a website is a given. But what do you do with the people who visit your website? Put a sign-up sheet on your website to capture the names and email addresses of people who visit. Then send them information they can use on a regular basis. With newsletters, follow the 80/20 rule: 80% information, and only 20% promotion.

5. Give presentations. Giving presentations is a great way to be recognized as a leader in your field. If you aren’t confident with your presentation skills, start small. Scan your local newspaper to see what groups routinely have guest speakers. Contact those groups and arrange to get on their calendar. As your skills improve, you can address larger groups.

6. Write press releases. Media outlets are always looking for good information. Write a press release about a topic of interest and send it to the media. Then, post the press release on your website.

7. Join industry associations. Almost every industry has one or more associations. Most have local chapters. Join them and get to know the other people in your industry. Some professionals are reluctant to do this. They don’t want to hang out with their competitors. But if you do a good job differentiating yourself and establishing your niche, the other people in your industry aren’t competitors, they are good sources of referrals.

8. Take a leadership role. When you join groups, take a leadership role. Being the chair of a committee give you instant recognition and credibility. Even being a committee member give you a great opportunity to get to know people who can help your business grow.

9. Master the Internet. Even if you don’t sell on-line, it is a good idea to have an Internet presence. Many of your customers will search the web before they call you. Have a professional blog to help people get to know you. Submit articles to on-line magazines. The more times your name pops up on the web (in a positive way, of course!), the better your credibility.

10. Keep in touch. As you go about your business, you will meet many, many people. As for their permission to add them to your email newsletter. Send them notes and cards on holidays. Make a habit of calling one person on your contact list every day. Keeping in touch on a regular basis will be invaluable. First, you will ensure people don’t forget you! Second, you will let them know you care about them which is the one thing everyone wants!

-By: Pamela Starr

Pamela Starr is a marketing expert and the creator of The Starr Marketing Method?. She publishes a weekly ezine offering free marketing ideas. If you have tried marketing your business, and are frustrated with your results, check out Pamela’s ezine and free report Easy and Affordable Marketing Tricks at: http://www.PamelaStarrOnline.com

Here’s what happened. Since January we had been living in a little flat with a big problem – there was a flaw in the plumbing installed when the building was remodeled which meant that sewer gases could rise through the pipes and escape freely into the bathroom. It smelled like a public toilet all the time.

We talked about it with the owner who told us it was a construction mistake and couldn’t be rectified. Every time I spoke to her I mentioned the fact the we weren’t happy and that the smell was sometimes so bad you would put off peeing as long as you could just to avoid going in there. Once, when the landlord visited, we talked to some of the neighbours who had the same problem. The couple upstairs who had two bathrooms even told us that they couldn’t use one of theirs (the one directly above ours) because it smelled so bad.

We had a minimum years contract, but told the owner at the beginning of April that we would have to leave because of the smell and would be out by the end of the month. We went and found another flat and moved all our stuff out.

The end of the month was this week, so we went over there to give her the keys back and officially sign off. I had trusted she would do the right thing, but my partner had had suspicions all week that she wouldn’t play ball. She was right. She refused to give us our deposit (1 months rent) back because we were breaking the contract early.

Now, we had always tried to behave reasonably towards the owner. We had tried to solve the problems ourselves. We had poured countless Euros worth of bleaches and chemicals down the tubes. We had even called a plumber at our own expense. In the end, when we couldn’t stand it any more, we gave her plenty of notice and told her she could bring people to see the flat whenever she wanted so she wouldn’t have the flat empty for any extended period of time. When we gave the flat back, we left it cleaner than when we first took the keys.

Given the circumstances, I trusted she would see that we had behaved reasonably all along and would choose to do so herself. Unfortunately, she obviously saw it as a chance to make some easy money from our horrible experience. All she could say was: “Do you need me to read the contract to you?”. She had also bought her beefy policeman dad as backup. This is a person who knew about the smell, who had deliberately covered it up with air-fresheners the day we saw the flat and who had personally heard from the neighbours that their equivalent bathroom was unusable.

When we first met her, she seemed like a very pleasant and reasonable woman. I wondered at what point her greed had overcome any natural human kindness instinct she might have had. Yes, she did have the contract on her side – there was no clause that said “The bathroom will not stink”; there wasn’t even a ‘fit for use’ type clause. So I guess if it went to court she’d probably win. But really, is that the point? Shouldn’t any reasonable person see that the contract means nothing if you can’t live in the place because it smells so bad? That morally, not legally, she had no right to keep our money? I asked her how she would be able to sleep at night. The dad got aggressive.

