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In recent years, instances of foreign lottery fraud have continued to rise. Fortunately, more and more consumers across the U.S. and Canada have been contacting the Better Business Bureau to inquire about the legitimacy of notices they received by mail and/or e-mail announcing they have won substantial sums of money in a foreign lottery. Statistics from 2006 show the Better Business Bureau System received nearly 8,200 inquiries from consumers on foreign lottery scams, a 14 percent increase from the previous year.

In many of these fraud cases, the lottery notices are accompanied by a check or money order for several thousand dollars. Recipients are being instructed to deposit the checks and wire transfer all or portions of the money back to the company to pay for fees or taxes in order to receive their winnings.

The BBB does not want to see another honest, trusting person fall prey to a lottery scheme and cannot stress too emphatically the dangers of responding to these types of correspondence. Even if no money is transferred to these organizations, simply providing an ID or bank account details to an unknown party makes consumers vulnerable to identity theft and fraudulent use of their bank accounts.

To help consumers identify a lottery scam, the BBB provides the following checklist:

• Was the lottery notification delivered to you by mail or e-mail? If you receive a winning lottery notification by regular mail or e-mail, there is a good chance it is fraudulent. Legitimate lottery companies will usually send winning notices by certified mail, Federal Express, UPS or DHL delivery services. On the other hand, if you have played the lottery online, you may be notified by e-mail. However, you still must log into your account to check your winnings and choose whether you want to be paid by check or by a credit to your credit card.
• Does the notification appear to come from another country? Organizations behind these frauds operate under different names, often derived from well-known lotteries in other countries. U.S. citizens should know that it is illegal to participate in a foreign lottery by using U.S. mail services.
• Were you sent a check or money order with your notification? Fraudulent promoters will sometimes send a check or money order along with notification to convince you they are real. While the checks and money orders may look official, they are counterfeit!
• Are you asked to wire transfer money or mail a personal check to cover some type of fee or taxes? Fraudulent promoters will ask you to deposit the check or money order and then instruct you to wire money or send a personal check back to them to cover what may seem like legitimate fees, such as processing, administrative, handling or tax fees. They also may instruct you to call a number to claim your winnings. When you do, they will try to get you to send money or ask for personal identification information that will undoubtedly be used for identity theft purposes. If you deposit a bogus check or money order in your bank account, keep in mind that you will be held responsible for any money you spend or send to anyone else.
• Does the lottery promoter’s name and address on the check match the name and address on the envelope? In many instances it does not. The company name is usually different on the check, the bank name on the check is fraudulent and the account number stolen — making the check a counterfeit. Sponsors of legitimate lotteries and sweepstakes identify themselves prominently on their checks and on the envelopes.
• Are the notifications sent by people claiming to be bankers, gaming officials, claims agents, tax collectors, attorneys, or a high ranking government official? Scam artists will use any number of titles in an effort to convince you that they are legitimate.

The BBB wants everyone to understand that legitimate lottery or sweepstakes companies will not ask you to send money in order to collect your winnings. They will not ask you for personal information.

Foreign lottery scams steal millions of dollars from unsuspecting people every year. If you receive any form of notification that you are a prize winner in a foreign lottery or sweepstakes, contact the BBB (www.bbb.org) and check it out before you become the next victim in this type scheme.

© 2008 by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. Arlington, VA. Used by permission.

A firewall is a type of software or hardware that monitors all incoming network traffic while you’re online and allows in only the connections that are known and trusted.

Why do I need a firewall?
Without a firewall, your computer is basically an “open door” to hackers. All of your private information such as passwords, credit card numbers you’ve used for online purchases and documents that you don’t want to share with anyone are all available for hackers to steal. Whether you have a dial-up, broadband or DSL connection, every minute that your computer is connected to the Internet, it is at risk.

What will my firewall do?
Your firewall examines all traffic coming in and out of your computer to see how it matches certain criteria and then blocks or allows that traffic. Most firewalls have some interaction with the user requesting permissions to block or allow traffic.

