See the Full Frontal Scrutiny Web site for an investigation of the Consumers Rights League.

Posted by Beau Brendler at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out the Alliance Against Bait & Click Web site, which tackles a topic near and dear to our hearts at WebWatch, bogus sponsored links and ads. There's a great video on the home page that should help get the point across to consumers.

We think the Web site could be a little clearer, though, that the "alliance" is, so far, largely industry. The campaign's press materials are upfront about it, but on the site itself (which is where consumers will go, over time, to read about the campaign) you have to click on linked text on the right hand side of the page to launch a pop-up window. Then you get a list -- Intercontinental Hotels Group, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Northwest Airlines, Rosetta Stone and others. (Ben Edelman is part of the alliance as well). These are all respected, credible brands, and they are not a disadvantage to Alliance Against Bait & Click's cause. So it's probably a good idea to make sure consumers are aware of them sooner rather than later.

Posted by Beau Brendler at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take a look at StopBadware.org's redesign, debuting today.
And look this fall for the launch of a joint project between StopBadware and WebWatch to give consumers more hands-on help with spyware problems.

Posted by Beau Brendler at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last Thursday, the Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers to beware of identity thieves using fake IRS e-mails in a widespread phishing scam.

The IRS said taxpayers reported almost 700 attempted incidents of identity theft via phishing in May and June, and has received some 1,600 reports in all of 2008.

WebWatch was sent one of these e-mails, which we've pasted below. An IRS employee who was forwarded this e-mail also offers some useful advice in identifying these scams:

"This one is pretty clever, but this is a phishing expedition. Note: it's coming from irs@refund.com and the only address we use as a venue to "provide" information is via www.irs.gov. Further, we NEVER send emails to anyone."

Also, the lousy grammar of the first sentence, "Over 130 million Americans will receive refunds as part of President Bush program to jumpstart economy," is also a dead giveaway, as we've noted before.

So if you get an e-mail from the IRS like the one below, delete with extreme prejudice!

-----Original Message-----
From: Internal Revenue Service [mailto:irs@refund.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 11:41 AM
Subject: Economic Stimulus Refund
Importance: High

Economic Stimulus Refund
Issue Number: SP-ESR 2008
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Over 130 million Americans will receive refunds as part of President Bush program to jumpstart economy. Our records indicate that you are qualified to receive the 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund. The fastest and easiest way to receive your refund is by direct deposit to your checking/savings account. Please follow the link and fill out the form and submit before July 4, 2008 to ensure that your refund will be processed as soon as possible.

Submitting your form on July 4, 2008 or later means that your refund will be delayed due to the volume of requests we anticipate for the Economic Stimulus Refund.

To access Economic Stimulus Refund, please click here.
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Note: If you received this message in your SPAM/BULK folder, that is because of the large amount of e-mails we are sending out or because of the restrictions implemented by your ISP.

Posted by Jorgen Wouters at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We’ve been getting an increasing number of e-mails from anxious readers asking us to check out work-at-home sites to see if they’re legitimate or scams. Here’s a typical one we recently received:

To Whom It May Concern:
I certainly hope you can help me out. I'm looking for work, (have been out of work for 6 mnths), and have been checking out Data Entry Online Jobs. I know that there are many scams out there, and in particular am looking for some information on the website: www.online-data-entry-jobs.com offered by a Laura Kauth. I've heard good things (online of course), but am trying to be sure this is not a scam. I have emailed them 2x's now (admittedly with in the past 24 hours), and as of 2:37pm EST, have had no reply. I'm trying to find out if this is an honest offer or just another internet scam. Can you possibly help me out? Or offer me some direction? Anything you can offer would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time.
Theresa H.

We did a little digging and began with Laura Kauth’s underwhelming site, Online-Data-Entry Jobs. First red flag: The improperly sized images, tacky graphics and neon fonts betray an amateurish quality common to questionable sites. Based on WebWatch criteria alone, this site fails the credibility test due to a complete lack of contact information beyond an e-mail address, which is particularly unacceptable for a site that purports to help you earn money—but demands an upfront fee first.

The Better Business Bureau has no report on the site, but we did find a less-than-flattering testimonial on the ripoffreport.com from someone who says he wasted $50 on them.

We also found a glowing testimonial on a similarly slapdash site called Consumer Rated, who had this to say: “We were so impressed with the work-from-home data-entry programs presented by Laura Kauth. She has designed some of the best work-from-home data-entry jobs you will find on the Internet today.”

We also couldn’t help noticing an intriguing seal of approval at the top of the page from an organization we’d never heard of before, the Better Internet Bureau:

We wondered if the Better Business Bureau had anything to say about the Better Internet Bureau, and they did indeed. Turns out the BBB gave it an unsatisfactory rating “due to its failure to discontinue the use of the BBB's federally registered trademark when demands have been made to do so.”

So much for the Better Internet Bureau. . .

Using “the Google,” we ran across a site called Work-at-Home Jobs, one that bears an eerie resemblance to Laura's, right down to the bargain-bin aesthetics. But the resemblance runs deeper than that. Coincidently, both sites feature “proof” of their earning power with a graphic illustrating sales subtotals.

Here’s the one for Online-Data-Entry Jobs:

And here’s the one from Work-at-Home Jobs:

Notice any similarities? You should, because they’re identical, right down to the dates, dollar amounts and graphics. Of course, this could mean that both these programs are remarkably similar in terms of their earning potential. Or it could mean that they’re both complete scams run by the same outfit using the same fake cut-and-paste “proof” to lure desperate jobseekers into forking over their money.

If this exercise should teach you anything, it’s to do a little digging before you agree to send any “work-at-home” site any money. There are thousands of slick operators out there taking advantage of the ease and anonymity of the Internet to create scads of shoddy looking sites designed to separate you from your money. A few clicks can save you money, headaches and hassles.

We also heard back from Theresa, and here’s what she had to say: “Thanks so much for the information. While it doesn't help me get a job here at home, it will help me keep my $ in my account!”

Posted by Jorgen Wouters at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)