When we came out of the meeting, both my partner and I were emotionally knackered. We are non-confrontational types and recognised that the half hour intense argument had taken its toll on both of us. We sat on a bench for a while and nursed our wounds. When I got home I asked Google why we should feel so tired after a ‘fight’. Apparently it’s something to do with hormones.

The whole episode got me thinking about whether these types of fight are actually worth it in the long run; and small business owners will recognise that when every day is a never ending fight with suppliers, customers, salesmen, con-artists and everyone else who wants a piece of your business, the battle can be exhausting.

The problem in the short term is the immediate desire for moral victory – “It’s not about the money, it’s the principal”. You hear it all the time. The problem is that when you’re up against an army of cold-hearted, empty-headed opponents, getting them to see the just truth is a very unlikely outcome. And even if you do, as a non-confrontational person the victory might cost you more than the prize is worth. So should you let people walk all over you, just for an easy life? What’s the right action – fight or flight?

After running a small company for almost 4 years and taking a lot of crap and giving a lot back, I’m starting to think that either I don’t have the right personality for it, or that I’ve got the wrong approach. When you sell stuff to the general public (and I’m sure all merchants will agree), there is always a small percentage of ‘bad customers’. And I mean bad in every way. The have a chip on their shoulder from the very beginning, demand discounts and special treatment, point out mistakes in your webpage or sales literature, behave irrationally and expect you to comply with their whims and then inevitably, ask for their money back.

In our business, problems are mostly delivery related. Maybe 2-3% of deliveries go wrong. People don’t take the time to read the information on the website, fail to receive their order and then expect us to bear the cost or responsibility. When the customer is calm, genuine and reasonable, I never hesitate in helping them out, even making a loss on their order just so that they’re happy. When the customer is an idiot, it costs a lot more. You’re left with a stark choice:

1) Argue with the customer, exchange 6-10 heated emails, all of which leave you a little drained, get a chargeback on your PayPal or credit card merchant account, write letter(s) to them explaining the situation, exchange more emails and/or phone calls, worry, possibly progress to legal action, possibly win financially/morally, possibly not. Or,

2) Give the customer their money back. Forget about it. Move on.

What about suppliers who deliver late and mess up your whole logistics schedule? Do you argue, complain, explain that their mistakes have cost you time and money, ask for compensation, risk ruining a stable relationship? All of this takes time and emotional investment. And it’s constant.

I know what my choice is. But does that mean that I’m letting people walk all over me when I should be standing up and fighting my corner? And I’m not just talking about customers – these situations arise constantly in business and come from all angles. Fights with suppliers about pricing or delivery errors, with employees about behaviour, with customers about service and payment – business is a battleground, and my feeling is that the winners are the ones that are up for the fight, the ones who are prepared to not let anyone stand in their way, the ruthless ones, the ones who don’t care too much about other people outcomes or feelings. Ultimately it’s survival of the fittest and a competition for resources and not everyone can win.

Me, I don’t want to fight so much. So is the conclusion that I’m no good as a businessman? Maybe. No doubt that a more aggressive, less sensitive personality would serve me well in this particular domain. But to be honest, I’m not that person and don’t want to be either. I’m not prepared to force a change of personality just to get on in business. Maybe I’ll learn to be more selective, to pick my fights better. Maybe I’ll get naturally better at confrontation and negotiation. Maybe I’ll find way to get others (professionals) to fight the bulk of my fights for me. Maybe I’ll get comfortable with selectively letting people ‘get their way’ in pursuit of peace. Maybe I’ll find a less conflicting business.

Maybe the hard edge of business is just for a different type of person though – and that’s a thought that troubles me.

-By: Jonathan Pincas

About the Author

Jonathan Pincas is creator of “Say No! to the Office” http://www.saynototheoffice.com/ a collection of tools and inspiration for Non-9-to-5′ers. Not into the corporate thing? Visit the website for intelligent advice, discussion and tutorials on small business, entrepreneurship, modern working practices, home-working, freelancing, business technology and communications, productivity and personal development. Real worklife liberation – now at Say No! to the Office.

Having your own business based at home is now a challenge that everyone seems to be willing to take. With the growing number of successful businessmen who have taken the path of working at home, others would like to join the lucrative venture as well. People who have effectively and successfully launched home business have shown great profits, and are able to enjoy working at the comfort of their own home.

