Another Paypal Phishing Scam!!

I haven't received one of these in quite some time but today what did I find waiting for me in my inbox!? An email supposedly from Paypal with the subject "Dispute Transaction!" It explained that I had paid $249 for an Apple iPod Video 30 GB MP3 Player. Hmmm.....really? It showed an official looking receipt with Paypal shopping cart contents and shipping info. Then about middle of the way down in boldface type was this "If you haven't authorized this charge, click the link below to cancel the payment and get a full refund". It ended with the usual "Thank you for using Paypal, blah, blah, blah........" and Paypal logo to complete the look of the fraudulent message.

I never click on anything when I get these and neither should you. The thieves would love to get their hands on your password. Go to the Paypal website, log in to your account and check your info from there. I did and I found no such transaction. You can also forward the evil email to spoof@paypal.com and then delete it or if that's too much trouble just hit delete.

Rebate Processing Jobs

The other day I received an email promising that I could make very good money as a rebate processor. Being the skeptic that I am and thinking this is too good to be true, I decided to do a little investigating.

So just what is a rebate processor? Honestly, I'm still not sure. The ads I checked out did not clearly state what I would be doing. Possibly it would be some form of data entry.

The ad stated they had a "proven and guaranteed way to make $225 in only 60 minutes a day". No prior experience, education or special skills required. Wow! That is my kind of job! If I had known about this sooner I could have saved all that money I spent on college! LOL! Okay, this sends up red flag #1.

Reading on I found that for three months I could try it for free. If I am not satisfied with the results, I can easily cancel. Whoa! Let's back up for a minute. Free for three months...so I have to pay someone to work!? Yep! That's right! Alarms are sounding...red flag #2!

After scrolling through the entire page and reading the "proven" testimonials of how others have easily made thousands of dollars, I finally get to the bottom line. For a one-time investment of $197 (reduced from $500) I would have the tools to get me started on my way to financial freedom. Again, I have to pay my employer to hire me!!?? The last and final red flag warning!

Are there legitimate Rebate Processing Jobs? The answer is yes, but they are not found on-line. You must physically go to the company office and pick up the rebates. You take them home and process them according to how the company wants them. It can be data entry, creating mailing labels, actual mailing, etc. How much do they pay? Not much. You can expect about $0.15 (fifteen cents) per rebate. That's it. To find out where these jobs are, look for local companies that offer rebates and contact them directly.

One last thing to remember, you should never, ever pay an employer to work! When you find these, beware, they are scams! Best thing you can do is just hit the delete key.

Brring Update...

FYI...If you belong to Brring and use them for your GPT offers, you need to know this. In an earlier post I wrote that the advertisers hang up before I answer. I stand corrected. They are being patient, listening to the ads and getting through to my cell phone. I've had a few leave me voice mail messages. To avoid talking to them I make sure to check caller ID before I answer a call.

ALERT...Valentine's Day Virus

You've opened your inbox and you are all excited to see a you have a Valentine's Day e-card. Before you throw all caution to the wind, you better read this!

Usually around holidays millions of innocent looking emails disguised as e-cards will go out. Don't be a victim. The e-cards actually contain a computer virus believed to be from Russia. Once you click on the e-card your computer is immediately, but secretly, infected with the virus. Your computer is then at the mercy of the people who sent the e-card. They can launch commands to send more spam emails or other criminal activity such as stealing your identity.

The virus has been around for years, but spammers like to take advantage of the holidays because more people are susceptible to open an e-card around those times of the year.

As for tomorrow, no matter how tempting it may be, don't open anything if you are not sure who it is from.

Now There Is 'Vishing'

Since most internet users are on to the phishing scams, we know not to click on links in unsolicited e-mail. Now con artists are turning back to the phone to trick us into turning over our private information.

Like the traditional "phishing" e-mails, "vishing" will report some problem with your account. But instead of clicking on a link to the bogus site you are provided with a phone number to call where an automated answering service takes your information.

Some vishing attacks don't begin with an e-mail. Some come as a phone call where the caller already knows your credit card number (which makes it seem more legit) and just asks for the three-digit security code on the back of the card. You can see how these vishing attempts make it difficult to distinguish from the real thing.

So what can you do? If you do get a phone call asking you to provide or confirm any of your personal account information-hang up immediately. Then call your financial institution and inquire about the issue.

To learn more visit fbi.gov

Paypal Phishing Scam...Update Your Account

If you receive any email from Paypal asking you to update your account, it is more than likely a phishing email. Today I received two original looking emails which seemed to be from Paypal, but upon closer look I found them to be scams. The subject is "Update Your Account".

