Telemarketing Fraud

While there are many legitimate companies that use the telephone for marketing, consumers and business lose millions of dollars to telemarketing fraud each year. It's sometimes hard to tell the difference between reputable telemarketers and criminals who use the phone to rob people. You can protect yourself by learning how to recognize the danger signs of fraud. If you are a victim or attempted victim of telemarketing fraud, it's important to report the scam quickly so that law enforcement agencies can shut the fraudulent operation down.

Fraudulent telemarketers understand human nature. We all want to believe that it’s our lucky day, that we can get a great deal, or that we can solve our problems.

It’s important to know who you’re dealing with. If a company or charity is unfamiliar, check it out with your state or local consumer agency and the Better Business Bureau. Fraudulent operators open and close quickly, so the fact that no one has made a complaint yet doesn’t guarantee the company or charity is legitimate. Ask for advice about the type of pitch you received and the danger signs of fraud.

Some telemarketing pitches are blatantly fraudulent, and you should know the signs. It’s illegal for telemarketers to ask for a fee upfront if they promise or claim it’s likely they’ll get you a credit card or loan, or to “repair” your credit. It’s also illegal for any company to ask you to pay or buy something to win a prize, or to claim that paying will increase your chances of winning. And it’s illegal to buy and sell tickets to foreign lotteries by phone or mail.

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Ten Commandments Of Facebook

Posting certain photos or information on the site puts you at risk of being fired, a victim of crime, or even worse. There are computer programs called 'data mining' that sweep Facebook to collect dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses etc. Here are the things you should never post on Facebook.

1. Date and place of birth: This places you at massive risk of identity theft. They are the most commonly used security questions on password resetting sites.
2. Mother's maiden name: A lot of sites use your mother's maiden name to authenticate who you are. They also commonly use the school you went to as a security question.
3. Address: It again puts you at risk from identity fraud, but also from burglars and stalkers.
4. Holidays: Don’t put any update about your holiday or outing that means you are basically saying: "Come and rob me."
5. Short trips away from home: Again, this can put you at risk of burglary and stalking.
6. Inappropriate photos: Don't post racy, illicit, offensive or incriminating photos. Bosses and prospective employers are increasingly looking at Facebook pages.
7. Confessionals: These can also get you fired or haunt you for the rest of your life.
8. Phone number: Unless you want to be bombarded with unsolicited phone calls from people trying to sell you something don't.
9. Children's names: These can be used by identity fraudsters or, more sinisterly, by paedophiles. It is much easier to steal a child's identity.
10. Don't post a full public profile: It won't just exist on Facebook, it will go on any internet search such as Google. Only give the bare bones such as a name. Keep everything else private.

Security of Firewall

A firewall is software or hardware that checks information coming from the Internet or a network, and then either blocks it or allows it to pass through to your computer, depending on your firewall settings.

A firewall can help prevent hackers or malicious software (such as worms) from gaining access to your computer through a network or the Internet. A firewall can also help stop your computer from sending malicious software to other computers.

View and edit advanced firewall options

• You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.
• Windows Firewall with Advanced Security is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that provides more advanced options for IT professionals. With this firewall, you can set up and view detailed inbound and outbound rules and integrate with Internet Protocol security (IPsec).

Follow these steps to open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security:

• Click to open Windows Firewall.
• In the left pane, click advanced settings. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
• Note: You must be a member of the Administrators group or the Network Operators group to use Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.