Online Business Scam

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

As someone who owns quite a few domain names, whenever a domain name gets near for renewal, I get sent unsolicited offers presented like invoices for domain name renewals. They will offer to renew the domain for $245 with an incentive such as an iPod Shuffle. Details of domain name ownership and their expiry are available on public registers which is how they find out who you are.

Your website guru probably organised your domain for you when you first set up your website. They probably only charged you $40-50 for 2 years, which is quite reasonable if they included additional support which most do. If this is your first renewal, you may not even know how little the domain name cost you in your original website investment.

So when you see offers such as the one I mentioned above, remember the iPod is probably costing them $20, and bulk domain registrations wholesale below $30. Everyone is entitled to a margin depending on the service they supply, but $245 is just ripping you off.

I won’t mention the name of the organisation I received this latest offer from as I don’t want to give them a Google boost, but if you own domain names, they will find you.

If you are aware of other scams, I would be pleased to report them for the benefit of others here.

May Your Business Be - As You Plan It.

Over to You. What do You Think? Post Your Comments Below.

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success.

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The Australian Small Business Blog

FAQ How to Get Insanely Rich on the Internet

by Linda Cox

Welcome to the Total Idiot's Guide to Internet Success!

Let's begin:

Q: How long will it take me to get insanely rich?
A: Depends on you. Probably two weeks. Some people take as long as a month.

Q: Does it take hard work or long hours to get insanely rich?
A: No. This is the internet.

Q: Can just anybody get insanely rich?
A: Yes. This is the internet.

Q: How do I proceed?
A: As you're surfing around the net you'll see banners and links that say things like "Make Fourteen Million Dollars in Ninety Days, Click Here to See How!" Simply click the link to get started.

Q: It won't really take ninety days though, will it?
A: Of course not. They just say that so you'll be pleasantly surprised and so it doesn't sound like hype.

Q: Okay, I've found one that says "Retire to Your Own Caribbean Isle in One Month!" Is that good?
A: Perfect.

Q: What does MLM mean?
A: Nobody really knows. Morons Lose Money has been snidely suggested by the little-brains.

Q: I signed up and now I sell low phone rates. They say it's the easiest thing to sell because everyone uses a phone. And since it's MLM, by the time my third level is operating I'll be making $345,915.45 per week.
A: Conservatively.

Q: They say the first step is to get my mother into the program. Why is my sponsor happy that Mom has Alzheimers?
A: Your sponsor is a shrewd business person. People with any sort of memory disorder make the best targ... uh, clients. You can switch your mother's long distance carrier for her, and then start calling the other members of her support group.

Q: That sounds a little fishy.
A: The ends justify the means. You are offering people substantial savings on long distance. It's for their own good.

Q: How else can I get new business?
A: Spam. Spam. Spam.

Q: I thought spam was bad.
A: No, spam is good. Anyone who says it's bad is just jealous because their brains are too small.

Q: But won't I lose my web host and ISP?
A: In the get-rich-quick business, it's important to cultivate a zen-like non-attachment to service providers.

Q: What else can I do to promote my new business?
A: Here's a list of suggestions:
-- Sign up with a free website provider and fill your site with zany colors and flashy banners.
-- Join every free banner exchange.
-- Get your own free-for-all links page.
-- Join every opt-in email list with the word Money, Rich or Lackwit in the title.
-- Buy software that submits your site URL to the 15,000 most important search engines.
-- Buy software that submits your ad to the 50,000 most-read free classified sites.
-- Buy software that submits your link to the 100,000 most popular free-for-all link pages.
-- Hire a bulk emailer.
-- Sponsor a golf tournament.

Q: Okay, I've done all that and I'm still not rich. I haven't even driven my hitcounter to its knees yet. What am I doing wrong?
A: It's possible that you're not very bright. Consult one of your friends who has retired on their internet earnings.

Q: What if I don't have any friends who have retired on their internet earnings?
A: Then contact someone on the internet who has retired on their internet earnings.

Q: What if I've never heard of anyone retiring from their internet earnings?
A: Well, then maybe you can be the first.

Over to You. What do You Think? Post Your Comments Below.

Linda Cox (J.A.M.G.) was actually a real-world corporate marketer for many years before going on the net without a net. Now she's Just Another Marketing Guru. (Link unavailable.)

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