I’ve recently noticed an uptick in hacked email accounts. I’ve received quite a few messages from people I know that are clearly spam.

How Can You Tell It’s Spam?
I typically notice them when I get an email from an address that I recognize, it typically doesn’t have a subject, and if you look at the email it contains only a link (which you should NOT click.) Of course there are other types of spam as well. This type is just the one that seems to be going around right now.

What Should You Do If You Receive One?
Well first, DON’T click the link. Delete the message, and then send your friend an email letting them know what you received, and telling them they’ve most likely been hacked. Advise them to change their password ASAP.

What Should I Do If My Email Has Been Hacked?

1. First, change your email password. Try to use a random combination of letters, numbers, and symbols to make your password hard to guess.
2. Typically everyone in your address book will be affected. Therefore, you need to send an email to all of them right away, letting them know your account  has been hacked, and that they should not click any link in an email they’ve received from you. Yes, this is a time-consuming process, but it’s very important. You don’t want your friends to be negatively impacted.

It would be so nice if people who spend all this time trying to hack our computers used that creative energy for something productive. But until then, be wise and protect both yourself, and your friends. Be safe!

How do you identify spam, and keep your computer safe? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments.

Image credit: pandemia

Today’s post is a bit of a Public Service Announcement, and it’s important.

This week I took the Amtrak train up to New England. When I ride the train, I like to grab a table in the cafe car because I get a table I can spread out and work on. This is also the car where the train conductors sit when they’re not collecting tickets, and where they have the unaccompanied minors sit.

There was a lovely gal at one of the tables who was actually an unaccompanied minor (it wasn’t immediately obvious she was a minor). Across from her sat a middle-aged man and what I assume was his 10 year old (or so) son. At some point during the ride, the man struck up a conversation with the girl. And then through the course of the ride complemented her on how much older she seemed than she actually was, and asked lots of questions that revealed that her family had money, the town where she lived, where they vacationed, and where she was going that summer. Before long she was sitting at the table with this man and his son, chatting like they were traveling together.

Near the end of her ride, he again talked about how much older she seemed than 14, took her picture with his son, and got her email so he could send her a copy.

And my skin crawled. I mentioned to the conductor who was now in charge of her how concerned I was (there had been 3 crew changes through the course of the ride, so no one had seen the whole thing) and he had had the same thoughts. She was getting off to meet her mom at the same stop I was getting off, and as we waited by the doors for the train to stop, both the conductor and I cautioned this gal about how much personal information she should be giving away to strangers.

Sure, this guy could have just been friendly. But what if he wasn’t? In my opinion, if he did mean well, he was completely irresponsible for leading that young girl into giving away so much personal information. And if he didn’t mean well, he now has plenty of information to abduct that young lady. And he knows her parents can afford to pay to get her back. Scary stuff.

And it’s a real problem in our society today. One of the big issues online, as well as offline as in this case, is how much personal information young kids freely share with strangers. It’s putting our kids at risk. They must be taught the risks of giving away so much information. They need to know what it’s not appropriate to share.

Even as an adult who travels on my own a good deal, I have to be careful how much I share. Whenever a man I happen to be having a conversation with asks where I’m staying, I’m never specific. You can’t be too careful today.

Parents, please take some time to sit your kids down and help them understand what they SHOULDN’T be sharing without checking with you first. Information such as:

• Their address
• The town where they live
• Where they go to school
• How to contact them
• Where they will be, and when they will be there

I sincerely hope this young lady learned something this week, and doesn’t decide to blow off the cautions of two concerned adults. Make sure your children are never in the same situation. Talk to them about keeping personal information to themselves. Let’s keep our kids safe.

Your thoughts?

Have you seen this one lately?

What about this one?

Or even this one?

What do they all have in common? They’re all scams floating around Facebook.

This past week there have been a boatload of account hacks. After the spammers get into your account, they proceed to plaster your friends’ walls, inbox, etc with messages like these. Clicking on them compromises your friend’s account too.

So what should you do?

1. If you find that you’ve been hacked, CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD IMMEDIATELY. More advise and tips from Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=1027
2. If you see one of these messages, DO NOT CLICK ON IT. Instead, tell your friend about it so that they can change their password.
3. If these messages land on your wall, DELETE THEM IMMEDIATELY. This means you need to be checking your Facebook profile daily, at least for the time being.

