Using the Power of the Internet to Combat Internet Scams and Fraud

It is Another Sad Day for the Ugly Side of the Internet - The Predators

Most of the time, I focus on the scammers, who, If i had anything at all good to say about them, it would be their non-discrimination policy.  They will take anybody's money and all of it if they could.  However, this post is not about scammers as predators or about non-discrimination, it is worse.  It is one thing to lose your money to the net fraudsters, but quite a different story to lose your children to the power of the internet.

Nowadays, we can use the net for almost everything, social networking, instant messaging, etc for almost any purpose, make friends, make money, giveaways,social good, training, etc.   So many friends can be made nearly instantly. but of course, not everyone is who they pretend to be.  

One lady recently sent me a question from a social site - Yedda something about internet dating.  I didn't reply; however, when you think about it before cams became so accessible, popular and cheaper, anyone could post any picture or send any message.  Men could be young girls or females to befriend other males. Females, of course, have the same options.Older men and women could pretend to be young again, and unfortunately, the underage can also pretend to be older.  So If I was young enough to date, I would only use the webcam to cut through the deceit and lies.

For sure sex is probably a best seller on the net, but I wonder why when there is so much free, anything you may want to see, why pay?  So with technology like the webcam we also have underage cammers.

Perhaps many wives and husbands, boyfriends and girlfriends may worry about their partners who may be a frequent net users, but those of us as parents do we know what our children are doing?. How many of us use the parental tools online, and how many children know how to remove them. In many cases the the children are more internet savvy than we are. Hell, we cannot even get rid of the pharmacy ads.

I am particularly concerned about our children and what may happen to them as a result of their internet experience. I was abused as small boy around 5 for over a year; so I am acutely aware of what happened to me. I am sure it is much worse for a girl. No thanks, I too old for sympathy and that is not my objective,

I want you to be aware that with the internet such crimes may be on the increase, If not, then we are certainly more aware of them as so many things have come out of the closet.  Do you know what your children are doing on the internet whether censored or un-censored. Are they making friends, are they making plans or are they going to meet someone. Just because a webcam may show us there person, and the person may appear to be normal and of a reasonable age, it cannot tell us the motive of the person or for the encounter.

My morning paper started me off today, no actually, I start work long before the paper to watch the Forex markets.

Headline: Victim met rapist on the web. (Star, 3/12/10 Malaysia)

Abstract: a 15 year old girl left home to visit a friend she met through a social networking website. She was held captive for several days and gang-raped by at least 15 teenagers in an apartment. .. before the police were tipped off by neighbors and rescued her. She had a hearing disorder.

This could have just as easily have been your morning paper from any city or suburb, in any country. We all looking for something in life and often, we turn to the internet.  How terrible and tragic for this girl.

Do we know what our children are doing on the Internet. It is Another Sad Day for the Ugly Side of the Internet - The Predators. 

Another sad day for social networking. Worse, another day this girl will remember the events of recent days and will never forget. May she be blessed to ease her pain.

Take care my friends and children

Social Marketing/Networking - The Good, Bad and the Ugly

Who was it that said, keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer?

I no longer have support from one of my favorite, profitable paying social networking sites Swom because at least one man went out of his way to complain to Swom that I was spamming him because I recommended that he and his group members to also join Sokule to do their network marketing. 

Maybe he didn't like my photo, mustache, credentials. or like we used to say in the military, maybe he just needs a woman (partner) (or words to that effect)

This same man continued to blast me publicly and via emails and accused me of most everything, including that I didn't know how to behave, didn't know anything about Spam, didn't know anything about the internet, and just how could I claim to be successful when I knew nothing about how to be professional.  At 71 tomorrow (3/2), maybe I know nothing about life.

I think he qualifiers as a spammer, but to accuse him or anyone else is the last thing on my mind. 

As I previous wrote in my Group Reference for The Internet Scams Anonymous Group, a whole section on Spam: Who was it that said, keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer?   Anyone can accuse you of spam, a competitor, a prankster, new found enemies, or even a mistake. Not every one in social networking is a friend and some have nothing to do except to complain about others. Further social networks are a great place for the scammers who are also spammers.

This guy claimed to have a worthy cause, one that could or should be promoted through all avenues available to him, I thought he did, that why I joined his group in the first place at his invitation. I signed his petition. His should focus his energy to furthering his cause through all means available to him.  Most group moderators use a "post no ads" clause in joining their groups, yet even then people still post ads.

Think about it!

You create a group to attract people to your cause or program.  You then invite other social networking members to join your group, to track you so you make more money from a paying site and further your cause. Most groups thank me for joining their group and offering an alternative marketing vehicle to them, a couple asked that I not post any ads until later. Most were gentle-persons. Most have learned that a moderator moderates, and most with any basic sense of class or style already know that personal attacks are un- cool as they would say in Sokule.

What a donkey (or words to that effect or affect?) I was enlightening him, another DR, a professional? It wasn't like if was referring him and his group members to a SEX Link or a Make $40,000 per month for sitting on your donkey link.

