Sapphire Solutions LAN – PART 2 provides more detailed information on the SmoothWall Express Firewall we use as well as details about the system we use it on.

The SmoothWall GPL project was founded in the summer of 2000 by Lawrence Manning (Principle Code Author) and Richard Morrell (Project Manager). Their goal was to create a Linux distribution that could convert a redundant PC into a hardened internet firewall device.

Currently we are using SmoothWall Express 3.0, and you can see some of the ability by viewing the screen shots below…

Control…

About…

Services…

Networking…

VPN…

Logs…

Tools…

Maintenance…

…these screen shots are also available here.

If you would like to try SmoothWall Express for yourself, you can get the latest version as well as the Installation Guide and Administrator Guide, here.

For additional information or help with your SmoothWall Express Firewall, make sure you visit the SmoothWall Express User Forums. You can even search the user forum for ‘Bamajr’ to find questions I have asked or topics I have been a part of.

Our SmoothWall Express Firewall is running on a 1U, Half-depth Server, by Rackable Systems.

The Rackable Systems Server utilizes a powerful system board developed by Tyan.

The Tyan motherboard has dual 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, which are perfect for the Orange and Green Interfaces of the SmoothWall. It also has a single 10/100 Ethernet port, which is ideal for the SmoothWall’s Red Interface.

With the ability to support SATA Hardrives, 12 Gigs of RAM and two (2) Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processors, this system is ready for performance.

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Filed under: Computers, Hardrives, Hardware, Linux-Unix, Motherboards, Network Interface Cards, Networking, Processors, Random Access Memory, Software | No Comments »

Developing an effective web presence for your business is complicated! There are so many things you need and have to consider.

You need a catchy domain. A domain is part of your web address or URL. This web address has to identify your business to the people who are looking for services. For instance, our company is Sapphire Solutions, Ltd. Our Domain is sapphiresolutionsltd.com and our URL is http://www.sapphiresolutionsltd.com

Next, your site has to have content for people to see and read. This content needs to be eye catching and up to date. Making this happen means you need a state of the art web site with a high-visibility and interactive web design. It is absolutely worthless to have a web site, if it can’t be found, so your web site also has to be optimized for all the major search engines. Search engines index the information on your site and provide results in a form of popularity contest, to the people who are searching for it.

WordPress can make all this a reality for you. WordPress is more than just blogging software, it is a Content Management System (CMS) as well. This means that WordPress, when used correctly, can provide an infinite number of possible options for your website. Most importantly, WordPress will allow you to create, edit, review, index, search, publish and archive various kinds of digital media.

So, if WordPress can give you all this power, how do you get your information to the internet users?

One such option is to combine the abilities of WordPress with that of Facebook.

Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life. The idea behind Facebook is giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.

Connected?

“CONNECTED” means opportunity for businesses. With over 200,000,000 active users, Facebook, is another way to put products and services in front of millions of people.

The collaboration of your WordPress site with Facebook, is made possible by using a WordPress Plug-in called WPBook. This simple little plug-in allows you to inject the information found in the “blog” part of your web site, to an application in Facebook, which any Facebook member can add.

That is a lot of marketing power. Who can you thank for that ability? Thank the folks at Open Parenthesis.

If you don’t know, or are unsure how to make all this work for your business, just use the “Contact Us” link in the menu, at the top of our web site. Sapphire Solutions can help!

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It has been a couple months since we began blogging on the Sapphire Solutions web site. I have talked about a variety of topics, but have not yet written about the software packages which make our blog work.

If you are familiar with Content Management Systems (CMS) or various blogging platforms, you may know about WordPress. If you have looked over the Sapphire Solutions web site, you may already know our site is a WordPress site.

WordPress started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and with fewer users than you can count on your fingers and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on hundreds of thousands of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.

WordPress is now, a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

WordPress can do just about anything. If you can imagine some feature or function you wish your site had, WordPress either already has it, a plug-in has been developed for it, or is something that you can create a plug-in to do. There really isn’t a limit to what you can do when your site is built around WordPress. To see all the ways to extend the power of WordPress, just spend a little time here.

To begin using WordPress you need a web host who meets the minimum requirements and a little time. WordPress is completely customizable and can be used for almost anything. If companies like Ford and the New York Times use WordPress, it has to be powerful. Just look here to see all the various companies using WordPress. You’ll be amazed at all the companies you will recognize!

