Operating a business online can be an eventful and fulfilling career; however, there is always someone or something lurking in cyberspace that poses a threat. To protect company trade secrets, your business and personal information, and the destruction of your reputation; you need to take a proactive stand in learning about the potential disasters out there. This article addresses some of the major conflicts you could face if you don’t know how to respond.

SCAM CLIENT

For those who sell services online, beware of the SCAM CLIENT. The biggest downside to working online is the fact that you have no guarantee that the other party is going to pay for services rendered. Even if you do have a Service Agreement in place, it’s difficult to ensure that the information they’ve provided you with is authentic.

Unfortunately, without the proper address, client name, and phone number, it’s near impossible to collect. And working with people outside of the United States or country is even worse because the same laws we are accustomed to here in the states do not govern them.

The only line of security you can obtain is the reassurance from a third party organization like an ‘advocate service’ like Square Trade. If you have a Service Agreement in place and the client defaults on payment, Square Trade can act as a mediator between the dead-beat client and you. Square Trade’s objective is to open communications between both parties so the matter can be settled. Sometimes just the use of such an ‘advocate service’ is enough to prompt payment.

When a claim is filed and the client is contacted, the first fear is that their ‘lack of payment’ will become worldwide news, which it could. It’s likely that at some point you will be chatting away with someone in a forum and mention how uncooperative this client was and what you had to do to attempt to resolve the issue.

If you are working through a third party, like Elance or Guru, use their investigation team to pursue the client. Make sure you have a legal clause in your Service Agreement that states the other party is responsible for any additional costs. USA based businesses will be able to collect on services that exceed $1,000 by using the Small Claims Court if the client resides or does business in the USA.

SCAM JOB BANK SITES

In desperation many of us seek out JOB BANK WEBSITES to find qualified employment. The problem here is that more than 60 percent of the job listings are created to redirect you to a work-at-home product or some other site that has nothing to do with employment. There are thousands of sites that grab your attention with an appetizing subscription rate and before you know it you are applying for one SCAM after another.

If it’s sounds too good to be true, the chances are that it is! It is important that you do your research on job listings. Sites like Craigslist, which does not charge a subscription fee, are targeted by scam experts daily. I cannot tell you how many times I applied for a job only to receive aggravating spoof emails.

SCAM FREELANCE OPPORTUNITY LISTINGS

Although I am a fan of Elance and Guru, I would be lying if I said I never came across a SCAM FREELANCE OPPORTUNITY on their job forum. The most common use in scamming the bidding forum platform is by listing bogus opportunities. The buyer uses these listings to collect email address for further marketing of their services, to conduct market research, or to find out what their direct competitor is charging.

The issue here is that you spend valuable ‘connects’ bidding on a non-existing job. The buyer faces no penalty for not selecting a service provider and the madness continues. So in this scenario it is important that you look beyond the surface of the listing and dig up as much information as you can about the individual listing the job.

In conclusion, these are just three areas I would keep an eye on when seeking out employment online. The objective is to gain the understanding of how the internet scammer’s mind thinks and do not trust the face value of anything you read. Your business relies on your knowledge of the internet.