Your money is in jeopardy and you may not even know it. Study after study demonstrates that scam artists who prey on unwary Americans and fleecing them of their savings are on the rise and more successful than ever. Credit card fraud alone cost Americans $2 billion in 2007, according to Celent Communications.

What can you do? Fight back by knowing what to look for and learning to anticipate the tricks of the trade used by unscrupulous hucksters and con artists.

Here are some good tips from the folks at ClearPoint Financial Solutions, a finance company that focuses on consumer fraud:

Telemarketing Scams

According to the Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing (AAFT) Americans lose nearly $40 billion a year due to telemarketing fraud. Top phone scams include: free prize offers, charitable solicitations, travel offers, investment fraud, “900” numbers and advance-fee loan scams. This is not to say that all telemarketing solicitations are fraudulent, as many are perfectly legitimate. To be safe though, consumers should consider the following when dealing with a telemarketing call:

Be wary of free prize offers. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is! Declining the offer and ending the call is your best defense.

Check your charities. You should never make a monetary donation over the telephone. Instead, if a charitable organization contacts you over the telephone for a donation, ask that they send you literature in the mail instead. Nearly all organizations would be happy to accept a check in the mail. That way, you can determine that you are sending money to the correct charity, rather than giving your credit card information to a potential thief over the phone.

Investigate investments. Never discuss investment opportunities with a solicitor. You should only conduct this type of business with a company that you  have selected based upon doing your homework. Don’t give in to high-pressure sales tactics or anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. When in doubt, just hang up!

Unsubscribe. To eliminate telemarketing calls altogether, consumers have the option to sign up with the National Do Not Call Registry. To do so, consumers can visit www.donotcall.gov.

Phishing and Vishing Scams

Phishing occurs when scam artists send emails that appear to be from a bank or e-commerce organization. Typically the message warns the consumer that their account has been compromised, and that immediate action and response is necessary to fix the problem. Consumers are advised to click on links within the email to start the process. Vishing occurs in the same manner, however the recipient is directed to call a number to correct the problem, and is then prompted to give their account information over the phone. Avoid these types of scams by:

Stay away from links. Never click on a link that is included in a suspicious email. Not only does it legitimize your email address, it can direct you to a fraudulent site that can 
capture your account information. Never follow prompts to enter your personal information online. Again, if you’re concerned about fraudulent account activity, check your account statements and notify your bank.

Exercise caution. Suspicious emails are just that –  suspicious. Be extra cautious if you see an email from your bank that’s asking for your account information. Since your bank already has your account numbers on file, they will never ask for it in an email. Simply delete the email and move on. If you are concerned about your account, be sure to call your bank, using the telephone number that’s printed on your bank statement, not the number that’s in the email.

Report spam. Want to stop the spam from hitting your inbox? According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, you can report phishing or spoofed emails to the Federal Trade Commission the Internet Crime Complaint Center and to the company that is being spoofed.

ATM Scams

It may sound more like a new dance move, but the Lebanese Loop is actually an ATM scam. Scam artists will insert a plastic sleeve into the ATM and then wait for bank visitors to insert their card to access their account. When someone inserts their card into the machine and enters their PIN, the machine is unable to read the card and recognize the number. The person then assumes that the machine ate their card and walks away. The scam artist is then able to retrieve the plastic sleeve out of the ATM along with the person’s card.

Be aware of your surroundings. Before approaching an ATM machine, take a quick scan to see if there are any suspicious persons nearby. Always make sure you are using an ATM that’s in a well-lit area, and, if it can be avoided, never use an ATM after dark. Trust your instincts. If the area does not feel safe, try to locate another ATM.

Check the ATM. Before inserting your card into the ATM, check the machine to see if anything looks out of place or broken. If you feel the machine has been tampered with, use another ATM or go inside the bank to withdrawal your funds

Act quickly. If your card gets stuck inside the machine, immediately notify the bank or your credit card company and have them cancel the card. If it’s during business hours, ask if a bank representative can access the machine to retrieve your card.

