Viruses, malwares, and online scams are nothing new to the online community. But we still have to keep our eyes open to these. VNUNET.com just recently had news on an onine “black market” that threatens online users and their security.

It is said that they have a system of their own, with the effect of subverting and corrupting legitimate online businesses. Their system is actually similar to those of legal businesses (online and offline). They’ve got their labor force in different divisions, competitive prices, etc.

Viruses, spyware, trojans are first made by malware writer. In marketing these, the writers label their products “for educational purposes only” to provide themselves some immunity from prosecution.

The malware writers sell their codes and customers can subscribe to updates to ensure that the malware evades detection. The updates would mean additional payments per month.

Then there is the middleman, who buys the malware and uses the services of a botnet owner to spread it and infect other computers. When it has been spread, the middleman can start collecting stolen information and identities. These information are then sold.

The malwares are sold for as little as $250, with the updates costing around $25 a month. Identites sold costs around $5 and this already includes the name, address, a passport or driving license scan, credit card numbers, and bank account details. For the credit card numbers, the middleman gets money by selling it between two to five percent of the remaining credit balance of the cards.

Like every other businesses, the malware market also has some heavy competition within. And like every other businesses, competitive prices drive sellers to offer higher levels of services. There are people in the market who buy identites that are sorted by country, industry, etc. Other services in the market include guarantees and escrow accounts for the thieves to avoid getting ripped off.

You can see by their system that there is a sophisticated growth and continuous development in their market. Due to competition and the “legalities,” the quality of the products are further improved. The malware have to be undetectable by the current antivirus programs, for one, and when new antivirus updates come out, the malware writers will also supply an update of their malwares to the buyers.

All the more reason why this matter is becoming serious. Malware is starting to get more common across the Internet. Another big problem is that while the malware writers know of the latest antivirus updates, the antivirus program makers do not know theirs. The onle solution thought of today to counter this malware attack is for security program developers to combine their strengths and improve their own products above the level of the malware.

The following are the most common work-at-home scams:

Assembly work-at-home (Making money by assembling items at home)

This scheme would require you to invest money to get the needed instructions and materials. You will also be wasting a lot of time to assemble the products to be sold.

Chain Letter (Making copies of a letter and then sending them to the people on a list provided by the advertiser)

Ads like this usually require you to pay for the mailing list and labels needed for the chain letter.

Envelope Stuffing

This means literally envelope stuffing. But don’t fall for it because most likely you’ll only be receiving promotional material asking for money and not the expected envelopes. Continuing on with this project will waste you time and more money in doing more advertising, printing, postage, etc.

There are other variations of this type of scheme, but the condition to spend more money on advertising and materials is always present.

Multi-level Marketing

Multi-level marketing is a direct sales system wherein independent distributors who sell a company’s products can recruit others to join them in selling the products. It is actually a legitimate form of marketing used by many businesses. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t illegitimate schemes that can resemble this type of marketing.

When you come across ads like this, pay close attention as to whether they emphasize on you to join them or they emphasize on selling their products. A lot of new recruits may come in, and when only a few products are sold and the system comes down, the only people who made money will be the ones at the top.

Starting an Online Business

This one is an old scheme, but it is still as tempting as it goes. You will be required to pay for guides and materials to do computer-related jobs such as data entry or research and typing. There may also be work-at-home job scams involved and it would only cost you more money and wasted time.

Processing Medical Insurance Claims

This is a scheme which tells that you can earn money by processing insurance claims on your computer for doctors, medical practitioners, and other professionals. This scheme would urge you to buy software programs and pay for expensive training programs (which can be superficial).

RatingsHub is an ad-free website which contains reviews of different online businesses and websites. In viewing RatingsHub and looking up the reviews inside, you’ll be able to avoid online scams and advertisements that are floating across the web. Be informed that RatingsHub is by private invitation only. This video will show you how to be invited to the website and be able to fend off online scams.

Online business scams have been rampant over the Internet. You’ve seen many websites with banners and advertisements such as “Make a Thousand Dollars In Just Three Days!” and “Making Lots Of Money In Your Spare Time Is Easy!”

They’re tempting. But trust your instincts: they sound too good to be true, don’t they?

Actually, they are too good to be true. A lot of advertisements that are spreading in the Web are work-at-home scams that are meant to prey upon senior citizens, the disabled, stay-at-home parents, people with low income, and, last but not the least, people who want to get rich quickly.