Because we use WordPress for our site, and because we care about Open Source projects/rights, we want to give WordPress it’s due! We love WordPress, and we think you will too!

Sapphire Solutions offers a web host service which fully meets the requirements to run WordPress. With our web hosting service, we do not limit what options you add to WordPress to extend it’s power. You may find other web hosts featuring WordPress, but they may restrict what you can and cannot add to WordPress to extend it. Sapphire Solutions can also create WordPress themes for you or your company, giving your site it’s own look and feel, while utilizing all that WordPress has to offer. If you need a special feature or some type of specific functionality, we can help you find it, or we can custom create a plug-in to do it for you.

If you want a web site, or more specifically, you want a WordPress web site, get in contact with us by using the “Contact Us” link in the menu of our web site. We can get you up and blogging in no time!

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Sam Walton, began his retail career when he started work on June 3, 1940, at a J.C. Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1945, he met Butler Brothers who owned a chain of stores called Ben Franklin and that offered him one in Newport, Arkansas.

Sam Walton was extremely successful in running the store in Newport, however, when the lease came up for renewal, he could not come to agreement on the existing store’s lease renewal nor could he find a new location in Newport. So, he opened a new Ben Franklin franchise in Bentonville, Arkansas, but called it “Walton’s Five and Dime.” He was able to get higher sales volume by marking up products slightly less than the competition.

Today, Walmart is the world’s largest public corporation by revenue. In the U.S. Walmart is the largest private employer and is the largest grocery retailer. Walmart also owns and operates Sam’s Club.

When you walk into a Walmart, especially a newer one, you can get a good idea of all the technology they employ. Each Walmart must spend millions of dollars in surveillance systems, electromagnetic theft protection, over-head cctv (Closed Circuit Television), phone/paging systems, registers, computers and so on.

However, there is a couple things Walmart will not pay for, Customer Service and Quality Products!

Walmart employees are poorly paid. (I think Walmart wants us to believe that they have to pay employees less, to keep prices low!) Besides a very small handful of people at each store, Walmart employees are inattentive, disrespectful, lazy, uneducated, poorly spoken, and unable to do the job. A simple request for help is an extreme inconvenience for most of the employees.

The door greeters are too old and feeble to do anything other than say hello! They don’t understand technology and are probably the most grumpy elderly I have ever seen. It is obvious that the employees don’t have to pass a positive personality test to work at Walmart. They don’t even have to speak or understand english.

Walmart can also be blamed in part for the Chinese and plastic society we live in. Walmart’s buying power is as much bad as it is good. For Walmart to sell a product, that product’s manufacturer/producer has to agree to sell the product to Walmart, at Walmart’s named price. If the manufacturer refuses to sell at Walmart’s named price, Walmart will have a third world country produce it as a generic and sell it cheaper than the name brand. This from a store who used to advertise the abundance of US Made products it sells.

Another example of buying power issues is in the electronics you can buy at a Walmart. If you are considering any electronics, I recommend you avoid Walmart like the plague. Walmart may have items resembling those of other retail stores, but you will actually very rarely find the ‘EXACT’ same item. You may buy a 42″ Sony TV from Walmart for $50 less than Best Buy, but when you get home you are likely to find that the standard warrantee is not as long, it doesn’t come with some of the same features or doesn’t come with the same box components needed to hook it up.

Many times, electronics from Walmart will carry a model number, which at first glance looks identical to that of another store. However if you pay close attention you will find that it has extra characters. These extra characters can mean that the item is actually a factory referb, when you think it is new. It could also mean that it has a shorter warranty, or is limited in some fashion to the similar model numbers at another retailer.

Next time you get ready to buy something from Walmart, STOP! I would encourage you to buy from another ‘LOCAL’ store in town, even if it is more expensive. It is a lot better for your local economy, and you will get a much higher quality product.

If you have to shop at Walmart, because all the other competition in town has gone out of business, I’m sorry. Take a bull horn with you. You will need it if you need help. If the help you get doesn’t speak english, demand someone else. When/if you finally get english speaking help, don’t take any crap from them. If they aren’t happy to help, get someone else, again. Make a point that you are a customer spending your hard earned money in the store, and you could go elsewhere with it.