Let's face it, times are tough enough without having some scam artists pout the hook on your wallet, credit card, or bank account. In this case, an ounce of prevention is really worth a pound of cure.

The Federal Trade Commission routinely warns consumers and businesses about online fraud. They're doing so again -- but this time the scam artists are using the FTC's good name in an email spyware gambit.

According to a statement from the FTC, consumers, including corporate and banking executives, appear to be targets of a bogus e-mail supposedly sent by the Federal Trade Commission but actually sent by third parties hoping to install spyware on computers. The bogus e-mail poses as an acknowledgment of a complaint filed by the recipient, and includes an attachment. Consumers who open the attachment to this e-mail unleash malicious spyware onto their computer. The agency warns consumers who get this e-mail that 
purports to be from the FTC:

-- Don’t open the attachment.
-- Delete the e-mail.
-- Empty the deleted items folder.

According to the FTC, the hoax e-mail is personalized, and contains the name of the recipient and their business. The bogus message explains how the complaint will be used, who will have access to it and states, “Attached you will find a copy of your complaint. Please print a hard copy of the complaint for your records in the upcoming investigation.” Opening the attachment downloads the malicious spyware.

Emails touting spyware offers  is one of the most common forms of online fraud out there. What makes this particular campaign perilous is the fact that the perpetrators are using an official U.S. government agency, it's logo and letterhead, and email address. I don't have any actual studies on this, but my get tells me that consumers respond more aggressively to directives bearing Uncle Sam's imprint.

So the watch word here is "caution". Don't go for the FTC gambit and don't open any email offering spyware offers with the FTC's name on it.

Consumers can learn more about protecting themselves from malicious spyware and bogus e-mails at OnGuardOnline.gov, a Web site created by the FTC in partnership with other federal agencies and the technology industry to help consumers stay safe online. The site features modules on spyware and phishing, at http://onguardonline.gov/ spyware.html and http://onguardonline.gov/phishing.html

When you opened your own business, little did you know that not only would you have a brick and mortar storefront, but a digital one, too.

With today's advanced web site design and management capabilities, retail-oriented applications like web site shopping carts, checkout counters and "storefront" pages, customers can buy your products online just as easily as they could by walking through your door.

If you don't have storefront capabilities on your web site, you're missing out. If you do, you have a big advantage over your competitors who don't.

Shopping Carts Explained

Most components of a business web site are defined by style; by look and feel. Not your shopping cart component - - that's defined by its functionality.

In the e-commerce world, functionality trumps glitzy graphics and bold palettes every time. Thus the best storefront web designs are glam-free and are built with service and simplicity in mind.

The idea behind web site shopping carts is straightforward: to acquire a customer's payment information, accurately, securely and with simplicity. The shopping cart component is usually built-in via the HTML code, installed right in on the server where your web site is hosted. Some shopping carts are designed to be installed and maintained on a "secure" server to handle sensitive customer data. E-shopping carts are typically designed using HTTP cookies or query strings and are stored on servers that can be accessed on a moment's notice (i.e. when the order is generated by the customer).

Shopping cart packages come in two primary varieties: download-and install software or software that is leased from a web hosting company that will maintain your shopping cart in return for a monthly or annual fee. Web hosting companies will not only design and manage your shopping cart software, they will update the site for security measures and add new wrinkles as new technologies become available (for example, your shopping cart site may be advanced with an audio component that walks technology-challenged customers through the checkout process). Prominent shopping cart site providers include Nexternal Solutions, 3dcart, Volusion, Monstercommerce and 1ShoppingCart.

