Before You Hire Them: Hiring Contractors Online

If you’re like many people, you may decide to hire a contractor to do needed work on your home through the Internet. Whether you decide to hire an electrician, a plumber, or a painter, the Internet can be a great way to find an affordable, well-regarded contractor to complete the work you need. But you can’t trust everyone you might be considering hiring. Not everyone is who they say online. Before you hire a contractor online, you may want to consider these tips to using things like a worry free reverse cell phone number lookup to make sure you’re dealing with the right people.

When You’re Searching for People
Depending on where you decide to search for a potential contractor, you’ll want to be careful and very selective about who you decide to hire.

Many people use websites like Craigslist to search for an interested contractor, often for someone they can hire under the table. If you decide to go this route, proceed with caution. Not everyone is who they say they are. Be careful before you decide to hire the first person who gets in touch with you and exposing your kids to strangers. Many criminals and con artists may pose as contractors in order to gain uninhibited access to your home or pocketbook.

First, always conduct background searches. One very easy and often free method you may want to consider is a reverse phone number cell lookup search. With a cell phone reverse number lookup search, you’ll input the phone number of your potential contractor and the reverse cell number phone lookup search will pull up any information that it can find about the owner of the number. If the name or location provided by the search doesn’t match up with any information that your potential contractor has given you, be very cautious. Chances are very likely that you’re dealing with a scammer. You may not have to do this with a reputable company, which is why we discourage hiring people you don’t really know off of websites like Craigslist. But if you feel that the work you need done warrants hiring a worker from a site like this, proceed with caution.

Be sure to ask people in your community about people they would recommend. Consult websites like Angie’s List or Yelp to find a contractor well suited to your needs. Often times you can consult reviews left by past customers to give an idea of what to expect from the contractor and if they are someone you should hire.

You may want to consider interviewing your potential contractor in person and over the phone at least once or twice before you actually hire them. This will give you an idea of whether or not the contractor is someone you want to hire. Be sure to have a solid work contract- this will have all the terms of the work you’re hiring someone to do on paper. If the contractor doesn’t complete the work, you have legal evidence of that they were hired to do. Consult your lawyer or a local legal group in order to help you draft a potential contract or search online for a free template. If a contractor doesn’t complete work to your satisfaction or ends up scamming you out of money, you can take them to court.

If a supposed contractor isn’t who they say they are or they behave in suspicious ways, consider filing a report with the Federal Trade Commission or go to the police in order to file a report with them. That way, you can ensure that a con artist can’t mislead or scam other clients in the future, doing your part to ensure a more ethical community.

Staying Smart as a Small Business Owner

Whether your business is based out of a storefront or online, small business owners both have a lot to be grateful for and a lot of things to be worried about thanks to the advent of the Internet. While it’s never been easier for a small business to find customers from all over the world, it’s also never been easier for scammers to take advantage of you. Luckily, you’re not helpless.

There are many internet resources out there you can use in order to successfully avoid some of the most common scams out there. Staying smart is not impossible when you’re a small business owner.

Common Red Flags to Watch Out For

Small business owners unfortunately are uniquely positioned to become prime targets of online scammers. Every business owner will have to deal with an array of common scams, such as offers to “list your business on Google” or receive special access to supposed favorable loans over the phone.

In general, there’s a few easy ways to tell whether or not someone calling you about a business opportunity is a scam. For example, consider whether or not the person calling you over the phone is asking you for personal information. If they are, that’s a bad sign. Never, ever give personal information over the phone even if someone is offering you what sounds like a fantastic business opportunity.

Google, for example, will never contact you over the phone and they certainly won’t ask you to pay money to improve your chances of appearing as one of the first results when someone looks for a specific term.

Be wary of anyone who mails you a check from a bank you’ve never heard of. Don’t immediately deposit any check you’re sent, no matter what the reason. Always take it to the bank and ask for them to verify whether or not it is legitimate.

If an opportunity sounds too good to be true it probably is. While you may encounter customers who are kind and who make big orders on your products, you can tell them apart from scammers because they don’t ask you to wire money and their requests are likely not unusual.

Be wary of anyone offering loans over the phone, especially if they represent a financial institution you have never heard of. Always apply for loans in person at a legitimate bank or other financial institution.

Identifying Scams

Don’t rely on just a phone number to decide whether a caller is someone you can trust. Take some additional measures to make sure that whoever you’re talking to is legitimate. For instance, always search for phone numbers you’re not familiar with on reverse cell number phone lookup services. With many sites offering free reverse cell phone lookup number services, there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t be doing this already. Reverse phone cell number lookup services use publicly available information in order to see what demographic information they can find about the owner of the phone, such as their name, general location, and any reports people may have made about the number.

Never provide credit card information or other personal information over the phone, especially if you are not so sure what kind of company you’re dealing with. If you are purchasing a business related service, always consider these kinds of services in a face to face setting or do your research about the company that the person claims they represent. Search for the company over the Internet.

If you believe you have encountered a scammer, don’t hesitate. File a report with your local police department and with the FTC so that these con artists can be put to.