If you are at Walmart to buy a TV, Computer, Laptop, Digital Camera, MP3 player or other device, don’t make the decision that day. Have a Walmart employee get you out the product box to look at. Write down the part number (P/N), model number (M/N) and serial number (S/N). Also get the technical support number for that manufacturer. Then go to a Sears, Best Buy, Circuit City, Target or other retailer and do the same. Before making your purchase, call the manufacturer and compare your notes. The manufacturer will tell you that if the model numbers and/or part numbers are not exactly the same, you are not comparing apples to apples.

Lastly, if you are going to shop Walmart’s stores, the least you can do is demand products which are Made in the USA!

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From time to time people ask about the equipment we use to facilitate our company’s network. Well, last evening, we did a few upgrades to our system, so I took some notes, and a couple pictures.

I like to talk about our system, because it is a little unique. We use a mix of Unix, Linux, Windows and Mac, altogether on a single system. Describing all of this will take some time, so PART 1 will just be a general summary of what we use. I will go into further detail, as the series progresses.

To start with we subscribe to an integrated access service from Paetec. This service gives us a T1 circuit with eight (8) public IP addresses and four (4) voice lines. The service terminates on an Adtran Total Access 908 Business Gateway.

The Adtran Gateway connects to a 24 port, 3Com SuperStack 3 switch (3C16980A). We call this the RED switch, because it connects to the RED interface of our firewall. We always use the last port as the up-link, so in this case, the Adtran Gateway connects to port 24 of this switch. Even though we only have eight (8) public IP addresses, this switch leaves us ample room for growth. Any system that needs a public IP address, will connect to this switch in some fashion or another.

From the switch we start our break out. I will try to make this easy to follow.

From the RED switch, we connect to the RED interface of our Smoothwall firewall system. We use Smoothwall Express 3.x (Polar) currently. Smoothwall is run on a Unix system with a shell and web interface. It is extremely powerful, fully customizable, lock down tight in security, and F-R-E-E! This firewall provides service and protection to the rest of our network, by way of the firewall’s ORANGE and GREEN interfaces.

From the ORANGE interface, we connect to another 24 port, 3Com SuperStack 3 switch (3C16980A). We call this the ORANGE switch, because it connects to the ORANGE interface of our firewall. This switch provides the ethernet connection to our file, web and virtual servers. Currently, we have one physical server (the hardware) with up to 100 Virtual Servers (Sites/Services) on it. This server is running Virtualmin on a Debian GNU/Linux System. We have more machines ready to be installed, with the newer Debian 5 as we start to reach capacity.

The GREEN interface of the Firewall connects to a third 24 port, 3Com SuperStack 3 switch (3C16985B). The GREEN switch handles all network traffic for our office LAN. The office LAN consists of several laser printers, a network scanner, a network fax, several workstations and multiple laptops.

The GREEN switch also connects to a Proxim WiFi system. This WiFi system consists of two 802.11A Access Points, an Access Point Controller and a Power Distribution System for PoE. The AP Controller allows us to set up security, permissions and restrictions once, and push it to all access points. This will then be forced on the laptops connecting to our LAN via the wireless network.

If all this confuses you, maybe a picture is worth a 1000 words to you. See it below!

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Filed under: Computers, Linux-Unix, Networking, Software | 1 Comment »

If you are reading this, you have to be wondering, what a government grant scam has to do with technology. Most people wouldn’t relate this type of scam with technology simply because there is so much literature out there on grants. Try looking for books on grants at a Barnes and Nobel or Borders. There will be a lot of them.

The scam isn’t that government grants don’t exist. The scam is in the presentation. Email communications, web sites and late night TV advertisements make it sound like anyone qualifies for “FREE MONEY” from the government. Really? I’ve heard of stimulus checks, but the grant scam goes way beyond this.

Have you ever seen an email or tv commercial telling you that you qualify for free, no cost, government grants to buy a car, purchase a home, start a business, pay your credit card bills or even to take a vacation? This is usually followed by telling you how easy their system will make it. I always want to ask, if it is so easy to get a grant, and the government is just waiting to give me free money, and it doesn’t cost anything to apply for a grant, why would I need to buy some CD/DVD on the topic?

You’ve seen Matthew Lesko on TV for sure. He’s the guy in the weird, question mark suits. Have you ever picked up one of his books at a bookstore? He and his business may not be a scam, but why buy his books? What does he know that the public isn’t told? What information are the official government web sites hiding from us about grants? I do know this though, if his books put grant money in the pockets of everyone who purchased them, every US citizen own their own copy of his books already!

