How To Guide

Working from home seems like a great idea and there are many people who would like to work from home for whatever reason. They are easy targets for scammers who either get money from them or work done from them or both.

On the face of it the offers sound very attractive and the websites are full of them. You can not only earn a handsome living but also become quite wealthy if you believe all that is written on some scam web sites. There is usually only one catch – you have to pay a fee either to register, to received some materials or training, or buy some products. There are millions of people who get taken in by some of these offers and somebody somewhere sure is getting rich, but it certainly is not you!

Different work-at-home scams

There will still be those envelope stuffing offers, type at home, data entry, processing claims, sending emails, posting ads, taking surveys, online businesses, medical billing work, at home insurance work, etc. The situation is so bad that Christine Durst, CEO… Read More

As technology advances newer methods and gadgets for surveillance are manufactured using the latest state of the art know-how and the equipment gets virtually invisible as well.

Whether it is the good guys or the bad guys, newer gadgets for surveillance have come into play, displacing the older ones. The devices are more sophisticated, their range is greater and their visibility and detect-ability is also less. While old fashioned physical surveillance will always be around, these new gadgets make surveillance activities easier.

Audio gadgets

Audio devices can be totally covert, without the person who is being spied upon even having an inkling that they are being used, to devices which work when the spy is in close range. For example, it is easy to bug phones and track vehicles as everybody who has ever watched any spy movies knows.

But did you know that even your mouse could be a transmitter?  That innocuous looking wooden pen, that mains adaptor, that socket even that LCD clock could be transmitting your conversations or any audio to the person who is spying on… Read More

Sometimes you may get a message on your computer saying that is infected by some spyware or Trojan and that you need to get rid of it by clicking – don’t get taken in.

The other day I was sitting on my computer, doing work and had several web sites open. Suddenly I saw this pop-up window open saying that my computer was infected by a Trojan and that I should click to delete the file. Since I already have good, genuine anti-virus software on my computer, and it scans everyday and also offers real time scanning, I was disturbed. But then I checked the window and it was not from my software, so I quickly closed it. It was obviously an attempt to put a virus into my computer.

The worst thing

Almost all of us are everyday computer users and the threat of the viruses and spyware, Trojan and hijacking tools when online is very real. While this can compromise your safety, steal valuable documents from you computer, steal passwords and log-in ids, a good hacker… Read More

If you don’t have a great credit score, if you are always in debt and always behind payments and looking to find ways to improve your credit score, you will find them.

Sometimes you are in badly over your head in debt and wonder what you can do. Sometimes you are denied loans, a mortgage or extra credit, and you wonder if you can do anything about it. When you look it up on the net, you will find many sites which offer free credit counseling, offer to help you manage your debt better and get your financial health in order.

The improving credit score scam

There are many sites which offer to help you improve your credit score for a fee or for free. Be very wary of these because many of them are fake. Many of the companies offer you free credit reports from three companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Of these only FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) score from Equifax is valid and true. The credit scores from the other two are frequently inflated.

How do they work… Read More

When you use the internet you will see many places which are actually shopping sites from where you can buy products. But there are also many web creation sites which tell you how to make money online – are these all scams?

If you are an internet user you will sometime or the other hit on sites which tell you how you can make easy money online by making a website of your own. Some of them will offer to tell you their secrets either by downloading reading material or video casts. You’ve probably read stories and testimonials of people on the sites saying how much money they’ve made – thousands of dollars each month very easily. Surely you’ve been tempted to do the same either as an extra source of income or even an easy alternate job.

So-called free downloads

Most of the time, these are not free at all. You have to pay some money, anything from $ 40 and over to download a ‘free’ e-book or a ‘free’ video presentation. Or you may be able to order… Read More

Property prices have come down and it is no wonder then that people fall for scams which promise to buy property cheaply and rent it out, earning handsome income for the buyers.

You open a leading financial paper and see huge advertisements by property companies saying that you can make a great deal of money by investing in property, which will then be refurbished and rent out. This would all be hassle free for you and the dealer promise good returns on the money invested, plus the property will be yours in any case. It all seems like a great deal and a good way to put money to use – everything seems kosher and you are lured by the promises, to put in your hard earned money, little knowing that it is all a scam.

It is a global phenomenon

If you think this happens only in U.K. or U.S.A., you couldn’t be more wrong. All over world there are cases of buy to rent scams. There are even simple rental scams wherein the person is asked… Read More

The Chantilly/Tiffany cat is a loving and beautiful semi-longhaired cat. The unique appearance and delightful personality of this breed makes it a great family pet for all ages.

The Chantilly/Tiffany originated in the United States in 1967 with crossbreeding of the Angoras, Havana Browns, and Abyssinians.

Height and weight

Both males and females are of average height. Males at adulthood weigh 8 to 10 pounds, while females weigh between 6 to 8 pounds.

Colors and coat

The coat is semi long, silky, and smooth without an undercoat. The colors of the coat can be chocolate, cinnamon, blue, fawn, and lilac. Some varieties of patterns are often seen such as mackerel, spotted tabby, and ticked. Eye color is gold to yellow.

