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Better Business Bureau Releases List of Scams Small Businesses Need to Avoid

May 29, 2019 / Chris Boyle / 0 Comments

NEW YORK - For small businesses today, scams are a major and growing problem, often perpetrated by unscrupulous individuals possessing delicate information and seeking to separate hard-working entrepreneurs from their money. However, the Better Business Bureau recently released a list of the most common scams targeting businesses today, something that is vital reading for pretty much anyone, whether they work for themselves or someone else.

Staying informed about the most common scams going around and getting familiar with the different techniques involved is the best defense for any small business owner not looking to become a victim, and when armed with the information provided by the Better Business Bureau, identifying these vile charlatans and avoiding them is now easier than ever.

Most scams nowadays involve people who have acquired a business’ publicly-available contact information and, with a bare minimum of research, will reach out to that company posing often as an authority figure or charitable institution while requesting money. Scams of this nature can really devastate a business if successful, and it's vitally important for any entrepreneur to be prepared when they become the target of a phone or email scammer.

Some of the most common small business scams include the following:

Businesses receiving fraudulent invoices requesting payment for goods and services that were never provided. These individuals will often attempt to have the bookkeeper or other authorized payment representative wire or transfer large amounts of money to an unverified account. Typically, the amount of money requested begins as relatively small in an effort not to raise concerns; however, if the scam is successfully carried out, often more invoices will follow requesting greater amounts.
Businesses should beware of people claiming to be representatives of a local print or online Yellow Page directory requesting to update their business listings. Often, the business is billed large amounts of money for fake listing services, including ads that they were led to believe would be displayed in their local Yellow Pages; of course, these ads will never materialize.
Some scammers will actually contact consumers, claiming to be a legitimate, existing company in an attempt to rip them off in one way or another. While the actual company they are claiming to represent doesn't suffer financially in these types of situations, their reputation certainly does, as they are often associated with the scam in question, and are often held responsible.
Other scammers will contact a company claiming to be representatives of a charitable group or institution while requesting donations for various causes. While many of these organizations are real, there is always the threat of con-men and charlatans mixed in who are looking to separate you from your hard-earned money. If you're unsure whether or not a charity that has contacted you is legitimate, it pays to reach out directly to the charity they're claiming to represent and confirm their identity before writing any checks.
Phishing scams are more recent phenomenon that involves emails that appear on the surface to be legit, but often contain links that will download a virus to your computer when you click on them. These links will subsequently gather personal information located on your computer that can be used against you in a variety of ways. Of course, always make sure that any anti-virus and anti-phishing software on your computer is up to date, and if you receive an email from an unfamiliar source, always treat it with a very high level of scrutiny before interacting with it in any way.
Some businesses will receive a contact from an organization about an award they have allegedly won, and are requested to pay a certain fee up-front before receiving the award. In addition to potentially paying for an award that doesn't even exist, a business may also find themselves paying phantom membership fees on an annual basis that they never agreed to if they supply credit card information. Much like when receiving requests for charitable donations, always do some detective work and confirm the legitimacy of any organization that offers you an award before accepting.
And finally, there's the over-payment scam. This involves a fraudulent customer attempting to purchase goods or services from a given business; they will send a check that is greater than the amount that said goods or services will cost, and will then request a refund in the amount of the difference. However, the company will soon become aware of the scam when the original check eventually bounces, leaving them in the hole for the full amount.

Scammers are more plentiful than ever before thanks to the abundance of information available out in the wild combined with the anonymity provided by the Internet. Therefore, as a small business owner, it's vital for you to stay on top of what's happening and to use caution and common sense when dealing with anyone you don't know. It's hard enough getting a small business off the ground these days, but if you use your head – and stay on top of the latest scams – it'll make your job that much easier.

Using Online White Pages Searches to Perform Reverse Phone Number Lookups

March 23, 2018 / Chris Boyle / 0 Comments

by Christopher Boyle

NEW YORK - We’ve all done it- we’ve dug into our pockets and fished out our cell phones only to realize upon swiping open the screen that we’ve missed a phone call or two; despite being certain that we had the phone on vibrate, the everyday distractions that life offers may have drawn our attention away from that vital moment when someone – or something – was trying to get in touch with us. But there are also the times that we DO notice our phones ringing and sometimes, the caller behind that ring may be originating from a number we don’t recognize. Do you answer it or let it go to voicemail? What if they don’t leave a voicemail? How do you figure out who just called, short of calling this unknown number back?

Of course, there’s a great probability that the person calling could be a scam artist out to separate you from your hear- earned money, but there’s an equal chance that it was simply a friend or legit business without any ulterior motives. Either way, if you’re just itching to know who this mystery caller was and what it is that they wanted, there are several fast and relatively easy ways to identify them with little muss or fuss.

First of all, you can go to Google and make use of a White Pages search to investigate any unknown phone number; simply type in the number and you should get instant results indicating the origin of the caller who just attempted to contact you. If the caller was from a real business or company, that number should correspond with their official website and bring it up within the first few results. If that’s the case, it’s safe to say that they’re not a scammer out to fleece you, so from there the choice is yours as to if you want to call them back.