The letter asks you to update your account as part of their continuing commitment to protect your account and to reduce fraud on their website. Yada, yada, yada... Failure to update your account will result in suspension. You are conveniently provided with a link to click on which I'm sure will require you to enter your all of you personal account information. And viola! The crooks have access to your account!

The best thing to do is to forward it to spoof@paypal.com and immediately delete it. Do not respond! Paypal will never ask you for your personal account information.

Learn more Paypal.com Security Center

IRS Tax Rebate Email Scam

Well, tax season is here and unfortunately so are tax rebate scams. When checking your inbox, beware of an e-mail from the IRS stating that you have a refund coming. All you have to do is click on a link and fill out a form with your personal, confidential information. This is a scam! The IRS would never, ever e-mail you! If the government needs to contact you they will do it through official, legal mail.

See a complete list of scams that are common at www.irs.gov

Imperial Marketing & Research...SCAM!!

If you receive a letter from Imperial Marketing & Research or some other company stating that you have been selected to participate in a paid Consumer Research Panel as a Mystery Shopper, trash it immediately or contact your Better Business Bureau. This operation is a scam. A coworker of mine was deceived by this and is now out $2,700!!

It works like this. They sent him a professional looking letter along with a check for $3,989.99. He deposited it in his account. His bank told him the check was real! Once the check cleared, his assignment was to go to Wal-mart and buy $100 worth of merchandise. He would be paid $130 for this. The next step was to send a MoneyGram/Western Union in the amount of $3549, which he did. A day or so later he received a call from his bank that the check was counterfeit. Now the scammer has his money and he is in the hole. Magically, this company has fallen off the face of the earth. All attempts to contact them have failed. Imagine that!!

To view a copy of the letter:
http://groups.google.com/group/dont-fall-4-it

Raining Riches

A GPT (Get Paid To Site). I've been with them since November '07. So far I've made $6.26. It takes $20 to cash out. They have lots of offers. If I had more time and patience, I could probably make a lot more. I only do the Freebies. Above is the link if you want to check it out. Also see my post, GPT Sites-What are they?

GPT Sites - What are they?

GPT or Get Paid To are sites that pay for you for signing up for offers/services, shopping, or surveys. These are fairly new to me so I'm learning as I go. Actually,I am trying out two now which I will provide links for later. Here's a breakdown of how they work.

1. Sign up with one like Raining Riches or Dragon's Gold. Go to the site and register with your real information. They will not spam you.

2. Get a free email account like Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail. I use Gmail. With Gmail you can use the dot method. This way your email will look different to the sponsors.
Example: yourname2008@gmail.com
y.ourname2008@gmail.com
yo.urname2008@gmail.com and so on

3. Get a cookie cleaner like CCleaner. By the way, it's free. After each offer you complete you need to clear your cookies. (OMG, all this talk of cookies is making me hungry!) Why? Because if you don't clear them your visit won't be reported correctly, thus you won't receive credit. way, it

4. Some recommend signing up for Roboform which would save me time by automatically filling in the forms. It's free for 30 days and then you have to pay for it. Since I'm trying to make money and not spend any, I won't be signing up. I've provided the link in case you want to try it.

5. Many forms will ask for a phone number. Who wants to give out their home phone number and be slammed with telemarketers? A way around this is to sign up for Brring.com. You will have to give them your private number and then pick a number from their site. I would suggest one with your same area code. I used my cell number. Every time someone calls me they hear a brief advertisement before I pick up. I use this for all offers I complete. So far, I have not received one call from an advertiser. They usually hang up. The good part is I still get paid for the call.

Now you're ready. Let me walk you through this. Say you are signed up with Raining Riches. Go to "Freebies". Find one that interests you like Generous Genie, Winning Surveys, MIDS, or email/zip submits. Follow the directions for the offer. Some all you enter is email, address, and phone, but some require to complete thru to 3rd page. Click on the banner or title which takes you to the site. Once there fill in the required information. Don't forget to use your free email account and your Brring number if it asks for phone. You may have to go thru several pages of offers. Go back to Raining Riches, enter the email that you used for the offer (your free email) and click submit. That's it. You've competed your first offer. It may seem confusing at first. The best advice I can give you is to just try it.

Is it worth it? I haven't cashed out yet. To date, I've made $6.26 and I need $20 to cash out. I've been with them since November '07. Personally, I am impatient and don't feel like going thru offer after offer after offer. You get the picture. I work full-time which makes it more difficult for me to find time especially with kids and trying to keep my home in order. But for someone who is a stay at home mom, or home-bound, or a college student, it's an easy way to make money.