Temperament and living environment

A very loyal breed that is praised for their mouser abilities. They are very affectionate and love their family. They do not enjoy hours alone and need the companionship of humans or other cats. They bond very deeply with their human family and desire to be included.

Grooming

They will need their… Read More

The Manx is a pretty breed of cat with unique features such as the studded tail, which is actually a naturally occurring mutation of the spine along with the back legs being longer than the front. There are two main varieties of Manx cats: the longhair and the shorthair. These delightful cats are awesome hunters and take down prey twice their size; however, they are also gentle and are great for family pets.

The origin is clouded in mystery and many legends as to the exact way in which this breed of cat came to be. All that is truly believed from all resources is that the origin can be traced back to the Isle of Man off the coast of Britain. An interesting legend concerning the stubbed tail is that during the time that Noah was collecting the animals to save them in the Ark, the tail of this cat was caught in the door as it was closed.

Height and weight

The Manx is an average to large sized cat often weighing up to 15 pounds.

Colors and… Read More

When you first see the British shorthair, you may confuse him with a large variety of different breeds as he has characteristics and colors that might be confusing. He is a stout looking fellow that is very popular in Britain, but is a rare breed in the United States.

The origin of the British Shorthair is of course Britain; however, it was the Romans that began the breed. The wild native cats were bred with Persian cats to help create a thick coat that is one of the prides of the British Shorthair.

Height and weight

This breed of cat is medium built and of average height.

Colors and coat

The British Shorthair coat is short and comes in a variety of solid colors including white, black, chocolate, lilac, and red. White coats will have deep sapphire blue or deep gold, orange or copper eyes. All other coat colors will have deep gold, orange or copper eye colors. There is also a Tabby British Shorthair with a tabby trademark of the M on their forehead.

Temperament and living environment

The… Read More

The American Bombay is the closest domestic cat you can get to the panther, however, these intelligent cats have been stated to have the attributes of a dog, cat, and monkey all rolled into one. They are very trainable and enjoy taking walks on a leash and playing fetch.

The origin of the American Bombay is traced back to Louisville and Nikki Horner. She wanted a copper-eyed cat that resembled the Indian panther. She crossbred an American Shorthair male with deep copper eye color and a Grand Champion sable Burmese female. From there she inbred and outcrossed until her dream came true in the American Bombay.

Height and weight

Both males and females on average weight between 8 to 15 pounds and are of average height.

Colors and coat

Their coat is short and satiny. The color of the coat is jet black. Their nose, eye rims, and paw pads are either black or dark brown. Their eyes are radiant copper.

Temperament andlLiving environment

The American Bombay is quite intelligent and affectionate. They enjoy playtime with… Read More

You would normally feel pretty safe using your credit or debit card for goods or services in the normal course of life. Unfortunately many people have been victimized for no fault of their own.

Are you aware that the credit or debit cards in your wallet could easily be cloned wherever and whenever you use them? This would be done without your knowledge and you would not even be aware of it unless your bank calls you or you receive your monthly statement or your card is declined due to lack of funds!

The ease of card usage

In the good old days cash was king, though you could be robbed of cash. But now that plastic is accepted everywhere, many people don’t even carry cash or carry very little cash with them. Credit and debit cards are accepted everywhere, at restaurants, stores, supermarkets, to buy fuel, even at theaters, cinema halls, hotels, and for online shopping and you can use your card wherever in the world you may be, so you don’t even have to carry foreign exchange. While… Read More

Imagine if you were promised unheard of sums of money in return for your co-operation and a little ‘help’ – you would be tempted unless you knew better.

Anybody who uses email will no doubt have received one of these emails. The gist of the emails is that there is untold fortune somewhere, stuck due to government officials, death or a political or economic situation in some far off country. Or the person wants your help in getting some money in order to leave it to charity. Or (in a new version) a female wants to get married to you if you help her retrieve her fortune.  These scams are also called 419 after the penal code number in Nigeria which applies to such scammers.

Will you ever get the money?

If you ever make the mistake of replying to this kind of email – and people globally have been victims – you will be led step by step by the scammers deeper and deeper into a hole, till you have given the money in the form of cheques or… Read More

Everyone is on the lookout for a good deal specially if the person has to fly somewhere. Some websites take advantage of this and run scams.

The cheap airline ticket is specially targeted towards holiday makers and people seeking last minute bargain deals. Many people fall for these ticket scams because they offer bargain price tickets and since e-booking and e-tickets are almost universally accepted, the victims don’t think twice about the online bookings they make.

The No Ticket-Scam

The site offers really cheap fares in an attempt to lure potential customers. Then they ask for personal details to be filled up online. They ask for your credit card number, its expiration date and the CVV number which is given on the back of the card – this number should actually never be given to anybody because it is the credit card company’s fail safe number.

At the end of all this you will be told that the transaction has been declined for technical reasons and you need to pay by another method like wiring funds or a postal money… Read More

Lots of people use movers and packers when they shift residences locally, or out of town, thinking that their goods will be professionally packed and moved with less of a headache, but do you know many movers and packers are in the business only to scam people?

