Internet scams continue to run rampant

It’s that time of year again when small businesses and non-profit organizations start to ramp up their productivity. And with that increase in workloads, savvy fraudsters start hunting for victims.

We often get panicked calls from our clients when they get calls or letters in the mail about their domain expiring or their site being taken off Google. These are most likely scams, because your site won’t get taken off Google unless it violates a lot of rules. Plus, their domains are always covered by us and will auto-renew with no problems at all.

Since these issues are still so prevalent and can sometimes surprise you with their “end of the world” language, we want to help you spot these scams and handle them the right way.

So, let’s start with common internet scams that can come through the mail. Most notably, the dreaded Domain Registry of American letter.

My domain is about to expire!? What gives?

Every year business owners will invariably receive a flurry of messages in the mail from a very official organization called Domain Registry of America or something along those lines.

These are internet scams designed to hijack domains and then hold them for a huge ransom.

These letters are usually laid out very professionally and include language that’s meant to scare you into thinking you’ll lose your business website.

When our clients start receiving these letters, we advise them to use the B.I.T. method. It’s a sophisticated process that stands for “Burn it. Ignore it. Trash it.”

It’s so unfortunate, because many busy small business owners and non-profit organizations receive these letters every year and some even fall for it.

These organizations basically hand their domains over to a company that provide little to no services and then charge upwards of %300 – %500 markup for the privilege.

Everyone who works with us and our website management team gets great response times and services for the money. And we will never mark up your domain registry above the fair market rate.

That’s security and a promise you can trust. We also never solicit for money aside from what’s been contractually agreed.

This means we’ll auto-renew your domain registry on a yearly basis and you won’t be blindsided by surprise bills.

Statistics from Tessian. Read their report to learn more about the effects of phishing scams.

What’s the deal with calls from Google?

Calls from “Google” are common internet scams that affect people daily. Phone fraud is always a go-to for scummy organizations since they can spoof existing numbers.

We get calls from people representing Google all the time and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a genuine business inquiry and internet scams.

It’s so common that we gave this issue its own darn article!

The thing you need to know is that Google will never call you out of the blue. They’re a MASSIVE company who doesn’t need to solicit Joe Smallbiz for his marketing dollars.

The language they often tell you is that your company isn’t showing up on Google or that your site is losing its ranking.

While Search Engine Optimization is a valuable service, your organization won’t just disappear in a puff of smoke from Google.

The other thing to remember is that rankings can fluctuate when Google makes a change to its algorithm. However, this is not a common occurrence and then things eventually even out.

You can trust McQuillen Creative

When it comes to your business, there are certain things you should have a local company handle when you need peace of mind. You’re always a target for internet scams, which can compromise your data.

We are an honest digital marketing firm based in Aberdeen, South Dakota. We’ve built up an honest and dependable reputation through over 25 years of fast responses a quality work.

We never send surprise bills, and we never mark up for essential services. Give us a call if you want peace of mind for your business website.

Want to tighten up your website’s security? Give us a call!

McQuillen Creative has been in the website management and marketing game for over 25 years and we want to help your business. Do you need an extra set of eyes and hands on your website? We can help you with updates, security, and SEO. We offer month-to-month packages that scale with your business. GIVE US A CALL and let’s see how we can create a strategy for your marketing and online presence.

McQuillen Creative Group, Inc | 423 S Main St, Suite 1

Aberdeen, SD 57401 | 605.226.3481 | MCQUILLENCREATIVE.COM | MCQUILLEN CREATIVE ON FACEBOOK