Inbox Dollars...The Good & The Bad

Can you really get paid to read emails? Yes you can but very little. I joined because I heard it on Good Morning America. I think, or maybe The Today Show. Anywho.... They were talking about getting paid to read email or PTR. I can always use the extra cash so I decided to give it a whirl. Since August 2007, I have made $12.22. Very slowly the cash is adding up.

Here is the good and the bad of inbox dollars. First, make sure you don't use your personal email account. Get a Hotmail, Google, Yahoo, or Gmail account because you may start to receive junk. (I know I did.) After you join, they start sending you emails. I get about maybe 4-5 per day. I make 2 to 5 cents per email that I read. They send me lots of offers to sign up for. For example, sign up to receive a free trial period of stamps.com. I don't sign up for these because I will invariably forget to cancel the membership and then I'm stuck paying a fee for something I didn't want to begin with. So if you have a better memory than me, then you can make a little more doing offers. Just please make sure to read everything, that is, read all terms and regulations before you click submit. You can also make money with them by referring your friends. It's $5 per person, that signs up through you.

Now let's talk about payout. I haven't made enough to even think about cashing out. They have a minimum of $30. But I have done some research and found that when you ask for your payment, they take out $3 for processing and it usually takes 1 - 2 months to finally receive your check.

So, is Inbox Dollars for you? As for me, I am going to stay with them and continue clicking away. I don't want to lose what I have already earned! When I reach their payout limit I am done. For me it is a waste of time especially since I work full-time. Some like me may find it to be a complete waste of time, while others don't mind. The main thing to remember is, it just takes time to accumulate cash and you certainly cannot make a living by doing it, but you can earn a little extra.

Get Paid When You Get Phone Calls...Brring.com

This is real. I am trying it now. I signed up with my cell phone. You can choose a special Brring number that you give out to friends, family, or anybody. (Just a note. I have not received any telemarketing calls from them.) Every time someone calls me they listen to a short ad before they reach me. I signed up in December and to date I have $2.25 in my account. When the account reaches $10 I can cash out which shouldn't take long. Sounds like an easy way to make a little extra $$$ if your friends and family don't mind the advertising.

Survey Sites That Have Actually Paid

The following are sites that I have had success with.

Greenfield Okay. They send me lots of surveys. Most of them are long and most I don't qualify for so I get an entry into their sweepstakes. I was beginning to give up on them until recently I qualified for a $20 interactive online survey, then another last week. So far I have cashed out $45.

my points Basically a rewards network. Rack up points by shopping at select merchant sites, reading/responding to their emails, taking surveys, and playing on-line games. Doesn't take that long to earn points. Then redeem them for various gift certificates. I redeemed about 1,500 points for a $10 WalMart gift card and have cashed out for $10 Burger King gift card.

opinion outpost Rewarded points for each survey you complete which you redeem for cash. Doesn't take long for points to add up. When your account reaches 50 opinion points you can cash out. (10 opinion points = $1.00). I've cashed out $7.60. Accept members from US and Canada.

survey spot Most of their surveys are for entries into sweepstakes for prizes, but a few are paid. Could be $1 to 5$. To date I have been paid $13. Can cash out at $5. Haven't won anything yet, but I can wait!

testspin Okay. I've received invites for surveys ranging from $1 to $3 but I seem to disqualify for many of their surveys . They pay in Amazon gift certificates. Have to complete enough surveys to cash out at $10. So far I've cashed out twice and I've been with them since August 2007.

These are but a few. I'll be updating this list as more come in.

Can You Make Money Doing Surveys?

You've seen the ads "make $1000 a day at home hour doing surveys", right? Wrong! You can make some money from surveys but you can't make a living by doing them. Here's the skinny. I got involved in the whole survey thing in August of last year. Why? Because I was searching for a way to make some extra money to have a little extra spending money and possibly help pay some of my credit card debt off. Well, I am making extra money but not as much as I would like. Don't get me wrong I am grateful for what I have received. Mostly it's gone in my gas tank and to my kids who always need money for a field trip, for this, or for that. So if your thinking of getting into surveys you need to weigh is it worth my time and it does take a lot of time. You can't make a living doing them but you can make some extra cash. Here is what I have earned so far: $80 in Amazon gift certificates, $10 WalMart gift card, $10 American Express card, and about $50 in cash. Some survey companies compensate in points where you rack up points for doing their surveys and then redeem them for cash or prizes. Then there are some that don't pay anything but you can redeem your points for sweepstakes entries. By the way, I haven't won anything yet but who knows maybe... So it all boils down to is it worth your time. Oh, one last thing don't EVER PAY for a list of survey sites. They are all scams!

I have just skimmed the surface, if you are still interested check out katieshugs.com for more details. It helped me tremendously.