Making Friends Online: How to Know Who to Trust

            Every one of us has probably met someone online. Perhaps you started talking to someone through a group on Facebook. Or maybe you established a group on a site like Meetup where people with common interests in your area could get together. Internet friends can offer a relationship on par with the kinds of friendships you make at work or at school. But there is a strong downside. You never really know who you’re talking to online. It’s easier than ever for someone to fake an identity and con others through tools provided by the Internet. Your new online friend might potentially be a shady person. But you can beat con artists at their own game and establish secure and safe online friendships. The trick is being able to identify common warning signs and making use of free, easy to use online tools in order to verify a new friend’s identity. While we’re not trying to make you feel paranoid about people you meet online, you do need to take a few special measures in order to ensure you’re speaking to people you can trust before you meet them in person or decide to engage in a long term friendship with them.

            When you meet people online, it’s almost a little like dating even if there’s no romantic intentions involved. Whether you meet a potential friend on a social network or a forum, it’s important to stay safe.

            One thing you should worry about is if your potential friend exhibits unusual behavior. If they make strange, sexual related advances or demand you wire them money, don’t engage in contact with them. They may be potential con artists. If they’re not con artists, they’re probably not the kinds of people you’d like to be around anyway.

            Be wary about meeting people in person before you understand just who they are. Generally, it’s a good idea to take extra security messages such as filtering phone numbers through cell phone reverse number lookup services. These so called reverse number lookup cell phone services comb through publicly available data to spit back information about the registered user and general location of any phone number you input. While some websites and services are more sophisticated than others, knowing how to reverse lookup a cellphone number can be a very, very valuable skill to have in many situations, especially when you meet someone online.

            If you have a bad feeling about meeting up with a new friend, you may want to consider why you feel that way. In most cases, your gut feelings are right. It’s your safety that matters the most, not necessarily looking or feeling polite. Don’t be afraid to stop talking to someone who makes you feel uncomfortable.

            Try to avoid meeting new friends at your home if it’s the first time you’ve met them in person. A better idea would be to meet them in public, perhaps at a coffee shop. Even better would be to meet them in a group. That way there will be much less pressure to interact on a one on one basis. Group encounters are often more casual. Plus, if your new friend isn’t who you thought they were and you’re not sure if you can trust them, you have the protection of a larger group to help you out.

            Making new friends online can be a fun experience for many Internet users. But just like with most scenarios when you’re meeting people online, you want to be sure that you’re not compromising your safety by interacting with people who might not be who they say they are. 

Before You Accept that Modeling or Acting Offer: Sniffing Out Scammers

If you’ve ever considered acting or modeling, you’ve likely tried to find potential acting or modeling opportunities online. While many actors and models have found fantastic opportunities through the Internet, not every offer of a film role or a modeling gig is legitimate. Many opportunistic scammers offer jobs that turn out to either be exploitive or scams altogether. Don’t let yourself be victimized by an online acting or modeling offer. Here’s how you can stay smart while getting your acting or modeling career off the ground online.

Watching Out for Red Flags

            In general, there are a few red flags you may want to watch out for when you come across an acting or modeling job offer.

            Offers that only ask for applicants to be “attractive” with little to no details about the requirements of the job are often misleading postings trying to lure naïve, good looking individuals into acting in pornography.

            Also be wary of any offer that asks for you to pay before they’ll hire you on. It’s one thing to take on a free walk-on role in a student film. It’s another thing altogether to have to pay for access to even apply for the jobs.

            Be careful about applying for opportunities that sound too good to be true too. You might be able to spot these from opportunities that offer applicants to earn a lot of money in a short period of time for doing little to no work. They may emphasize that you don’t need any prior modeling or acting experience or that you can learn on the job. These are often fronts for very shady positions. Try to take these with a grain of salt.

            Another huge red flag can involve misleading job postings. Say you email or call a supposed casting director. You’re then given information about the job or gig that doesn’t match the initial position you applied for at all. Be very cautious. Don’t let yourself be fooled by a position that just might be an obvious scam.

Before You Apply

            Always take any job you’re offered or offered to apply for with a grain of salt. You may want to conduct a quick background search on any studio you’re considering applying for, even if you think they are a legitimate studio.

            Conduct reverse phone number cell lookup searches with any phone numbers you are invited to call. These reverse cell phone number lookup searches, available on many websites such as White Pages or 800 Notes, pull up publicly available information about the supposed owner of a number. If information the cell phone number reverse lookup search pulls up doesn’t match up with information you have been given, such as the name of the owner or where the owner is based out of, you may want to proceed with caution.

            Google the name of the studio and see if you can find a website or any reports about the company. Often times, you may be able to find reviews left by bodies like the Better Business Bureau, helping you decide whether the studio you’re considering auditioning with is someone you want to bother with.

            If you do decide to show up to an audition, try not to go alone. Take a friend with you or at least tell someone you trust where you’re going. If it turns out that the audition is a scam, you have someone with you who can help keep you safe.

            If the audition is a scam, consider filing a report with the FTC or your local police station. Your fellow models and actors will thank you.