The government grant scam is kind of like selling you standard options on a new vehicle for an additional cost. Hello, mirrors and doors come standard! Information on grants is available freely, on state and federal government web sites. This doesn’t stop people from trying to sell it to you though! As a matter of fact, the issue got such attention, NBC/MSNBC did a story on it in March of this year. (Read it here!)

How does all this tie back to technology? The companies offering information on how to secure a government grant use the latest in email technology to spam out millions of emails. These emails are meant to grab your attention, get your hopes up, sell you a product, and then leave you hanging.

If you need additional information about grants, click the links at the bottom of the MSNBC story I mentioned above. You could also buy a book from a bookstore with a good return policy (you wont have to get very far into the book to know if it is going to be helpful). Another thing you could do, is to contact community help organizations for which you need your grant. For instance, if you are looking for a grant to help start a business, talk to your local chamber of commerce or local SBA (Small Business Administration) office.

and…

by all means…

DO NOT RESPOND TO THE EMAIL you received! Don’t even click the link that says it will remove you from their list. If spamming is illegal and their scam is illegal, what makes you think they will remove you from an illegal email system, which is illegally mis-representing the grant system?

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I’m often asked how to make sure I’m protected when using eBay. Most of the time this line of questioning comes from friends and family, but the answers will benefit anyone.

So, whether you are new to eBay or if you already have an account, here are some steps to ensure that you are as protected as you can be.

1. Set up an email account which will be used by you exclusively for your eBay/PayPal accounts. Don’t use this email address for anything else!

2. Set up a strong password for your eBay/PayPal accounts. Strong passwords are eight (8) characters long and are a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols from the ASCII coding standard. (I.E. @bcd3Fg*)

3. NEVER write down or give out this password to anyone. Yes, that means absolutely no one!

4. Change this password every 30-45 days. The more often you use the password, the more likely it is someone will figure it out, or hack one of these accounts.

5. Do not ever reply to emails requesting that you update your username, password, or bank account info! This is a very common scam. Some emails will even have a link to a website that looks just like an authentic eBay or PayPal site. DON’T BE FOOLED! This email didn’t come from eBay or PayPal. They will never ask you to update your account information in an email with a link to a site. If you are unsure, open your internet browser and manually type in the web address to eBay (http://www.ebay.com) or PayPal (http://www.paypal.com) to log in. If eBay or PayPal needs you to update your information you will be notified about it when you log in!

6. Do not link you PayPal account to a bank account used for day to day purchases/payments. If there is a dispute of any sort, the money from your bank account is stuck in limbo, until it is resolved. Also, in the instance of a dispute, you can not decline decisions made by PayPal. If the funds for the disputed eBay purchase came from a savings or checking account you use on a regular basis, this may upset your balances. It is best if you fund your eBay/PayPal transactions with a major credit card so that you can always decline the charges with the credit card vendor if there is an issue. If you must link a bank account to your PayPal account, set up an account just for your eBay/PayPal transactions!

7. Never give anyone your linked bank or credit card account information!

8. Link your PayPal account to your eBay account. Set up your eBay account so that any listing and/or seller fees are charged to your PayPal account.

9. Confirm your eBay/PayPal accounts. Both eBay and PayPal have a set of instructions to validate the information you use to set up your account, is complete and valid. This is for your protection and the protection of people who purchase from you.

10. Only buy from Sellers with a 90% or higher feedback rating. The eBay rating system is your best friend when making a purchase. Read the feedback given by other buyers and see what issues may have been reported by others. See how many transactions have been performed by that seller. Do all of this before bidding from a seller.

11. Do not buy from Sellers who only accept Cash, Check, Cashiers Check or Bank Drafts.

12. Only buy from Sellers who accept direct Credit Card Purchases and PayPal. However make sure they are a reputable Seller and that the are confirmed both on the eBay and PayPal systems, before making a single bid on one of their products.

13. Only buy GIA Certified diamonds or other jewels. The Gemological Institute of America is the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, colored stones, and pearls.

14. Only buy precious metals if you can have it tested and returned if it is fake. It is real easy to be fooled by pictures of jewelry or other items claiming to be platinum, titanium, gold, silver, bronze or copper.

15. Beware of Knockoffs! Appliances, Clocks, Clothing, Cologne, Computer Parts, Electronics, Hand Bags, Jewelry, Knives, Shoes, Vehicle Parts, Watches, and just about everything else, could be PRICELESS or priceless. What I’m telling you is research what you are looking at, to find ways to identify the real from the fake, before you make a single bid.