Results for landline telephone numbers also typically come up in Internet White Page searches, as most landline users are listed in publicly-accessible phone book listings unless they purposely go out of their way to acquire an unlisted number. So, if the person who just called you is a private citizen using a landline, it’s likely that they will come back in search results as well. Again, it’s just a matter of figuring out if you know who they are and if you want to call them back at that point.

HOWEVER, if the phone number is that of a person, group, or organization that has been recognized for fraudulent and/or scam-based activity, you’re probably going to see a very different series of results when you plug their number into any White Page search. WhoCalled.us, 800notes.com, and WhoCallsMe.com are among the many websites that track and log the phone numbers of known fraudsters who specialize in running phone scams upon unsuspecting members of the public; if any of those sites come up – or similar ones – it’s best to count yourself lucky that you didn’t answer the phone and just move on.

Also, if you’ve discovered that your missed caller is indeed a scammer, many of the aforementioned reporting websites on such activity allow users to leave comments on their experiences with the specific phone numbers they have archived on their site. So, if you look up a certain number on one of these sites that you suspect is NOT on the up-and-up, and you notice that the comments on said number all reflect a similar trend in terms of potential scams that have been perpetrated by the caller, it’s safe to say that number is one to avoid. And if you’ve had the misfortune to have had spoken with one of these criminals yourself, feel free to add your story to the others and help people in your shoes avoid trouble down the line.

Facebook is another way to reverse lookup phone numbers for one simple reason- while traditional landline phone numbers are typically available to the public, cell phone numbers are usually considered private and are only accessible by others if the owners of said number voluntarily put them out there for others to see. Often, Facebook will request users to include their phone numbers with profile information to aid with people searches, and not all Facebook users are savvy enough to make their profiles completely private to avoid being in this list. So, if you have a missed call from a number and Google or a White Page search isn’t turning up anything, a quick cut-and-paste of the number into Facebook may turn up some results instead.

However, more often than not, you’ll get the information you’re looking for on the identity of a missed caller just by a White Pages search, and more often than not, you’ll get more than just their name in search results. You could also score their address – or, short of that, at least their basic geographical location – as well as learning the distinction between the caller’s status as a cell or landline user, and if they’re a company or an individual. From there, you should have enough info to decide on whether or not to call this unknown entity back; if not, perhaps it’s best to leave well enough alone, move on with life, and worry about more important things.

Number of Spam and Scam Calls Using White Pages Listings Increasing in Recent Years

March 3, 2018 / Chris Boyle / 0 Comments

by Christopher Boyle

NEW YORK, NY - For as long as anyone can remember, owning a phone and enduring spam or scam callers have gone hand-in-hand. Typically pulling phone numbers originally from print White Page directories, and later mining their online successors when the internet came to prominence, there’s a plethora of ways that both legitimate businesses and crafty criminals have attempted to separate people from their hard-earned money over the years via a phone call. But one thing is for certain- it’s only getting worse, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your bank account.

First of all, it’s important to know the difference between a spam and scam call, as each have similar goals but totally different intentions behind them. Essentially, scam callers engage in fraudulent activity that aims to steal your money or personal information, which can in turn be used to – you guessed it – steal your money! A perpetrator of a phone scam will often approach a victim in a benevolent manner, informing them that they are the winner of a contest prize or offering them a great deal on some kind of consumer item like a television or computer. Or, more blatantly, they can come out swinging by claiming to be a representative of a collection agency or the Internal Revenue Service and demanding immediate payment in the face of dire consequences. Such calls should always be hung up on and the number reported – especially if the caller offers no concrete information that they even know your full identity – as the organizations such as the IRS never communicate with people via the phone regarding debts; they only will do so by physical mail.

Spam falls into a similar category as it’s also a form of unsolicited and annoying communication from a third party, but in this instance it’s typically calls and texts from live telemarketers hawking their products and services or robocalls which deliver pre-recorded statements and business pitches in an attempt to connect you to a live solicitor. Again, it’s the best course of action to just hang up on such calls and report the number to a Do Not Call Registry, and in the case of robocalls, the Federal Communication Commission, as such communication without prior consent is not legal.

The main thing both Scam and Spam calls share is that the people behind both of them are pulling your contact information from the same sources - namely print and online White Page listings, as well as any shady websites that you may have entered your personal info into; some sites will then unceremoniously share that info with third parties without your consent, and before you know it, you’re being inundated with unwanted calls.

While it’s difficult – practically impossible, in some cases – to remove your contact information once it’s been spread across the web – like Las Vegas, what happens there, stays there – it IS possible to start over with a clean slate, and from that point forward exercise extreme caution about where you share your information. While many scammers and businesses will mine White Page listings for new numbers to harass endlessly in the search for profits, there’s an important distinction between landline telephones – which are dwindling in number each and every day – and cell phones, which are becoming more and more ubiquitous in our society with every passing moment. The distinction is simple - White Page directories, both print and online, will publish landline phone numbers, but cell numbers are never listed by default; those users much choose to opt-in, as cell numbers are considered “private.” So, simply do not opt-in.

