Scams and Spam a Year in Review

The Internet is a continual learning process -- it brings with it -- like any business -- the good and the bad -- and with it the creativity of both. I will share with you some of the scams and spam that travel the Internet last year. It is always wise to keep abreast of the scams and spam because the creative folks who partake in such ventures always find a different twist to the basic scam. But realize, the basic scam is just that -- the root of the twist and turns. Thus, if you can identify what looks like a scam or smells like a scam, then it is best to step back and research. Yes, even if you feel (that's what they are hoping) that it is right.


SCAMS AND SPAMS ARE ALIVE AND WELL
By Vickie J Scanlon

In this last year, I have found that scams and spams are alive and well, and needless to say, in every form and make. What types of scams or spams hit the Internet this year? Here only some of the ones that I encountered or heard about.


EMAIL SCAMS

You typical email scams – the sender trying to convince the recipient that there is something wrong with their Paypal, Banking (Yes, I said banking) account, and Ebay account and to please click the link to resolve this messy problem. For those who do not know, please do not click the link, open a new session and manually type in your link information to get the results.

And for those in the US, and for many and most who have to pay taxes – be aware of an email scam that will suggest that you have a refund waiting for you—and to please give them your Social Security number, and of course, gives you a link in which you can connect with them. DO NOT--delete--this is a scam.


ADSENSE FRAUD

Now, how can you have adsense fraud? Some ingenious souls have found ways to have other click the google links on their site – to make them oodles of money. And – that, I’m said to say, can distort the Google rates for those of us that use it for advertising.


CHARITY SCAMS

Ah, yes – the ones that pull at your heart strings. The most effectively, because you are leading with your heart and not with your intellect. Take a moment and step back, do not give to the caller, go locally to the Charity instead.

I don’t know if this is a scam, but I must say, it really is a shoddy way to increase your leads and profit margin on the Internet – that is by saying – “If you buy so and so product I will contribute a percentage of the profits to the Charity “ – in this case – Katrina Charity.


SEARCH ENGINES UNEQUAL PLAYING FIELDS

Yes, even in search engine optimization people have attempted to find ways to push their sites to the top. It is called “black hat search engine optimization”.

It is said to be a fairly common practice, where the webmaster will build multiple sites on a general theme then cross-link to other sites in the same network. The whole purpose is to give one or more of their sites a stronger showing in the search engine results , and, thus, greater increase in traffic flowing from the various network sites to their site or sites.


SEO Spamming

SEO spamming is designing a web page in an illegal manner so that its rankings are improved. One such way is keyword spamming. The designer will put relevant and irrelevant text in the ‘keywords’ meta tag and often on the visible page text as well. Many words are added and repeated, in an attempt to get a higher ranking for a page. They will make the text look irrelevant to the viewer, by making the font small and the color almost invisible


As you can see, all is the same, only the color of the beast has changed. And what does that mean for the Internet Marketer or the novice Internet Marketer who is just getting their feet wet – be aware and do not partake at the drop of the hat. Pause, and take a long look before departing with your money or your identity.

Vickie J Scanlon Visit her site at: My Affiliate Place for tools, how to info for affiliates, Report Your Scams, business computers, software, tech accessories and more.