Everybody values their household goods whether it is furniture, white goods, clothes, knick-knacks or photographs and other family treasures. An empty house takes on character thanks to all the stuff in it. So when a person or families have to shift, they want to shift lock, stock and barrel and also want to hire good people to help them with their shifting, as it is anyway a stressful process. However, movers and packers, though supposedly legitimate companies, are one of the biggest scam artists in the business.

How It Works

You sign a contract with a moving and packing company, perhaps give an advance if those are the terms of you contract. Perhaps you agree to pay in cash at the end of it. Whether you think you have got a good deal… Read More

Considering how popular gymming has become in recent times, it is no wonder that more and more people are getting scammed with gym memberships.

Whether it is a small neighborhood gym, or a big brand one, there is absolutely no guarantee that the gym membership you signed up for is actually worth the big bucks you paid, or that the gym will shut shop soon, and you will be left in the lurch or that the gym does not live up to the standards you would expect. There are many different types of gym scams which are on.

The Dirty Gym

No doubt when you joined the gym and were taken around to see the facilities and equipment you did not notice that it was actually dirty and not up to the hygiene standards you would expect from a gym. Clean towels, clean wash rooms, clean showers, clean carpeting on the floors (where there is carpeting) is the minimal you can expect.

If it does not look neat and clean, equipment is strewn around the floors, there are not enough… Read More

You may be a do-gooder, or you may find your heart melting at some particular pitch given by a charity and donate. But are you aware that there are many fake charities around, and the money never goes to the people it is intended to help?)

How Fake Charities Are Set Up

If you have access to the internet, it is easy to set up a fake charity. You just have to put a convincing enough home page to hook people and set up an account via which they can donate money and you are business. Even if you put up an address, it may not be real or may be in another country and you can always use the excuse that for tax purposes you are doing so (though charities are tax exempt and should give you a certificate for tax exemption on your donation) or to evade bureaucracy and red tape which will come in the way of disbursements. This is what people who run fake charities do.

Where Does Your Money Go

If… Read More

It is very exciting to get a call or letter saying that you have won a prize. But if there are strings attached, you have not actually won, but been scammed.

Sometimes you enter contest in newspapers and magazines. Sometimes, you fill up coupons at supermarkets, stores or other places, supposedly ‘lucky draw’ coupons. And sometimes you don’t even do any of these things, but still ‘win’ a prize. You can be notified by mail, email, phone call or even via the internet – haven’t you seen those annoying pop-ups which say click to claim your prize or you are the nth visitor so you get a prize?

The Hook And Bait

The bait is that you can win money, a gift or even a holiday if you enter. Once you are on the hook, the scammers can reel you in without your even knowing what is happening. Sometimes you may be asked to call a 190 number – these numbers cost exorbitant rates and you will be put on hold and spoken to for a long time. At times,… Read More

You give to a charity with good intentions, but do you know whether the charity you are donating to is real or is it a scam one?

Cash In A Box Scam

There are donation boxes kept at various places so that you can donate small amounts for a cause or charity. Since these are usually on a small scale, and don’t involve tax deduction certificates, people just put in the money and forget about it. You can never be sure if the money in those boxes actually reaches the people it is meant to help or ends up in somebody’s pocket.

Bigger Scams

On a larger scale, you can get emails or postal mails, particularly when there is a natural disaster anywhere in the world. Scammers take advantage of such situations to line their own pockets. Sometimes they make fake websites which look like those of reputable charities and may even issue you fake certificates, so beware. People are fleeced of billions of dollars in this manner and the worst thing is that you won’t even come to know… Read More

Most people today have one or more email addresses and somewhere or the other there are databases of email addresses – this is the information that scammers use and send generic emails, knowing that a small percentage will get ‘hooked’.

While a lot of email providers now have spam filters, they don’t always work. That is why a person with an email address tends to get a lot of emails which take them to porn sites, or freeware, free stuff, phishing and more which then open the door to scammers who may be hacking into your accounts or taking your money one way or the other.

Different email scams

There are innumerable email scams – we are not even discussing email hoaxes which don’t ask for money but are simple hoaxes or chain letters.

These are some of them:

• Free offers of goods or coupons for discounted products
• Dire warnings of virus/Trojan attacks
• Emails purportedly from banks which are actually fake emails
• Fake appeals for various charities or charitable causes
• ‘Too good to be true” job offers (specially if

… Read More

The very first thing someone notices about the Shar Pei is his wrinkled hippopotamus shaped head. For a large breed dog, he is truly kind hearted and enjoys affection from his family. As for his origin, his family tree is not certain. He may be a descendant of Chow Chow, however, it is a fact that the purple-tongued dogs from China are at the top of his family tree.

Colors and coat

Both the male and female Shar Pei at adulthood will stand 18 to 20 inches tall and weigh around 40 to 55 pounds.

Temperament and living environment

This breed of dog is very loyal to their human family. They enjoy being playful and active. They do not really shy away or threaten strangers but are a bit reserved. They are normally very easy going and do well with children in the family as long as their introduced while they are still in puppyhood. The same goes for cats or other pets in the family.

The Shar Pei does quite well living in an apartment as long… Read More