King of the Jungle

Perhaps the most famous shopping cart page is from Amazon.com. There, developers have built the blueprint for the ultimate shopping cart page. It has easy-to-use click-through icons on every page, no matter where you are on the Amazon site. When you select a book or a DVD, for example, you simply click on the "Proceed to Checkout" (or the "Continue Shopping" icon if you want to keep going) and pay your bill by debit or credit card. Amazon's shopping cart has some amazing features that other business web sites raced to copy. It's designed to not only remember your contact information and credit card number, but also has an intuitive customer relationship management (CRM) component that knows the kinds of books and DVD's you like, offering suggestions for similar products
that you might want to buy.

The site also offers a "gifting" component, where you can buy a book and send it to a friend as a birthday gift, instead of having it sent to your home. Perhaps the best aspect of the Amazon shopping cart software is its low-key, flash-free design. The shopping cart doesn't bombard you with audio pitches or visual gimmicks. Instead, it resides almost in the background, readily available when you decide you need to check out and order and pay for your item.

What to Look For

When shopping for storefront software, functionality, security, and dependability are the primary considerations. Customers will move onto your competition if they feel their financial data is exposed, if they have trouble using the site, or the site doesn't work. Flexibility is key, too. You want to be able to add new features as your site (and your business) grows dynamically. You'll want an easy-to-use back end to process and manage orders and handle customer inquiries. Obviously, secure and accurate credit and debit card functions are critical, as are site sections for cross-promotion and marketing capabilities.

Here are some other key feature's you'll likely need.

No Limits – Look for shopping car software that let's your storefront grow with your business. Specifically, opt for a software package that doesn't limit how many products you can sell. A good shopping cart design should accommodate future products you'll be selling – in
addition to the ones you are selling now.

Add-ons – Brick and mortar stores offer customers beneficial add-ons like coupons and warranties to go with their products. Make sure your shopping cart software offers the same thing.

Front of the Store Displays – Imagine you're at Borders and you walk in the store to see a favorite author's book prominently displayed right by the entrance. Your web site should also have a "front door" display function to highlight and advertise top-selling products on the home page of your web site. Good web storefront software not only offers home page product placement and advertising, it should also include a box inside the ad so consumers can click and buy the product.

Track Sales and Manage Inventory – The best shopping cart site designs include an accounting feature that allows you to tracks sales and replace items sold in your inventory. Consequently, your web site should have the ability to note a sale, send a message to your
database, and automatically have the product replaced by a similar one so you won't run out of inventory.

Think Volume – Your best customers are the ones that buy in bulk. Accommodate them by including a volume pricing mechanism where the product's unit price can be changed (usually reduced) automatically for busy buyers.

SEO Marketing – Shopping cart software packages should have a feature that enables your product or service to climb up the major search engine lists. The ones that do that best have HTML file pages that generate keywords, Meta Tags, and search engine optimization (SEO) text placement.

Tell a Friend – Add a feature on your shopping cart page that enables users to "tell a friend" about one of your products or services.

Allow for Feedback – Amazon.com has a great feature that allows customers to rate the products a customer is considering buying through a feedback function. Encouraging customers to write reviews and place comments is good for business (it gives other customers confidence that your product is worth the investment, since other people use it and like it). Manage the review/feedback function so that negative reviews and "flame" emails don't poison your web site.

Gift Certificates – Your shopping cart software should allow customers to buy online gift certificates from your company. Your software should also offer customers a gift-wrapping option. It's a great marketing tool and customers will appreciate the convenience.

Should You Hire a Designer?

Shopping cart software design is a unique craft and most small business owners don't have the expertise and capability of designing such software on their own. In all honesty, unless you have deep knowledge of HTML code and web software, taking the do-it-yourself option isn't recommended, especially for something as critical as your web site's online payment system.

That's why hiring a web designer may be a good option. Your designer should be able to not only design your shopping cart software, but also design the software in such a way that it's pleasing to the eye, easy to use, and offers most or all of the feature detailed above. If you hire a designer, have them create a mock-up system first, so you can test drive your shopping cart before your customer does. The entire design process, along with your test run, shouldn't take more than a month, but make sure not to rush the process. You'll need some time to iron out wrinkles and test myriad features that accompany the shopping cart software.