And if you’re signing up for a particular website or online service that requires a phone number to proceed, there are many ways around that; for example, Google Voice allows users to create and activate a new phone number that will automatically forward to your real number, allowing you to keep it private and safe; when you don’t need the Google Voice number anymore, simple deactivate or create a new one.

Today, there are countless avenues where people can acquire your personal information and use it against you, in manners ranging from annoying to downright illegal. But with care, caution, and common sense, you can protect yourself – and more importantly, your bank account – from unwanted intrusion and enjoy some peace and quiet on top of it.

New Hiya App Seeks End to Cellular Spam, Scam and Telemarketing

October 4, 2016 / Chris Boyle / 0 Comments

EAST NORTHPORT, NY - It’s becoming the bane of the digital age…you’ll be in the middle of something and you’ll feel a familiar buzz in your pocket. You reach in to retrieve the source of said buzz – your trusty cell phone – expecting a call from a friend or family member, only to find an unfamiliar number greeting you, a number inevitably belonging to a robo-caller, spammer, or outright scam artist looking to separate you from your money. In 2014, 54 percent of all customer complaints made to the Federal Communication Commission were in regards to robocalls, illustrating how prevalent this issue is to the public at large.

It’s bad enough when you get unwanted calls on your landline – especially when they’re from someone attempting to possibly rip you off – but on an allegedly private cell number whose individual minutes you’re paying for? It’s infuriating to be sure, and Whitepages is looking to end this vile practice once and for all with an exciting new app known as “Hiya.”

Whitepages, founded 19 years ago, is best known as the company that compiles public record databases on people and businesses; its former caller ID operations and app – previously known as Whitepages Caller ID – have recently been spun off into a new business model: Hiya Inc. It’s free eponymous app pulls from seeks to help users with address book management by pulling from a national phone number database of 1.5 billion individual users that enable Hiya users to identify incoming and outgoing calls, but if that was all it did then it wouldn’t have much else to distinguish itself from the literally hundreds of services that do the same exact thing.

No, where Hiya truly stands apart from the competition is the fact that this app manages to abolish the rampant epidemic of automated robo-callers, telemarketers, spam, and scammers plaguing cell phone users in recent years, allowing them to not only effectively identify when any given caller is not on the up-and-up, but even permanently block these numbers from ever interfering in their day-to-day activities ever again. As for how effective it really is, the numbers speak for themselves; since launching earlier this year, Hiya – currently available only for Android devices - has identified more than 1 billion spam calls.

In addition to sheltering its users from unwanted spam and more, Hiya also delivers news and tips about the latest phone scams, keeping people up-to-date and safe while going about their day-to-day business.

Hiya is already making waves in the industry; they can currently boast of having over 25 million users of its services, in part to heavy-hitting deals that see its app pre-loaded onto phones sold by wireless carrier T-Mobile and phone manufacturer Samsung.

This isn’t the first go-around for Hiya; originally, Whitepages utilized the brand for an app that assisted users in managing their address books; after folding, the catchy brand name has been re-purposed for Whitepages’ new venture. Hiya is headed up by Whitepages CEO Alex Algard, who said that spinning off Hiya into a separate company was the best business model to ensure continued growth and expansion, unfettered by a cluttered corporate hierarchy, he said in an interview with the International Business Times.

““It will better provide focus as a standalone company whose only mission is to make phone communication better,” he said. “It’s much better to focus as a smaller company that isn’t competing with the goals of another,”

In 2008, Whitepages was the first company to market Caller ID for Android and, according to Algard, has been an industry leader in the regard ever since. Algard notes that he has traveled the world – including countries as diverse as Korea and Mexico – in order to study different types of phone scams in order to maximize Hiya’s effectiveness. Whitepages currently employs approximately 120 people – the majority of which are engineers, some of whom are shared with Hiya – and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, where Hiya will be sharing office space as well.

The Hiya app is free, although T-Mobile users can pay $3.99 a month for additional services over and above what the standard app offers. Currently, the company generates revenue via profit sharing withsharing with its partnerships, and with offices in Seattle, New York City and Budapest – as well as plans for additional international expansion – Hiya is working diligently to sign on new partnerships, and plans on working on ways to make the mobile phone experience better for users by – in Algard’s words – making it “smarter.” It looks like he’s already well on his way to achieving that goal, in fact.

Tag: Scammers

Better Business Bureau Releases List of Scams Small Businesses Need to Avoid

Some of the most common small business scams include the following:

Using Online White Pages Searches to Perform Reverse Phone Number Lookups

Number of Spam and Scam Calls Using White Pages Listings Increasing in Recent Years

New Hiya App Seeks End to Cellular Spam, Scam and Telemarketing

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