image from IFRC

If you would like to help support the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, please donate to MercyCorps by clicking on this link. Feel free to share this url with your friends.

http://www.mercycorps.org/supporters/netbizcom

NetBiz.com has a long history of supporting charitable organizations and continues to do ongoing work with Open Arms International. Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti and to their friends and family in all parts of the world.

Hello all and Happy Holidays,

My name is Matthew Ferrua, Customer Support Manager with NetBiz.com. As expected this season, we should see a major spike in consumer spending. Unfortunately, with the rising popularity of Internet purchases, we must constantly be aware of where our credit cards are being used. I would like to share with you our recent experience with a deceptive scheme, and what we are currently doing about it in order to minimize these types of scenarios.

Recently, several individuals who are not NetBiz customers have contacted our Billing Department, inquiring about a $79.86 charge. Through our various conversations we have been able to deduce that at some point these individuals signed up online for some type of Google AdWords Success Kit that promised a 30-day free trial. Shortly after being asked to authorize their credit cards for $1.00 in order to activate their account, they began to notice unrecognizable fraudulent charges (i.e an undefined charge of $79.86 from NetBiz.com) on their bank account.

Our assumption at this point is that the scamming company is referencing the NetBiz.com name as the company originating the charge. Surprisingly, companies are empowered to do this. They can alter or modify the name that appears on a bank statement to whatever name they choose. Because we are a reputable and prominent leader in the Search Engine Placement industry, the company operating this scam used our good name to launch a scam that entrenches its victims by using the Google name.

Since the charges are not originating from our company, it is difficult to research further where the fraudulent charges are being initiated from, without the help of the victims. In order to stop the individual(s) responsible for this scam, we need your help. We have requested that each victim’s financial institution/credit card company run a trace on the transaction for either the merchant processor or banking institution associated with the charge. Once we have that information, we will be able to conduct further research and learn more about the perpetrators. Without the information that only your bank can provide, we have nowhere from which to start. Your help in this matter is vital to our success in shutting these people down.

I encourage you, when there is an opportunity, to partake in research yourself. I was amazed to discover the copious number of Internet scams and victims who have, unfortunately, been duped. Doing a simple Internet search for the term“$79.86 charge? scam” proved that scams are widespread. See the image below.

This situation has taught us that we all must be wary of submitting/handing out our credit card information. We urge you to ensure that you only give your financial information to reputable companies, and that you do diligent research prior to purchasing any product or service. Here are some steps to take if you believe you have received fraudulent charges on your card:

*Attempt to directly contact the merchant listed on the charge by phone or email

*If you haven’t received a response after a 24-hour period, contact your banking institution to inquire about the charges; if advised to do so, initiate Chargeback procedures in order to recoup any lost monies.

*If you and your banking institution believe the card has been compromised, a replacement card may need to be issued

*Have your banking institution trace the fraudulent charge back to the originator’s merchant processor or financial institution so that future scams of this sort can be stopped and the victim base minimized.

It is important as a modern consumer to know what actions to take if your credit card is compromised. We should not be overly cautious or paranoid when making purchases, but we should make smart choices. If we work together, and become better-educated Internet shoppers, the puzzle becomes easier to solve, and the opportunities for scammers diminish.

Again, Happy Holidays to everyone, and here’s to safe shopping.

UPDATE 1/4/10: Google has filed a lawsuit against Pacific Webworks, the company that is perpetuating this scam.

Last week NetBiz.com threw its annual Christmas party and it was so much fun. 300 people, including employees & and their significant others, showed up for a night of fun at Players in Lake Oswego, OR. We ate, drank, bowled, played pool and had a raffle. One of the most exciting things was the surprise announcement of our company’s charity gift to Open Arms International. John Anderson, the owner of NetBiz, and his wife, Angie, have been big supporters of Open Arms’ work with orphans in Kenya.

NetBiz created a fund for employees to contribute to Open Arms, without telling John & and Angie. They learned of our donations at the party, and were very overwhelmed. Like John and Angie, all of us at NetBiz are extremely excited about being able to give something back to the kids in Kenya.

This is Angie’s response that went out this morning to all NetBiz employees, with a brief forward from Larry Waggoner, the VP of Operations.

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Netbiz Family.

Hi!

I hope all of you who attended the Christmas party had a good time. We have much to be thankful for!!! I’m including in this email a “Thank You” from Angie Anderson. Angie is John Anderson’s wife (John is the owner and CEO of Netbiz). So that you know, in November till now, you who are giving to the effort in Kenya have given $1,685 and we as employees have committed to a monthly amount so far of $1,131.00.  I know that as we get more familiar with the needs, many more of you will join us in this great effort and some of you will increase the amount you are willing to give.

Again, if each of us gave $5.00/paycheck, that would be a contribution  of $1,500.00/pay period. This would result in an overall contribution of $36,000.00 for the year. Amazing how a little from a lot is a lot!!

Angie’s thank you is as follows:

*Dear Netbiz Family,*

*We are so blessed and overwhelmed by your amazing generosity and gift to us for Open Arms International. We had absolutely no idea all this was going on. We can’t thank you enough for joining our cause and helping us care for so many homeless, abandoned kids in Kenya. You have truly made me smile all day just thinking about it. We are grateful to have so many wonderful people working for our company. It was so exciting to call Rachel Gallagher **of Open Arms today, and tell her what is coming their way in 2010 from each of you. Thank you for all your hard work. We know it is not always easy to give, but we are also confident that as you do God will bless your giving and greater blessings will come from it for you personally. *

*Thank you also for a wonderful evening last night. It was fun to see you and celebrate the season together. Thank you to all who worked so hard to put the party together. I thank you for taking that out of my hands and hosting and planning it so much better than I would. You are greatly appreciated. *

*Blessings to you and your families over this Christmas Season, and a very Happy New Year.*

*Angie Anderson*

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If you are interested in finding out more about Open Arms International and donating to their cause, please check out the video below that talks about the Opens Arms Village in Kenya.