Pricing for web site shopping cart software depends on how many features you want for your site. A basic shopping cart design can cost as low as $350 to $1,000. But a shopping cart program with full graphics, loads of bells and whistles, and good SEO features can cost up to $5,000.

Make sure that your web design firm not only builds your site but manages it as well (especially during the first key months of operation). You might have to pay more, but you'll have the peace of mind knowing your web site's storefront is in steady hands. In general, shop for a shopping cart designer like you would a new car. Check out as many designers as you can, kick some tires, and talk to as many people as possible. Ask a web designer for references and check them out. If a designer ignores or denies your request for references, that's a red flag.

Above all, keep your customer in mind first when shopping for a shopping cart web site component. Think convenience, security and functionality and you'll be way ahead.

Step 1: Learn the (Source) Code: ABC’s of HTML

Ask a web designer about Da Vinci and his code and you’re apt to get a blank look in response. But ask a web designer about source codes and you’ll fill your notebook.

Why not? Knowing your source code can mean the difference between a polished, professional web site and one that that your audience might think a kindergarten student slapped together.

Seven Keys to Understanding HTML Code

HTML is the Universal Web Language

Knowing HTML gives you much more control over how your web site looks

How HTML works

Knowing HTML Files

Knowing HTML Tags

Knowing HTML Tools

Other key Web languages

What is HTML?

While there a several languages you can use to design a web site, far and away the most prominent, productive and popular code is HyperText Markup Language, or HTML. The building block of web site design, HTML code is the primary language on the World Wide Web – virtually all web sites are created using HTML. It’s the quintessential web language code, giving all you need to create and manage the text, images, sounds, and links that will make up your company web site. HTML’s uniformity and user-friendliness is its calling card. Its code is so easy to use that you can apply it to your web site on any kind of computer and any kind of operating system. Changing or adding colors, managing text size and inserting photos and images pictures on your Web site are at the top of the list of advantages gained from learn basic HTML.

A note: don’t confuse HTML with Uniform Resource Locator, or URL. While the former is the universal language used to create web site code, the latter is the standard address that leads you to a particular document or location on the World Wide Web. While you don’t need any advanced web design certification to use HTML, knowing how it works and how it’s composed gives you the foundation you need to build a stellar web site.

The HTML Process – At a Glance

HTML = Hyper Text Markup Language

An HTML file is a text file that is comprised of small markup tags

HTML markup instruct the Web browser how to display the page

Each HTML file should include either an htm or html file extension

HTML files can be generated using a simple text editor

How Does HTML Work?

In a word, HTML applies pre-set series of tags to manage and format text format text, establish hyperlinks to separate web sites, and create and place graphic images.

These tags exist in HTML files, which reside on a web server that are either managed by an Internet server provider (ISP) or by your own company. The Web server is plugged into the World Wide Web. When a web user calls up your web page by typing in your web site address (your URL), that opens the HTML file residing on the Web server.

Consequently, after a Web user asks for your HTML page, the Web server transmits a single, unbroken thread of ASCII text throughout the Internet where it is sent to the  Internet to the user’s computer. In turn, the web user’s browser transfers the thread of text into the web page the user sees on his or her computer.

HTML offers myriad technology tools to manage the web design process. 

Primary among those are:

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) -- Enables web users to create unique language presentation formats  for your web site.

JavaScript – A scripting language that enables you to build more interactive elements to your web site.

Dynamic HTML (DHTML) – Gives your audience, the web user, more control over how the web page is viewed the page dynamically

Another technology toolset that enables you to add more applications and functionality to your web sites are called “plug-ins”. Rich with graphics, voice, and video images, plug-ins can enliven text-laden web sites and give readers more incentive to bookmark your web site 
once they visit it.