It’s up to all of us to be vigilant in order to prevent the spread of these attacks. Remember, if you think it’s odd for your friend to post something, you’re probably right. Check before you click.

Have you experienced any of these scams? How do you stay safe? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments.

As part of the analytics I track on my blog, I keep an eye on the incoming keywords. These are things people have typed into a search engine which ultimately led them to a page on this website. And recently, I’ve seen the same search several times: “Is ow.ly safe?”

Now first, to explain what ow.ly is. Given the character limitations on social networks like Twitter, as well as the ability to share a link with someone that they can remember or write down easily, link shorteners were born. These tools take a big, long link like: http://www.jenfongspeaks.com/why-youre-not-taken-seriously-on-twitter/ and shorten it into this: http://ow.ly/4e0rw. Both links lead to the same place. One is just a lot shorter.

There are lots of tools that do this, such as bit.ly and goo.gl. Some even give you analytics on the shortened URL, so you know how many people have clicked on it. I personally use ow.ly because then I can track the statistics easily through HootSuite, a Twitter management application (although really, it’s more than that.)

So that takes us back to the question: are these tools safe? Can you click on these links with confidence, assured that you won’t end up in a bad place?

The answer is, it depends. Most legitimate URL shortener companies do monitor what is being shortened, and disable links they discover to be harmful. However you need to hope they discover it before you click the link. There are also some tools that enable you to find out what the longer version of a link is before you click. One of these is LongURL: http://longurl.org/

Here are some things to consider when deciding whether or not to click:

1. Do you know the source? If someone sends you a short link, and you know them, you may be safe to click. However, if that person never sends you any links, and suddenly does, it may be spam, so be careful.
2. What is the context of the link? If a shortened URL shows up without any accompanying text, be careful! Most legitimate link shares provide content that tells you what you’ll get if you click.
3. Where did you find the shortened link? If you’re on Twitter, almost every link is shortened. It’s perfectly logical to expect a shortened link there. But if you’re somewhere else, like a link in an email, you might ask yourself why the link is shortened. And that leads you back to points one and two. Who is sending the link, and are you told what you’re linking to?

Link shorteners are highly useful tools, but just like with all links you click on, you need to be sure where you’re going before clicking.

By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about URL shorteners, check out this very detailed article: More Thoughts on URL Shorteners by DeWitt Clinton

Do you use link shorteners? Which one is your favorite? Why? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments.

Sometimes it feels like social networks like Facebook are on a campaign to do away with privacy entirely. We’re invited to share more and more of our information online, and then the rules change and we suddenly discover that people can access information we previously thought was hidden away.

Now this post is not intended to scare you. But it is important to think through the implications of what you share and what you do online, because it may have further reaching effects than you intend.

So what can you do to protect your privacy? Here are some tips:

1. No one can share it if you don’t post it. Just because Facebook asks for your cell phone number, it doesn’t mean you have to hand it over. If there is information you would feel uncomfortable having displayed to the world if a setting is changed by a social network, then for goodness’ sake don’t post it.
2. Check your privacy settings monthly. Facebook is notorious for changing things without giving its users a thorough understanding of what those changes mean. So double-check your privacy settings monthly (set a reminder in your calendar!), to be sure that they still reflect your wishes. Want to learn more about Facebook privacy settings? Start here.
3. Understand geo-location tools thoroughly before using them. Tools like Facebook Places and FourSquare sound really cool. What fun to check in so that your friends know where you are! But there are things you need to consider before using them. Is it possible you could be alerting criminals to the fact that your house is empty? Are you posting your address, with a map, for anyone to access? Are your friends telling people your location without checking with you first? You really need to be sure you understand how these tools work before telling the world where you are every second of the day.
4. Your connections may share information about you too. Imagine for a moment that you are friends on Facebook with your child’s teacher. While you may not post the name or location of your child’s school, the teacher may share this information as she talks about her job. And if you talk to that teacher online about your kids, it wouldn’t be too hard for a criminal to figure out exactly where your kids go to school, and even where to wait for them after school. Be careful!
5. Photos reveal a lot about you. What could a stranger figure out about you just by looking at your pictures? Are there pictures of your house, your kids’ school, local landmarks that reveal your regular habits and location? Be sure that when you post pictures, you’re aware of who can see them, and how much they reveal about your day to day life.