Adware, Spyware and Malware … all relate to a program that is downloaded onto your computer, with or without your consent or knowledge. The damage resulting from these programs can vary, depending on the product and your level of protection.

Adware is the least dangerous and is generally a tiny program attached to a free download that generates advertising or “popups”. While adware is annoying and slows down your machine, it’s usually not the most destructive of the “wares.” Adware is also the easiest to spot, as you will start to receive “popup” advertising from the moment you turn on your computer and connect to the Internet, regardless of your browser status.

Spyware takes you to the dangerous side of the security equation. Spyware is any program that is usually downloaded without the users’ knowledge, as it secretly transmits personal information to a third party. This information is then used for malicious purposes, such as credit card fraud or identity theft.

Malware is the lesser known “ware” and potentially the most dangerous. Again, Malware is generally any programming that is secretly installed on your computer, allowing a third party to use your PC for malicious purposes such as spam, DOS attacks and fraud, all while keeping you in the dark. Most of this activity is continuously running and the user has no idea it is occurring on their computer.

Here’s a couple of Word Press plugins that you might find useful.

TD Word Count

This is probably my favorite plugin . TD Word Count adds a tab to your WordPress dashboard that provides you with detailed word count stats for your entire site. This plugin tells you the average number of words per post, the total word count for all of your posts combined and even provides a display of your posts you can sort by date, word count and title.
WordPress Reports
WordPress Reports by Joe Tan. This plugin downloads visitor data from your Google Analytics and Feedburner accounts then displays it all with charts. It’s like a one-stop shop for all of your nerdy statistical needs.

Multi Level Marketing

How is MLM different from a pyramid scheme? After all, on paper any MLM looks like a pyramid in reality right? The differences are very simple. In MLM there is a product being sold. Income is generated from “commissions”. It’s actually a pyramid scheme, except that the participants get something back…regardless of whether the people they refer actually pay for something…

In MLM, the participant always gains from their investment. The catch is in the value of the product that the participant receives. This is the reason that MLM is so big on the internet. Because, information can have a monetary value, and it cost the distributor nothing. So ebooks, software, newsletters…etc… these are the most common products used in MLM. MLMers have added tangible products as well, and home products were the first to use MLM as a primary marketing strategy.

The Forced Matrix

With so many MLM programs on the market these days, originators have tried to make their programs more desirable than others. Hence the forced matrix idea. In a regular MLM program, your monetary gains are based entirely on how good you are at marketing the program. However, most people arent’ very good. So it would benefit the less talented if they had help from the talented. Basically, if the number of people who can join under you is limited in any way…then it’s a forced matrix. The idea being, anyone else you refer extra..will go under someone else. The best implementations put the extra person under one of the people YOU have under YOU. Hence it helps the person under you, which helps you too.

The term is tossed around a bit, and sometimes not used at all. However, that is what defines a forced matrix. Sometimes numbers are used to describe a forced matrix more thoroughly….like “4 X 4 forced matrix” for instance. Which might mean that you can only have 4 people directly under you and only 4 people under those 4 who you recieve commissions from.

There is a hi-bred idea that has become common now, where by a person can deliberately place a referral in another line of their choice. A sort of traffic control attribute that helps originators get their referrals interested. This has been an attempt to make regular MLM more appealing, and it has worked. In fact, forced matrix MLMers have even implemented the option in their own programs.

The benefits of either are about equal. With a forced matrix, you stand to earn an income faster, but increases in income are slower because your referrals get forced further down the line from you. With regular MLM you have a stronger base, and sustaining it is generally easier…but first profits can be slow. If you want a little income faster, go with a forced matrix. If you want BIG profits and are willing to work a long time for it, go with regular MLM programs.

This is the first post of the new Web Essentials blog. Here you will find articles and ideas to help you build, design and market your new web site. Don’t forget to bookmark us and drop by often.