Since not all people are internet savvy, here are a few tips on how to successfully establish a home based business.

First of all, you must decide on the type of business to create. It doesn’t really matter which one you want to start, but critical factors here include a unique idea, availability of resources, and of course the secret to the success of many home based businesses, a stable and reliable internet service provider. An effective internet service provider can work wonders for the business, being able to connect to the whole world with limitless information is an advantage a businessman should be ready to grab. Once an internet provider is established, others will follow, like market research, advertising, building your pool of partners and business clients, and of course the efficiency of the services you are willing to provide. Another thing to consider is the licenses required in creating a home based business. Be sure to avail of all necessary legal documents before creating a business, so it won’t hinder you from your potential success.

Starting a home bases business can be a challenge. But with a stable internet provider, working at home can be profitable even for the smallest of businesses.

-By: Mark C Watson

Want the convenience and comfort of working at home? Try the home-based-business now.

Knowing that the credit repair industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, serving the almost 80 million Americans with bad credit, it’s a logical question to ask “Can I start my own credit repair business?”

Credit repair services are growing in popularity and demand as more people realize the importance of having good credit. The average person will access the internet in search of ways they can begin to improve their own credit score, but they quickly realize that there are so many advanced options that could potentially go wrong that they wisely seek professional help.

How Do I Start My Own Credit Repair Business?

As with any business start-up, it’s important to spend a little time learning about the industry and the associated rules and regulations that will be inherent in your business operations. You will also need to consider learning about your legal responsibilities.

Do I Need Qualifications?

A credit repair business is a specialized service niche that will require you to know about the legalities surrounding the credit services industry as well as an understanding of the finance industry. You’ll also need to have a high empathy level to help you cope with your client’s emotional state of mind while they’re going through a difficult financial time.

Do I Need Equipment?

You will need a good computer system, complete with some form of database software that will allow you to keep track of your client’s files and case information. Accounting software might be a good idea so you can keep track of your business’s income and expenses. You may also require a phone and fax.

Technically, a credit repair business can be quite low cost to start up, which makes it a very attractive option for anyone wanting to make a great income without a huge financial outlay.

How Do I Find Clients?

Advertising and marketing your business will become very important. You’ll need to know that clients are able to find you. Creating and maintaining a web presence with a professionally presented website is also a great option.

You may also decide to cultivate a professional relationship with several selected referral sources. You may find that may industries rely heavily on their clients having access to credit products, such as real estate agents or car sales people.

The best possible sources of new clients are your existing or past clients. Word of mouth is a very powerful marketing tool and what’s better is that it’s free. When clients receive great service and are happy with results, they’ll begin to tell friends and family about you.

Can I Earn Good Money with My Credit Repair Business?

The answer is up to you. As with any business, you will get out of it as much as you put into it. Taking time to learn and educate yourself about the credit repair industry will help increase the value of your service to your clients. Making sure clients can find you and your services easily will also help keep your business growing.

-By: Edward Jamison

Edward Jamison is the nation’s #1 credit repair attorney and created http://www.CreditCRM.com a turn-key credit repair business opportunity. You can find free reports, strategies, and information to consider in developing your credit repair business plan on our site, along with free product demos and more.

During the initial establishment of your business, a great amount of research will be required to obtain gradual expertise. The learning curve of a businessman should not necessarily be derived from his own experiences. As it is wisely said “An imprudent learns only from his own experiences but a prudent man learns from other’s experiences as well.”

You should be willing to take external advice to acquire knowledge of your business. Many of these opinions may flow down through taking help from various attorneys and accountants. These professionals can offer a wide range of profitable (as well as legal) perspective, which is crucial for starting any business. Generally, a first meeting does not cost you anything and the consultation is provided free of charge. There is an enormous amount of legal ramifications involved in starting up a business.

You may also consult certain small service groups as they are usually experienced people providing factual consultation for reasonable charges. Most of these consultants are either retired entrepreneurs themselves or older individuals with sea-deep knowledge from their own past experiences. It is always wise to benefit and learn from the knowledge of others rather than approaching every territory with your own novel ideas. Many of these groups of retired business entrepreneurs offer free services.

