Online Identity Scams

2009-09-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

Watch out for the online identity scammers. They are thinking of new ideas all the time. We have received the following types of scam / spam emails over the past six months...

Shipping Service Email / Phishing scams where they pretend to be from UPS or Fedex and try to get scare you into logging into an imitation UPS or Fedex web site to get your login credentials and ship things using your credit. We received this email at a time when we had just shipped an important package overseas. It stated that our package was returned so naturally got my attention. Luckily I became suspicious due to some bad spelling on the fake web site. Not all of them offer these hints.

IRS scams - They try to get you to give them confidential information by sending you a fake email that says you failed to report income.

Job offers where they will hire you to do mystery shopping. These are more involved. They actually "hire" you online and send you a bad (but very real looking) check that you cash on your bank account and then have you wire part of the money using a money wiring service like Western Union. When the check bounces, you are responsible for the difference. (We didn't fall for any of these, but are just reporting them here).

Notice that all these scams appeal to your emotions and needs; "Your package was returned" or "You didn't pay your taxes" or "You can make money with us". They try to manipulate your emiotions using some kind of emergency or deep need. Whenever you feel like that due to an email it should be a flag to be careful. It is the common thread of most all online scams; Do this now! Do something! Don't fall for it.

The latest ones now include fake emails from the Census. Don't fall for it. Here is an article laying out what they are doing...

Latest Online Scams

Online, it always pays to be suspicious. When you have search engines like Google where you can find anything you want in an instant, why take a chance and reward any spammer at all. Don't do it. If you need a service or have something you want, just search for it yourself and then make the inquiries.

NEVER respond to an email you didn't ask for.

Beware of Internet Parasites

2009-09-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

Be careful who you get involved with. There are modern Internet parasites.

The Internet presents an entire new set of problems to people who wish to manage their identity online.

When you are searching for a subject or a person on the Internet, you don't always get the best results; you get the best "search optimized" results.

So parasites with a bit of information about search engine systems are copying other people's copyrighted works and using that work to gain attention to themselves.

I call these people The Real Internet Parasites and have been (am still) a victim.

Article Note: At first, I wrote this post to get even. I optimized it for the name of the guy who was doing it to me. He had copied my content and altered it in such a way that it included lies about me and created benefit for him.

After some thought, I've decided that the person doing this to me is not stable and rather than upset him more by targeting this post around his name, I'kept it general just to warn others about online identity abuse.

Several years ago, I spoke at a conference. My bio was posted online along with the other speakers. Someone who was not involved in the conference and who know one even knew, copied all of our bios word for word into his blog and entitled it, the Real Internet Billionaires.

A month later, I received a somewhat skeptical note from a business associate asking me when I became a billionaire with a link to the blog entry...

I was a little embarrassed and upset (since I am not a "Real Internet Billionaire" and I value honesty). By copying and posting my exact introduction along with several other speaker's introductions, verbatim, he had been the cause of that embarrassment. So I posted a comment on the site asking him to remove it. The blogger answered the post quickly, defending his post illogically, and omitting my request to remove his post.

I forgot about it for a while but have been reminded over the past year when searching for my name online. After emailing the blogger a few times and being ignored, I decided to call him. I spoke with him twice and very respectfully, requested removal. Finally, he said he'd look at it, but two weeks later it was still there.

I decided that since I wrote the biography and he copied and pasted it into his blog verbatim, and that since he refused to remove it after several requests, that I had grounds to complain to Blogger directly under their copyright provisions. So I did.

Blogger wrote to me a week later, acknowledged the blogger's infringement, and stated that they had removed the content...

********
Re: [#485136156] Blogger DMCA Complaint received‏
From: Blogger Help (support@blogger.com)
Sent: Tue 8/11/09 9:00 AM
To: joe@us.com

Hello, In accordance with the DMCA, we have completed processing yourinfringement complaint and the content in question no longer appears onthe following URL(s): http://realinternetbillionaires.blogspot.com/2007/08/joe-alagna-is-big-in-uk-domain-names.html Please let us know if we can assist you further.

Sincerely,The Blogger Team
********

I went to the site to verify and found that the blogger had gone through the trouble to make minor changes to my original post but to leave the original copyrighted works in place on his web site (an attempt to make the post less illegal).

In fact, he began to insinuated that I have something to hide in the first sentence and framed the post in a negative and suspicious light. Later, he added that the blog site was for sale for $200.00.

I came to the conclusion that this person is not only irrational, but probably unstable. So for now, besides this blog post, and until I find a better solution, I'm just leaving him alone. You can't predict how these people might behave. It's a case of modern time, virtual stalking.

These actions seem hurtful and purposeful to me, meant to harm a person's reputation on the Internet.

He wouldn't take a second to press the delete button but spent several minutes adding his comments to make the post more offensive and possibly less infringing? I called him once again and in a very reasoned tone asked him to remove it. He hung up on me.

I have not met the blogger that did this in person but I am now of the opinion that he is the type of person that will exploit another's identity for his own benefit. He actually admitted that in his comment on the post while contradicting himself at the same time...

******
I posted the following (he moderated out my request to remove the post)...
Thanks for the publicity, but try naming your site for the truth. You copied the bios from the speaker listings at Targeted Traffic, word for word, and then posted them here under the name of "Real Internet Billionaires"?? I wish it were true. Whoever you are, you can do better than that...
August 13, 2007 10:20 AM

The response was...

Joe,Thanks for noticing the blog so quickly. I wrote about you to attract you to helping me sell my domain casino.org. This blog is really meant for the people I post about.
August 13, 2007 1:47 PM

This person is the epitome of a Real Internet Parasite and he is the kind of person that is going to eventually cause legislation to be made so that we can all manage our online identities in peace. I say... BE CAREFUL.

These people are out for themselves and often are not very pleasant or rational to deal with. I wish I didn't have to waste my time on a post like this, but I value the truth. I value my reputation and I feel that I have a right to manage it myself.

In the past, I have written to webmasters that optimized people's names as a matter of practice and have always been treated with respect and consideration. This is not the case with this particular blogger. His behavior is an indication of a lack of understanding about Internet etiquette at the very least.