Again, I’m not trying to scare you, and I’m also not saying you shouldn’t do any of the things above. I just want you to be aware that IF you choose to do these things, what the results could be. We don’t want to live our lives in fear. But we also don’t want to give out information that, if we thought about it, we might not choose to share. Nothing is fully secure on our social networks, because things change too rapidly.

My number one advice is always the same: If you don’t want people to know, don’t post it to your social networks!

Your thoughts?

I feel sorry for a lot of kids these days.  As parents, we think nothing of sharing cute stories about and pictures of our kids all over our social networks.  But some parents also feel comfortable complaining about their kids…sharing all the things they do that make their parents crazy.  These are things that parents from the beginning of time have complained to other parents about.  It makes us all feel slightly better about our parenting skills.  But never before have these conversations been quite so visible or permanent.

Because everything we post online has the potential to stay there.  Permanently.

So now let’s fast forward 20 years.  Your child is trying to get a job.  That employer does the standard search online to find out more about your child.  And what surfaces are all those comments you made about how irresponsible your child is, how he drives you crazy, what a slob she is.  Standard kid stuff.  But how can that employer be sure your child has grown out of that stuff?

It feels a bit like we’re stacking the cards against our kids.  If that job has two equally qualified candidates, and one person has nothing but stellar online content, and the other has her mother complaining about her behavior, which one is the employer more likely to select?

When it comes to our conversation about our kids online, I think we need to use more discretion.  What we share simply to amuse our friends could really hinder our kids’ futures.

Your thoughts?

Image Credit: sdminor81

Last night I updated Facebook on my Android-based mobile phone.  Now I have the “Places” app featured prominently on the main screen of the Facebook application.  Curious, I clicked it, and began to look at the updates from people on my Friends list.  I saw people checking in from home, work, restaurants, etc.  For every person that checked in, Places told me how far they were from my current location, and included a Google map of their exact location.

And I have to tell you, it made me extremely uncomfortable.  Honestly, it’s like stalker central.

When geo-location apps like FourSquare first came out, I hesitated to use them.  However I could control who I allowed to see my checkins, and I limited it to people I knew in real life, and who I was comfortable with having that type of information.  But think about this…Facebook Places can be for EVERYONE you’re friends with on Facebook.  Given the fact that Facebook extends our circle way beyond who we normally interact with, this may be cause for concern.

Add to this the fact that you’re most likely connecting with customers and prospects, and the direct seller needs to be even more cautious about using an application like Facebook Places.  I for one would NEVER list my home in Facebook Places.  That just seems like an opening for trouble.  And if someone really wanted to find you, they could pose as a prospect, and find out how far away you are from them every time you check in, right from their phone.

Now I’m not saying you should never use Facebook Places.  I just think that people need to think seriously about the implications before diving in.  Here are a few tips:

Privacy Settings

1. Go to Account/Privacy Settings and then click the Customize Settings link.  There are a couple of settings you need to be aware of here.  In the “Things I Share” section, near the bottom, decide who should see “Places I Check Into.”  Right now I have this set to “Only Me.”
2. Right below that is a box that reads “Include me in “People Here Now” after I check in.”  I recommend un-checking the box that reads “Enable.”
3. Facebook Places also allows your friends to check you in, which may also not be something you want.  Scroll down to the next section, “Things others share”.  There’s a section that reads “Friends can check me into Places.”  Click the “Edit Settings” button, and be sure this is set to “Disabled.”

Using the Application

1. You may want to wait until you are leaving a venue before checking in, especially if you are there with your kids.
2. I recommend that you NEVER list your home in Facebook Places.
3. Never list the home of a customer in Facebook Places.  For example, if you’re at a party, it’s inappropriate to check in on Facebook Places when you arrive.

Now if you’re at a conference or other large event or venue, it might be fun to check in and see who else you know is there.  Your company’s national convention is a good example.  But always think twice before using this application.  Once this information is out there, it’s out there, and I want you to stay safe.