Too bad life is so-hard for some.I just want to enjoy life and those few that know of my life personally, always say WOW, you should write a book. But everyone has a story, and many are a lot worse than yours or mine, so why should I complain.

Take care, I wish you every success that you seek, as long as you use your success to benefit others. 

Let us use the power of the internet to help the good, the children, combat poverty, the bad and the ugly.

Thank you for reading.  I got this matter off my chest, so now I can return to something more positive and productive.

Hello and Welcome - Using the Power of the Internet

Hello and Welcome to Using the Power of the Internet to Combat Internet Scams and Fraud

Somehow it makes sense to me that if the scammers and fraudsters can take advantage and use the power of internet to scam their victims, why cannot this same power be used to help combat and reduce internet crime. 

In an article posted by the United States Department of Justice

What Is Internet Fraud?

The term "Internet fraud" refers generally to any type of fraud scheme that uses one or more components of the Internet - such as chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, or Web sites - to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to other connected with the scheme.

If you use the Internet with any frequency, you'll soon see that people and things online tend to move, as the saying goes, on "Internet time." For most people, that phrase simply means that things seem to happen more quickly on the Internet -- business decisions, information-searching, personal interactions, to name a few - and to happen before, during, or after ordinary "bricks-and-mortar" business hours.

Unfortunately, people who engage in fraud often operate in "Internet time" as well. They seek to take advantage of the Internet's unique capabilities -- for example, by sending e-mail messages worldwide in seconds, or posting Web site information that is readily accessible from anywhere in the world - to carry out various types of fraudulent schemes more quickly than was possible with many fraud schemes in the past.

There are thousands of interpretations of what is an internet scam or fraud, but this article point out a valuable and additional piece of the use of the internet problem.   Internet time, the speed at which a fraud can take place,

According to InternetWorldStats the world population grew at a rate of 26% and Users for the years 2000-2009 increased 380%.  China is first with 20,8% of the world users, followed by the United States with 13.1 and Japan is third with 5.5%..  Imagine the global opportunity for these internet scammers, an unimaginable market for any other form of business.  Scams are indeed very big business, We have no idear how fast the Scam market is growing, especially when one internet guru claimed he can put up 15 legitimate websites a day.

How could we ever calculator just how many victims of an internet scam or fraud take place every day, how or minute, or even a second?  For those that know or know of me, at age 71 this is probably my last campaign, of many, to combat internet scam and fraud. 

Just today, although she has hinted at it for months, she said I was wasting my time.  Probably so I said. 

But for me it is  a start to continue the good work of others before me.  For me, I have been on the net since its beginning (forgive my memory, perhaps the late 70's) for I have used the net over the years for my many and varied businesses. Other great sites focus on a few brands scams and scam and publish lists of their findings, have great articles and background materials to help users.  And of course there are some forums and blogs that address the subject. 

As for me, I retired and started using the interest to relieve my boredom.  It is is difficult to go from 12-16 hour days to doing nothing. What started as hobby surfing turned into a business venture for me, and as one author put it "oldsters tend to be naive and trusting"

In retrospect, it is true because I never treated my online business like a business, never did any due diligence.  In deed I was blind-sided by the variety and number of scams to be found.  Once a victim, I started look for more scams.  One way to learn is to actually live the experience and learn the creativity used by the scammers.  The best salesmen of the world anticipate the next question. 

A fundamental premise of our strategy is the few of us will admit our mistakes, even fewer learn from them.  Most of us are afraid to tell our spouse, girl or boyfriend , family and friends that we have been scammed.  So while there are some great efforts online to combat internet scams, we have elected to be anonymous and interactive. Sure we will have lists, but hopefully we can help others to learn to due their own due diligence of an business before they join a scam and become a statistic.

This blog will be another public site for the research and investigations that we conduct within our group.

The Internet Scams Anonymous Group (ISA) launched online January 2010, after nearly 2 years of research into the magnitude of Internet Crime; related to Internet Scams, Internet Fraud and Spam.  Most attached themselves to various Affiliate, MLM and Pyramid Programs. Others find their way into High Yield Investment Programs (HYIP) and even Forex. Certainly work at home programs, data entry/processing and survey programs are not immune to scams.

The ISA Group with its nearly 450 pages Support Reference Manual and Resource Directory provides is a valuable resource for any business developing its risk management plan, or the individual beginning or growing his or her business online.

One scam can cost you at little as $1, $10 to hundreds of dollars, and more. How much have you lost on the internet?

Please click to read our global Press Release

Go ahead, subscribe to this and other blogs.  Look us over and if you feel that we can help you, or your can help us - then join our group.

Thank you, Take Care

Dr. Don Yates Sr. PhD

Founder

Related links:

Website Internet Scams Anonymous

Slide Show More Information About ISA

Blogs:  Internet Scams Anonymous Group Public Blog

Drdony's - I Overcame My Boredom and Got Excited About Combating Scams

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