Seeking out the experience of others affords you the opportunity to benefit from their practical past experiences and learn from their mistakes — which provides valuable lessons that cannot be acquired by reading any book or research paper. The ultimate motive for any novice businessman is to obtain maximum and accurate knowledge. One must not forget that learning never ends — no matter how experienced we grow. In business you may experience any kind of surprise at any point in time. The person who knows what he does not know eventually ends up knowing everything he should know.

Formulating an original idea is excellent, but in many cases it can deprive you of precious time needed to run your business. Running a successful business is not always about being innovative; in fact, most of the time the much-tried and tested methodologies have contributed immensely to the success of many businesses. A large number of successful businessmen often leave an easy-to-follow trail for beginners. You should take advantage of this and study their perspectives and decisions closely.

Greatness is not made in one day, it is a continuous effort; and greatness should be followed. So do not hesitate to emulate the patterns and methodologies of such entrepreneurs. They do not simply grace the covers of business magazines, but they also may be approachable in various social groups, chambers or commerce, and other venues. Much benefit can be gained from such people by approaching them for a personal meeting. You may want to make a phone call requesting a luncheon or “informational meeting” – or inviting them over for a business party.

A personal one-to-one discussion may open a lot of closed doors for your own business and could help you to learn and acquire some time-tested skills. The internet can also provide a wide variety of write-ups or articles on such business entrepreneurs and their individual journeys in the business landscape.

-By: Joseph Alexander

Joseph has been helping small businesses build their brands and raise awareness by providing cheap logo design services for start ups on a budget

You can ask just about any person on the street, and he or she will tell you that this title is an oxymoron.

Well, it is not an unwarranted assumption, for there are many who in good faith have paid for online autos and who have then been defrauded one way or another; and they will not only agree, but also underscore, that indeed, yes, it is an oxymoron.

Online Auto Purchase – Nightmare Scenario No. 1

The 1968 Ford Mustang that a private seller in Michigan had offered to sell for a little more than Sanderson had planned to spend was the precise car he was looking for. Precisely: color, options, wheels, the lot.

So, his planned spending rose the 20% needed to meet the seller’s price, and he answered, yes, yes, I want to buy this car.

The Michigan seller emailed back, nice to know you, and delighted to do business. Just to make sure you know this is on the up and up, we will snail mail you a Certificate of Inspection, as well as our routing number and bank account; into which you should deposit 50% (plus $1,200 delivery charge) before we’ll ship the car. We trust you to pay us the remaining 50% upon acceptance of the vehicle.

Sanderson was convinced this was all on the level-the seller even had his photograph on the site that sold the car; and once he received the Certificate of Inspection, he wired the 50% plus shipping.

And that was the last he saw of his money, or the car, or the seller. The Certificate of Inspection turned out to be a forgery. The bank account he had wired the money to, by the time the police inquired, had been closed. There was no address for the seller, and Sanderson out a considerable amount of money.

Online Auto Purchase – Nightmare Scenario No. 2

Wilson, in his fifties and a prudent man by all accounts, and a lot more business savvy than Sanderson found the very thing he was looking for in Florida: a 1976 Jensen Interceptor series III saloon, hand-built in England. Wilson had been looking for one for years.

It was not the color he liked, but he could always have it repainted. And it was not cheap–well, he didn’t expect it to be. Eight emails later, and they had agreed upon a price.

And the seller, bless his heart, a man as cautious as Wilson himself, suggested they use an online escrow service to make sure the deal would go through smoothly, to everyone’s satisfaction. He even recommended a great looking company called reliable-escrow.com to handle the transaction. Wilson visited the site, and was impressed by the professional approach to the deal it presented. He felt reassured.

Everything was in place. As agreed, he deposited 50% of the purchase price (a small fortune) in the escrow account-the balance to be paid upon acceptance. Then he waited, and waited, and waited.

By the time investigators got around to it, reliable-escrow.com no longer existed (it had been registered in Russia), and Wilson had lost his small fortune.

Online Auto Purchase – Nightmare Scenario No. 3

Money exchanges hands. Shipping arrangements are made. The car arrives. Yes, it is the same year, model and color as stated in the ad, but some of the other statements stretched the truth a little. New tires, for one-these had hardly any thread left. The left headlight did not work, neither did the air conditioning, nor the rear seatbelts. This list did go on.

When challenged the seller referred to the contract which did-darn it, there it was-have an as is clause, and the agreement, not the ad, was the legally binding document here.

The buyer ended up spending an additional $2,350 on a $4,000 car to make it drivable, with no recourse to collect.