16. Find out where the item is made, and who it is made by! This may be the easiest way to spot a generic or fake. Swiss Army Knives and Watches are made in Victorinox, Switzerland. The original Puma Knives were all made in Solgen, Germany. The original Longaberger Baskets and the good products they continue to sell are all made in the USA. Apply this principle to everything you buy. Research the item you want to buy, by going to the manufacturer’s site and reading up on these types of details. Then ask the seller questions about the item they have for sale.

17. Items on eBay are presented like cars on a used car lot. Everything is over exaggerated. Think of the used car salesman’s terminology. Every eBay item is a mint car (even though it’s been wrecked), with a leather interior that looks new (even though it is dry and cracked), with good rubber (almost bald or out of balance wearing), new brakes (never checked them), great fuel mileage (it should get better than 15 MPG, but it is in how you drive it) and well maintained (the dealer did everything to hide any damage or unmaintained issues)! Nothing is almost new! It is either new or it isn’t. Pay attention to how the item is listed. Read it out loud. If you sound like a used car salesman when reading the listing, you need to be skeptical.

18. Books, Digital Art/Images, Movies, Music, Photographs and Software are all subject to complicated copyright and trademark laws It is hard to spot an illegal duplicate, a fake or pirated version.

As a general rule books should be bound like a real book, with an ISBN number and barcode. Even legitimate eBooks will have an ISBN number.

The authenticity of Digital Art/Images can be very difficult to verify. The artist who made/produced the Art/Image is the original owner. Most copies are only legal for the original purchaser. So, if the person who is selling the Digital Art/Images is not the artist, it may be illegal. Check with the artist before buying something like this.

Just about any Movie or Music that is for sale as a download, you can bet is illegal.

The photographer is the original owner of any photograph taken. So for questions about a photograph, contact the original photographer.

Software is another tricky issue. Many things can make software illegal, but that doesn’t mean that the seller you found on eBay is selling software illegally. In many instances it is perfectly legal to buy old or previously owned software from the original owner. To make sure, contact the manufacturer of the software and ask them about how their license for that specific software title, stipulates the transfer of ownership.

19. If a deal is too good to be true, it is!

20. Make sure any item you win is shipped with a tracking number. It is way too easy to take your money and then tell you the item was shipped, even if you never get it. Who is at fault here? Can you prove the seller did or didn’t send the item?

Following these steps will help ensure that you are protected while taking advantage of the bargains you can get on eBay.

You can always get help here, by creating an account and posting a question or comment. You can only do this as a registered user though. If you wish to register for access to expanded features of our site, click here.

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To set this article up, let’s say you need the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection software. You check with Adobe.com and you are shocked about how much it will cost you. So you check with some other reliable retailers. You find that it has an average retail price of $2499. Wow, that piece of software is way too expensive. How in the world can you afford it?

The “How can you afford it?” question is how criminals are able to succeed with their variation of the OEM Software scam. These criminals prey on the consumer by aiming their advertisements at your pocket book.

If you have had an email account for any amount of time, you’ve seen email spam for…

“Cheap OEM Software”

“50% – 90% off retail on Software”

“Software Surplus”

…and the like. You click on the link in the email and you see prices so low, you can’t believe it. You also see that you can buy now and download the software after the transaction has completed, so that you don’t have to wait on shipping. Some sites even prey on people who promote going “GREEN” by stating their software is only available as a download, in an effort to prevent wasted paper, cardboard and plastic used for packaging and advertisements.

One such email I received recently was a company called OEM Soft Sales Ltd. (DBA: SoftSales, Software Business & Business Software). They are so open about how cheap their software is, they put the retail cost right next to their cost. See the comparisons for Adobe software here.

DON’T FALL FOR IT! This is just another form of Software Piracy!

Notice how the customer service telephone number starts with a country code of +44? If you look here, you will see that this country code is for the United Kingdom, Isle of Man. This business isn’t even in the US.

As a matter of fact, most OEM and/or Cheap Software Scams are run outside of the US. This is because the US has the strictest copyright, patent, and trademark protection and enforcement. Other countries don’t care as much, if at all. In the case of software, some countries have an entirely different set of laws. This is another instance of people from other countries preying on US Citizens because we have the right to make our own decisions and have more disposable income than people in most other countries (In this case we are wanting to save some of our disposable income by spending less on the software we need.).