Examples of plug-ins include:

Adobe's Acrobat

Macromedia's Shockware and Flash

Apple's QuickTime and QuickTime VR

Real Audio's streaming audio

Understanding HTML Tags

While HTML is often referred to as a computer “language” in actual truth HTML is more a series of “tags” that frame key elements like words, terms, paragraphs, and graphics. Each HTML document includes a  head and a body

The process for generating an HTML file is simple and  straightforward. In designing your web site, begin with a starting  HTML tag <html>, and finish with an ending HTML tag, </html>. The text that lies between your starting and ending HTML tags is your 
actual web content, i.e. what your readers see when they bring up your web page.

Remember that HTML tags aren’t case sensitive, so you don’t have to worry about turning your “CAPS” button  on or off when inserting HTML code. You will, however, have to leave a single space between your tag and your text.

Essentially, your web tags direct the browser and provides instructions on what it should do when creating your web site. Tags number well into the hundreds so there is no real point in learning the definition of each one. Most web design packages insert tags automatically, exactly where they belong, without your having to tell the software to do. Just know that tags are important  -- you need them to create and change text, insert graphics and images, or link to another web page. In short, web tags are the traffic cops of the World Wide Web.

Understanding HTML Tools

When working with HTML, you really don’t need any special software or programs – plenty of web designers use MS Word, for example, to create HTML content.

Basically, the only real technology tool is a basic text editor that can save your web file as an ASCII text – an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. The most popular standard for encoding text documents on computers, ASCII documents are text  documents that are easily viewed and managed for content use both on basic computer word files and on Internet web pages.

Since HTML is platform independent, saving your HTML files in ASCII text format is the easiest and most effective method of doing just that.

Common text editor tools that work easily with ASCII files are Simpletext and Notepad. But even Microsoft Word or Word Perfect files can be easily saved as ASCII files and used to create web-based HTML files. In MS Word, for example, you are given the option when saving a file to save it as “Text” or “Text Only”. By saving your file in either format, you’re converting that file to ASCII text.

For More Information

If you have a yen to learn more about HTML code and web design, there is no shortage of web sites that cater to the topic.

Some of the best include:

EchoeEchoe.com

PageResource.com

WebSiteTips.com

The Federal Trade Commission routinely warns consumers and businesses about online fraud. They're doing so again -- but this time the scam artists are using the FTC's good name in an email spyware gambit. According to a statement from the FTC this morning, consumers, including corporate and banking executives, appear to be targets of a bogus e-mail supposedly sent by the Federal Trade Commission but actually sent by third parties hoping to install spyware on computers. The bogus e-mail poses as an acknowledgment of a complaint filed by the recipient, and includes an attachment. Consumers who open the attachment to this e-mail unleash malicious spyware onto their computer. The agency warns consumers who get this e-mail that purports to be from the FTC:

- Don’t open the attachment.
- Delete the e-mail.
- Empty the deleted items folder.

According to the FTC, the hoax e-mail is personalized, and contains the name of the recipient and their business. The bogus message explains how the complaint will be used, who will have access to it and states, “Attached you will find a copy of your complaint. Please print a hard copy of the complaint for your records in the upcoming investigation.” Opening the attachment downloads the malicious spyware.

Emails touting spyware offers  is one of the most common forms of online fraud out there. What makes this particular campaign perilous is the fact that the perpetrators are using an official U.S. government agency, it's logo and letterhead, and email address. I  don't have any actual studies on this, but my get tells me that consumers respond more aggressively to directives bearing Uncle Sam's imprint.

So the watch word here is "caution". Don't go for the FTC gambit and don't open any email offering spyware offers with the FTC's name on it.

Consumers can learn more about protecting themselves from malicious spyware and bogus e-mails at OnGuardOnline.gov, a Web site created by the FTC in partnership with other federal agencies and the technology industry to help consumers stay safe online. The site features modules on spyware and phishing, at http://onguardonline.gov/spyware.html and http://onguardonline.gov/phishing.html