Good Intentions

Good intentions-admirable things that all too often fall short of proper follow-through-even when present in spades at the outset of an online auto deal are no guarantee that it will go through in the same spirit. Something is usually overlooked, and when the proverbial push comes to shove, the seller just does not want to eat the extra $500, sorry.

And at the other end of the spectrum-when the intention all along is to defraud you-take another look at the first two scenarios (the third may or may not have started out in good faith).

Internet Fraud

Now, if these first two scenarios were rare, isolated occurrences, this article would have no business being written.

However, Non-delivery of items purchased online constitute an impressive 24.9% of all fraud complaints filed last year with IC3-The Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NWC3)-second only to Internet Auction Fraud, which was the most reported at 35.7%.

Vigilance

Therefore, when it comes to buying anything online from a private party-especially something as costly as an automobile-keep the following in mind:

o Be aware that if a problem does occur, it will be more difficult to resolve if the seller is located outside the United States-laws can differ widely country to country;

o Learn as much as possible about the seller, especially if the only information you have is an e-mail address;

o Before you make a payment for any purchase, you should verify the seller’s identity and contact details in case there is a problem with the delivery of the item;

o Ask the seller when delivery can be expected and whether the merchandise is covered by warranty if you need to exchange it;

o Use registered or certified mail to enable tracing; this will eliminate claims that the parcel was sent but must have been “lost in the mail;”

o Check that the seller information matches email, phone number and any bank account and location information;

And here is the most important advice of all:

o If you have any doubts about the identity and integrity the of seller-and when it comes to high-ticket items such as automobiles, even if you have no doubts whatsoever, and if all intentions appear angel-like: use an escrow agent.

An escrow agent or company is an independent third party that holds payment in trust until the buyer receives and accepts the item from the seller. While this service does incur a fee, it protects the buyer because the third party will hold the money until the goods have been received in good condition, inspected, and accepted; and only then releases the funds to the seller.

Internet Escrow

The principle and process of Internet escrow is the same as with buying and selling real estate-where, of course, the escrow company is deemed indispensible due to the amounts involved.

o The buyer or seller opens an account with the online escrow company;

o The prospective buyer of an item sends payment by wire transfer, check or credit card to the escrow company;

o The escrow company verifies that the funds indeed do exist, or that the buyer is who he represents himself to be and is in possession of the credit card, if used;

o Once this checks out, the escrow company asks the seller to ship the merchandise;

o Merchandise is shipped, and seller submits tracking information;

o Once the shipping site shows the merchandise as delivered the escrow company double checks to ensure the buyer has the goods in hand;

o The buyer now has an agreed-upon amount of time to either accept the goods or return it to the seller;

o Once accepted by the buyer, the escrow company releases the funds to the seller, less any processing fees and commissions.

This is all straightforward enough, if, that is, you are dealing with a legitimate online escrow company.

Fighting the Fighter

But the world, as we know, likes to throw us curves; and in this instance, the curve comes in the guise of escrow fraud.

Handling, as it does, substantial amounts of money, the bona fide escrow company is often itself a target of fraud-where look-alike phishing sites try to con you into providing them your confidential financial information; and where the escrow company concept itself is flagrantly abused by criminals who set up fraudulent escrow sites where money will only travel one-way: you guessed it, away from you.

In fact, the problem of fake on-line escrow sites is now so severe that some reputable and legitimate escrow sites have simply thrown in the towel.

Buyer Guardian, for example, recently shut its doors due to Internet fraud stealing their business, and posted the following note on their site: “We are sad to report that after careful and lengthy consideration we have made the decision to cease operations. This is a very difficult decision, and one that is made primarily due to the rapid growth of online escrow fraud.”

Many of these apparently bona fide escrow companies, established for the sole purpose of enriching the criminal, are set up off-shore-predominantly in Russia or China-where lax cyber crime laws (and sometimes questionable cooperation with U.S. authorities) makes it more difficult to shut the sites down and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Therefore, be sure to use only a bona fide online escrow company, preferably one that comes recommended by auction sites like eBay.

The Famous Bottom Line

If you want to ensure that you are not defrauded by an online transaction, do what house-buyers have done now for pretty much ever, use an online escrow company.

Here’s to peace of mind and a good night’s sleep.

And to successful online auto transactions.

By Ulf Wolf

-By: Ulf Wolf

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based Ulf Wolf writes about cybercrime for Words