Adobe, Microsoft and other companies spend millions of dollars each year trying to combat Pirated Software. Software Piracy cuts into the company profits and aids in the prices of software continuing to rise.

Software manufacturers want to know about any instance of their software being pirated. If you know of a company or individual using software illegally or selling it illegally. You can go to…

• Adobe
• Microsoft
• BSA (Business Software Alliance)
• FAST (Federation Against Software Theft)

…to read and report it.

So, how do you protect yourself from purchasing illegal software?

1. Be educated about the issue. OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Software is software which accompanies a computer system or hardware component. OEM software is often cheaper than the full versions but not as cheap as academic or student editions. True OEM Software is only purchased with computer hardware, and is only licensed to be used on that hardware.
2. Always buy software from a reputable retailer (I.E. Dell, Staples, Best Buy or etc.). While most retailers will have the exact same price on the same software, there can be a little variance. You may find software a couple dollars cheaper at one store or another, but we are talking a price which is not more than 10% – 15% less than other retailers. You aren’t going to find the FULL, PC Version of Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection at one store for $2499 and another store for $1500. You will not find this software for anything less than $2249 and it be LEGAL, NEW, FULL, PC Version.
3. BE WARE OF EBAY! Though eBay is a very good way to acquire many items for much less than their real value, and eBay has very strict piracy regulations, it is still possible to buy illegal software. (See the post for Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 for ways to protect yourself on eBay.)

   Some manufactures only allow their software to be licensed by the initial person who installs/registers it. In this instance, if you buy software and it has been installed/registered already, it is illegal. Other manufacturers allow you to transfer ownership, but the initial owner/registered user has to fill out a form (usually online) changing ownership to the buyer. So if the initial owner doesn’t fill out this form, you have illegal software.

   FYI: Always be skeptical and extremely cautious of any seller who says…

   • their software doesn’t come in original box,
   • doesn’t have original CDs/DVDs,
   • is a backup copy,
   • is a download,
   • is license only,
   • is educational or academic version,
   • was previously used/installed/registered,
   • is several years old,
   • or etc.

   as that software may also be illegal. It is okay to verify the information, though. It could be a good deal, but you need to perform your own due diligence to make sure! Ask questions of the seller, and let them know that if you suspect the software to be illegal in any form, you will report it to eBay and the manufacturer. Find out from the manufacturer of the software what their conditions are for buying used software. Do all this before making a single bid on eBay.

4. Always buy software with a credit card or PayPal. This way, if you suspect the software as being a pirated copy or illegal in any way, you can decline the charges. This will help protect your investment.
5. Don’t get confused. Academic or Educational Versions are intended for those who are students of or teach in an education environment. These versions are legally offered at greatly reduced prices so that teachers, parents of kids, or the kids themselves, don’t have to pay full retail for software needed for school use. These versions are not for personal or business use in any fashion. If Academic or Educational Versions are used for personal or business use, it is being used illegally. This is not the same as Pirated Software, but just as illegal.

If you want discounts on software, or anything computer related for that matter, I can get you some of the best discounts on “LEGAL” software through Dell.

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On February 18th, 2009, one of my business colleagues visited the Grant Writing Express.com website. This website was found with a simple search on Google for grants and government financial programs for small businesses.

The “Grant Writing Express” website offered a DVD, with information about how to write grants and who to submit grant proposals to. This was apparently a bargain at $3.95 and a free pass to the Grant Help Center website. Well, come to find out, the free pass was actually a 14 Day free trial, after which they charged your credit card a monthly fee. Also, not included in the information about your purchase, you were automatically subscribed to another “FREE” site, GrantHelpOrder.com which also charges your credit card $29.99 a month after your free 14 day pass.

On February 23rd, 2009 this same colleague called “Grant Writing Express” to cancel the 14 day trial membership to their websites. We were sent a confirmation email that same day, confirming that the subscription had been canceled and that the company credit card would not be billed. Up to this point it seemed that “Grant Writing Express” was a legitimate company with a great customer service department. WRONG!

On May 15th the company credit card was charged $29.99 from a company called My Fitness. The charge listed an 800 number so we called it. The automated system on the other end thanked us for calling Quick Income. Of course you are put on hold for a while. When you finally get to speak to someone, they play stupid. (Definitely have to be stupid if they think they are going to pull one over on me!)

