Big Brother is Watching You!
Copyright © 2003 by Len Thurmond
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The FTC is really cracking down. And You
NEED To Be
Afraid!
At least two well-known Internet
Marketers, who at the
time of this writing prefer to remain anonymous, have
recently been hit hard by fraud accusations from the FTC.
One, reportedly, just paid his attorney
$35,000 and
is not out of the soup yet. While the other settled
to the tune of $50,000 in fines and legal fees!
These guys have done nothing that all of
us are not
doing, but they had not adhered to the "Letter of the
Law" according to Uncle Sam.
Here's an excerpt from the FTC public
site...
"In the latest in a series of law
enforcement
initiatives targeting Internet fraud, the Federal
Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission,
United States Postal Inspection Service, three United
States Attorneys, four state attorneys general, and two
state regulatory agencies today announced they have
filed 45 criminal and civil law enforcement actions
against Internet scammers and deceptive spammers. In
addition to the law enforcement actions, the FTC and
21 U.S. and international agencies have launched an
initiative to get organizations in 59 countries to close
the open relays that allow spammers to avoid detection
by spam filters and law enforcers.
According to the FTC, the law enforcement actions
announced today represent a wide array of deceptive
schemes and illegal scams including auction fraud, the
illegal sale of controlled substances, bogus business
opportunities, deceptive money-making scams, illegal
advance-fee credit c-rd offers, and identity theft."
Now, you may think this doesn't have
anything to do
with you...BUT YOU BETTER THINK AGAIN!
BOGUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES could very
well mean
you or me if we're selling moneymaking opportunities.
And, that's EXACTLY what most of us are selling. And,
unfortunately, the word BOGUS is open to the
interpretation of "BIG BROTHER"!
I personally know both of the people
mentioned in my
opening statement, and neither of them is selling what
I -- or probably even you -- would consider a "Bogus"
business opportunity.
Let's face it...if the opportunity is
viable, the
profitability is the responsibility of the user not
the creator.
However, the lack of disclaimers in
their purchase
agreements and on their sites, left my friends wide
open to these legal actions.
A simple forward-looking statement that
makes clear
to your customers that you assume no responsibility
for the profitability of your products, and that they
take full responsibility for the use and outcome of
that use, would have protected hundreds of victims of
the FTC regulatory 'Gestapo'. Including my two friends!
It's always been important to use the
proper disclaimers,
terms of use, and agreements when doing business...both
on and off the net. But, for some reason, the Internet
community has decided that they were immune to these
"Silly Little Laws"...
NOT SO!
Another quote from "Big Brother"...
"Today's Internet is not a lawless
environment," said
Howard Beales, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer
Protection. "In fact, the NetForce partnership
demonstrates the importance of enforcement on the
Internet beat. We have the biggest impact on deceptive
spammers and online scammers when law enforcement
agencies band together to root out and prosecute fraud."
So...What constitutes fraud?
That's for the Government to
decide...not you and I. And
Ignorance of the Law is no excuse in the courtroom! So,
it's absolutely imperative that we protect our rights and
businesses by using the proper documentation where
necessary.
1) You NEED to have a Privacy policy
posted on ALL sites
that solicit customer information.
2) Your Privacy Policy NEEDS to include
a Children's usage
disclaimer (something that almost NO ONE has on their
site...and a major online presence was recently fined
BIG BUCKS for not having one).
3) You NEED to have a website 'Terms of
Use' properly
written (to disclaim your responsibility), and posted on
EVERY website you own.
4) You need to have an iron clad
'Purchasers Agreement'
when selling your customers ANYTHING!
5) You NEED to have proof that they
agreed to your terms
by using a legal Electronic Signature Script (a Check
Box that won't let them go any further until they
agree).
6) And, all of these documents NEED to
be well-crafted by
a qualified attorney, to make darn sure you've covered
all the bases!
These few documents, at the very least,
should be a part
of every website you create and every business venture
you undertake.
Attorneys aren't cheap! But...
As my two friends just found out the
hard way...
You can pay a lawyer to protect your
interests up front,
or pay him a lot more to get you out of the soup later!
NO ONE hates rules more than I do. But,
we have play the
hand we're given.
And, the days of bending and shaping the
'Rules' to suit
our own needs are over!
Big Brother IS Watching You!
And THAT'S The Truth :op
Computer Freezing?
Using standby mode, is supposed to save energy when your PC
is unattended, and help your Monitor last longer.
How valuable this function is, I don't know.
However, this facility can cause problems, because
sometimes
when you try to bring back your 'normal' screen you find
your PC is frozen. No mouse, no alt/ctrl/delete function ...
Zilch!
Then you have to switch off your computer (even
that doesn't
work sometimes), reboot and run scan disk, just to get back
to where you were before you took time off for that cup of
coffee.
If this has happened to you, the answer is to
disable the
standby mode. Here's how ...
RIGHT Click on a blank area of your desktop.
LEFT Click on
Properties
Screen saver
Settings (or Power)
Check everything in there to 'Never'.
Click OK and OK again.
Job done.
Now you can have a cup of coffee with peace of
mind:-)