The Daily Advertiser and Better Business Bureau gives us some signs that an advertisement is potentially a scam, and they are the following:

When you come across advertisements like these, always think twice before believing them. You would be worse off than you are now if you fall prey to these ads. You could lose money for the investment, and waste valuable time. The worst case scenario is that your reputation might be ruined in offering bad quality or nonexistent products and services, and be target for legal action because of this.

Picture from RCMP Canada

With the security online a little doubtful, one can expect that online shopping is an easy way to get ripped off. Online shopping is convenient for customers. But it’s also very enjoying for scammers who hook on a pool of potential victims.

This is especially true during the holiday season, wherein lots of customers shop online instead to avoid the crowd of the holiday rush. This would be a great opportunity for scammers to defraud consumers who are either in a hurry to make a purchase or still a beginner at online shopping.

Consumers should stay alert on auctions and classified ad sites. A lot of fraudulent acts take place in these sites. Consumers should also be careful on the kinds of emails they receive. Phishing activities also increases in the holiday season.

While we cannot entirely stay away from these online scams, we can always do our best to avoid them. Here are some ways to help you with security when shopping online:

Update Your Security Software. Protection for your computer is essential. Make sure you’ve updated your firewall, antivirus, and antispyware programs.

Check Whether The Site and Store Is Legit. You might come across a new site and a store you’ve never heard of. Before buying anything from them, check whether the store is legit and can be trusted.

You can look for its physical address, or get their telephone number or email address. You can also check with the Better Business Bureau and see if the company is associated with them or not, or if there are any complaints against them.

There is also a site called Network Solutions, and it has an online security certification program called SiteSafe. Another site that deals in online security is ScanAlert, and it has a program called Hacker Safe. The logo of these companies are usually placed on the home page of online shopping sites. Click on them to make sure they’re real and check on the site’s certification status.

Avoid Doubtful Deals. Shopping online auction and classified ad sites are really risky. There are offers and ads that are hard to comprehend and are sometimes crazy enough to have you raise an eyebrow. You might have come across a scam advertisement where a new and ordinarily expensive merchandise is being offered for a low price or for free if the buyer pays for the shipment. This would really be suspicious.

Payment through a wire service is also suspicious activity. There is no reason why somebody would want to have the payment wired to them unless it’s fraudulent.

Make a Temporary Account For Your Payment Options. There are institutions that offer temporary account numbers for their cardholders. Bank of America and Discover are two of these. This service is very helpful for many who are wary of giving their credit card information online. You can’t use the temporary accounts for all purchases, however.

Verify Your Bank’s Emails. You might receive a phishing email that would seem to have come from a bank or credit card company. When you receive an email like this, especially after you’ve just mad a purchase, call the number on your bank statement or credit card to check and see whether it was really from them. Don’t click on a link from the email, and don’t use the phone number sent by that email (unless it really is from your bank).

Remember to always be wary of to whom and where you’re giving your financial information. The holiday season is a perfect opportunity online scams, and it can be difficult to know which is a true and which is a fraud.

Awareness Of these Scams is the first step to avoidance.. Here are the 5 most common Business Scams to be aware of:

1. Advance Fee Loan Scams.
Whether it’s offered in a newspaper ad, on the Internet, or by email, this scam offers money at reasonable rates – if you send them money. They may say they need the money for insurance purposes or to get the money across the border. Whatever the reason, you’ll never see that money again – or the money they were supposedly going to loan your business.

2. Fraudulent Billing Scams.
Your business receives an invoice for goods or services that you haven’t ordered. The hope of the scammers sending these out is that your business will just pay up. Easy money for them. Easy loss for you.

3. Business Identity Theft.
Identity theft itself is the fastest growing fraud in North America, according to the Better Business Bureau, and business identity theft is growing apace. Just as someone can steal your personal identity, your business’s identity can be stolen. Once stolen, the thieves can use your business name and financial information to open a bank account and run up expenses.

4. Work-At-Home Scams.
Preying on people who want to have home-based businesses, these scams offer the opportunity to “make big bucks” working at home. Sometimes the ads say all you have to do is own a computer. Other times, the work-at-home scam involves stuffing envelopes or assembly work. The scam is simple; you pay for the information or the materials you supposedly need. Rather than being the key to making money, what you get is useless.

5. Credit Card Scams.
Fraudulent use of credit cards is also on the rise. In the standard credit card scam, someone will call and place an order, offering to pay with fraudulently obtained credit card information. The business fills the order, but later is informed that the credit card was stolen and the amount of the transaction will be charged back to the business’s account.

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