I asked why the charge on the credit card was listed by My Fitness, yet the business answering the phone was Quick Income. They told me that My Fitness owned Quick Income. I asked what the charge was for and was told it was a subscription to a help site for grants. I asked what the site was and was told it was called Grant Help Order.com and was informed that with my purchase contract for Grant Writing Express’s DVD, we were automatically enrolled in their program as well.

The “I really don’t care” quality customer service rep, on the phone told me that the terms were clearly stated and there was nothing he could do. I demanded a refund and cancellation. He told me he would see what he could do. I told him that their product was not mentioned on the purchase agreement and he denied it. Finally he said he could cancel the membership, but that the first month would not be credited back.

Well, that simply wont do for me! I didn’t order their service. We weren’t notified of the purchase and we certainly didn’t authorize it. So I informed this person that I had red about them on Rip Off Report, Complaints Board and other sites, and that I was just a few minutes away from reporting them to the Attorney General.

Just like that, his attitude changed. All of a sudden, he was kind and helpful. He even gave me a confirmation number for the refund. He also explained that it would take up to 10 business days to see the refund on our credit card, and that he was sorry for our inconvenience (I bet he was!).

So, I’ll wait the 10 days, but that isn’t all I’m going to do. These companies operate very scrupulously, so they aren’t beyond selling your information to another company, especially if they will use your credit card to sell you a subscription you never elected to receive. Most of these types of companies scam individuals by tricking them. Well, the trick is on them. My credit card company will now block any purchases from all of the company names that I know of, and will change the credit card number associated with my account, so that it doesn’t match what this company has on file.

Moral of the story: Check and Double check your credit card statements when you purchase something online. Never, ever, do an ATF (Automatic Transfer of Funds) from your checking account to make a purchase online. Only use a credit card who guarantees protection against online purchases. Or use an online payment company like PayPal.

PayPal can provide a temporary credit card number, which is only good for a single transaction, or they can provide you with a PayPal Debit Mastercard.

Lastly, stay away from:

• Grant Writing Express.com
• Grant Help Center
• GrantHelpOrder.com, and…
• My Fitness, which doesn’t go anywhere now!

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Filed under: Credit Card Scams, Internet, Scams | No Comments »

Over the years, we’ve heard a lot about scams. Just recently we have heard a lot about Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme. Some of my clients can speak about any number of check or money transfer scams going around. People from all over the world, prey on US Citizens, because we have the right to make our own decisions and have more disposable income than people in most other countries.

Some of the most vicious scams appear online. From the world’s larges auction site, ebay, to social circles like Facebook, criminals are there, looking for the unsuspecting and the trusting.

Not too long ago, an article was posted by JR Raphael of PC World (See it here!), about Facebook scams. This article made it to the homepage of MSN.

More recently there has been Phishing scams supposedly coming from Facebook, trying to collect usernames and passwords.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are going to be part of an online community, you will eventually receive a solicitation to participate in some sort of scam.

If you are unsure about a communication and whether it is a scam or not, here are a few things you can do to find out, before loosing your money!

1. If you are sent messages or emails, about a friend being robbed when out of the country, ask yourself if you knew about your friend’s plans to leave the country, ahead of time. You can also call the person who is asking for money and speak with them directly. If you are still unsure, contact other mutual friends or family members to find out if they knew about this person being out of the country.
2. If you need another way to verify the identity of the person who is contacting you, ask a question only you and your friend would know (Stay away from things like birth-dates, anniversaries, or personal information. If this person stole your identity, they could easily know this information now, too.).
3. Go to the Online community website (I.E. eBay, PayPal, MySpace, Twitter or Facebook) and contact their support team directly. You can usually find information about how to contact them by going to the “HELP” or “SUPPORT” links found on the web sites.
4. Remember, legitimate communications, from Online Community Web Site Support Teams, will be directed to you from the same domain (I.E. http://www.DOMAIN.com) as the site you are using. (If you are a member of eBay, you can go to their site at http://www.ebay.com and email from their support team will come from an email address that ends in “@ebay.com”
5. Incidentally, if you get an email or post, claiming to be a support group for the Online Community you are a member of, and you are given a link to follow to get help, the link will have the same domain in it starting with http://www.domain.com/…

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Filed under: Facebook, Social Networking | 2 Comments »