Do you know that hijacking or sniping domain names is becoming a business? Anyone who values his domain name needs to take precautions, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona warns.

Recently a company failed to register its domain name again before it expired. Another entity purchased it and held the domain name ransom, demanding payment of thousands of dollars in order to return it.

The company refused to pay the ransom, the threats escalated to the point of placing a porn site on the domain. The company ended up paying about half of the original ransom because they were losing business. Presently, the company is looking into what legal steps they can take.

What should you do to protect your domain name? Here are some precautions:

• Keep domain name registration records accurate and current.
• Keep registrant account information, passwords or other credentials private and secure.
• Only grant registration account access and change control to parties in registrant’s organization that involve domain name registration.
• Know urgent restoration of domain name procedures.
• Request domain names be placed on Registrar-Lock
• Routinely check domain name information to insure no unauthorized changes have been made to the contact information.
• Choose a registrar who issues a transfer pending notification as its standard practice.

As time goes by, more and more domain names will be taken and can become more valuable. Purchase the ones you want while they are inexpensive and protect them from getting away from you after purchase.

June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), and Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is marking the occasion by calling attention to the many ways the elderly are victimized in southern Arizona, and throughout the world.

BBB receives hundreds of phone calls each year from senior citizens who have been targeted or victimized by scammers. These can range from common scams such as bogus travel deals or lottery schemes to outright financial fraud.

“Southern Arizona is an attractive destination for retirees and according to 2009 Census Data, more than 15 percent of Pima County’s population is 65 or older,” said Kim States, BBB President. “One of the more common types of abuse that BBB often hears about is financial fraud.”

Financial elder abuse occurs when seniors’ banking or credit accounts are exploited by scammers who take advantage of the vulnerabilities sometimes associated with age, explains States.

What makes the crime particularly frightening is that in most cases the abuse is carried out by someone the senior knows, such as a family member, caregiver or friend.

“Many victims do not realize they have been taken advantage of,” said States. “Or if they do know, they may not want to tell anyone due to embarrassment or fear of losing what independence they may have.”

Unfortunately financial elder abuse can be difficult to identify. If often takes a caring family member, friend or caregiver to recognize that fraud has occurred. These are some signs to look for:

• Belongings or property is missing
• Unusual bank account activity
• Complaints from seniors that they can suddenly not afford normal purchases
• Suspicious stories about people that normally wouldn’t be involved in personal affairs now being (more…)

When something happens 10 million times per year, it’s worth noting, and in recent years, that’s how many victims of identity theft have reported the abuse to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  Further, ID theft has remained the number one complaint to the FTC for the past five years.

It can start the old-fashioned way with lost or stolen wallets, pilfered mail, or through documents thrown out by you or a business (dumpster diving). A consumer may also be victimized through more high-tech crimes including a data breach, computer virus, phishing or an Internet scam.  Once the personal information is stolen, the crime can result in check fraud, credit card fraud, financial identity theft, criminal identity theft, governmental identity theft and medical identity theft.

Recognizing that awareness and education are essential tools necessary for consumers to protect themselves against ID theft, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) has teamed with the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) to host the third annual Protect Your Identity Week October 17-23.  The week will consist of more than 175 local events in communities across the nation where consumers can take part in educational workshops, credit report reviews, responsibly recycle unused cell phones and have their personal documents shredded for free.

Consumers are urged to visit www.ProtectYourIDNow.org where they can locate events in their area, find useful prevention tips, victim resources, and take a quiz to assess their own risk of becoming the next identity theft victim.  Advice in Spanish is also available at www.cuidesuidentidad.org.

“A recent NFCC online poll revealed that a majority of Americans fear identity theft, and that is a healthy fear to have if it leads them to take action,” said Bob Ensinger, COO of the NFCC.  “The upcoming educational events should go a long way toward helping consumers protect themselves from the ever-present danger of identity theft.”

“BBB is committed to helping consumers fight fraud and identity theft is one of the largest threats we all face every day,” said Stephen A. Cox, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. “There are a few precautions that we can all take to protect ourselves, and taking part in Protect Your Identity Week is one easy first step to make.”

As part of Protect Your Identity Week, Cintas Corporation, national shredding partner for PYIW, is providing free document destruction at events nationwide with the goal of making the Guinness Book of World Records for the most paper shredded in a 24-hour period.

Additionally,  Intersections, Inc., a leader in consumer and corporate identity theft management services that also provides the award-winning Identity Guard® brand, serves as a presenting sponsor of Protect Your Identity Week 2010, and Wireless Alliance, national electronic device recycling partner, is providing free cell phone disposal at many community events.  MSN Money is once again serving as the national media sponsor for PYIW.

A number of national organizations are also putting their weight behind this initiative, joining the NFCC and BBB as Supporting PYIW Coalition Members.  This Coalition includes: American Bankers (more…)