Are you getting alot of phone calls lately, looking to increase your search engine rankings or secure your website?
Be careful.
A client recently got a call from “a company” looking to help her increase rankings in online searches for her new website. The website was only just registered, was in development and not ready to go live yet. The person sounded like he knew what he was talking about, he knew all about her new website, and so she handed over her credit card information thinking he must be a reliable source.
We still haven’t yet ascertained who it was, what she actually bought and what damage has been done to her credit card, it’s just that new, but I thought I HAD to write a little post and let you know to BE CAREFUL.
When you register a new domain, your information is available on the public domain with a WHO IS lookup. You can get a bit of information about somebody with this, like your name, email and phone number. Scammers are constantly trolling the internet looking for this information in hopes of “selling” you something. They are hoping to get somebody on the phone who doesn’t know much about what they have, so that they can play on that.
If somebody is calling you and you are uncertain of who they are and what exactly they’re trying to sell you – then ask them for their information, so you can research things before you make any impulsive decisions. If they are real, they will gladly give out their contact info – but if they aren’t you can expect some push-back, or their creating a sense of urgency, like if you don’t do this NOW NOW NOW, something bad will happen.
Don’t be fooled.
If they are REALLY looking to help you, they will let you call them back. GoDaddy for example, is always trying to upsell something to me whenever I call them on behalf of clients. But they do so politely, and I always tell them I don’t have time to discuss this particular item as I called for some other purpose, so I will call back. I have never received a call from GoDaddy soliciting business randomly, I don’t believe that’s their practice. When I do have a free moment, I challenge them on why there is some sudden sense of urgency, let them explain their product, and then digest it for a while, do a little research online. I was never a fan of GoDaddy, but I have to say in the last couple of years I’ve grown to really appreciate them.
If you’ve given out your credit card so somebody looking to help you with your SEO or whatever, please check that they aren’t bleeding you with small discreet charges every month, or some other nonsense.
When in doubt, just CALL ME.
By default I build free SEO tools and security into your website. We can also add additional levels of privacy so that the domain information is not public anymore – it’s only 8 bucks a year! And if we are doing e-commerce (and even if we aren’t) we can purchase SSL for the site to protect your customers’ data (starts at $70/year). We have quick and inexpensive solutions.
Even if you aren’t already a client, please don’t hesitate to call with questions about these matters. I hate the idea of anyone being scammed!
Call me