Have you used Facebook Places?  Do you like it?  Would love to hear why you have or haven’t chosen to use this feature, and what your thoughts are on it, in the comments below.

As we get more and more comfortable with social networking, people tend to share more and more information about themselves.  After all, these are your friends, right?  You can tell them anything.

Um….no.  We have to remember that with social networking, things are a lot more public than we realize.  And our friends often have the opportunity to share information about us with their friends, some of whom we may not know.  Information we’ve shared can wind up going a whole lot further than we expect.

Now this doesn’t mean you should avoid social networks entirely.  After all, there are a lot of benefits that social networking can bring to your business, while also giving you the opportunity to build relationships that can bring a great deal of pleasure to you personally.  But it is important to think through what you post, in order to be safe, while also presenting your business in the best light possible.

Along that line, here are 9 things you should NEVER post to your social networks:

1. Your actual birth date, especially the year. This is open season for identity theft. Yes you need to enter this info to set up an account (US laws require users to be at least 13, which is why they need to know.)  But you don’t need to publish it on your profile.
2. Where you’re going to be, especially if you’re going to be there by yourself. With the advent of geolocation tools like FourSquare, perhaps I’m a bit outdated with this.  But my feeling is that if you’re going to be someone by yourself, or with your kids, you should think twice about posting it while you’re actually there.  When I use these tools, I’m pretty choosy about who I’ll actually connect with (I have to know you in person.)  I post most locations once I’m leaving if I’m going to publish them to everyone on Facebook or Twitter (or wait to check in until I’m past security in an airport.)  I only very rarely post where I’ll be to Facebook or Twitter, which are more public.  There are lots of oogy people out there.  I choose to err on the side of caution.  (Oh, and don’t tell people when your house is going to be empty, too.  Burglary, anyone?)
3. Your home address and phone number. Now I understand that there are ways people can get this info online, most of the time. But why make it easier for them by putting it on your profile with all your other personal info? You wouldn’t just hand this information to someone you met in a bar, right?  Why would you do it online? Safety first!
4. Your password. Believe it or not, most people use words in their passwords that they regularly post on their profiles.  If you’re going to talk about your kids’ or your pets’ names, don’t use these as passwords.  And if your mother still uses her maiden name, and she’s your Facebook friend, I can easily find that too.  It makes it SUPER easy for hackers to get into your account.  Pick a password that’s completely random that you wouldn’t post on your social networks, to help protect your account.
5. Your latest medical concern.  In detail. Please believe me when I tell you that, while we care about you, we really don’t want to read all the gory details.  Really.
6. Inappropriate photos. Seriously, just think before you post.  If the photo doesn’t show EVERYONE in a good light, it shouldn’t be posted.  And if it’s not appropriate for your company, your customers, your kids, and your momma to see, it doesn’t belong on your social networks.
7. Complaints about your company. I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again.  Stuff lives FOREVER in Google-land.  Your company works hard to resolve issues, and they eventually resolve most of them.  But complaints live forever when we post them to social networks.  If you’ve got an issue, by all means tell your company.  But do it through the proper channels, instead of ruining it for everyone.
8. Complaints about other consultants.  Whether they’re part of your company or another one. We are part of a brotherhood/sisterhood in direct sales.  We have a responsibility to watch one another’s backs.  And this means that it is COMPLETELY inappropriate to complain about other consultants on your social networks.  You make the industry as a whole look bad, not to mention making yourself look unprofessional.
9. Politics.  Period. My friends, if you are using your social networks for business, politics should NEVER have a place at the table.  You WILL offend people with different viewpoints.  Why not use your social networks to celebrate, grow, and learn about others?  Your political discussions should happen offline.  Social networking is about building relationships, not chasing people away because they have a different political agenda.

So that’s my list.  What would you add?  Share it in the comments below!

I recently had a conversation with a direct seller that sells a product aimed at children, primarily.  She had invited a team member to join her in a Facebook Group she set up specifically for her team, and got some push-back.  The person told her that she would never have anything to do with Facebook, and she didn’t think it was a  “good move for anyone in a profession that involves the public, in particular children.”

While some might find this conclusion surprising, I think there are others who completely agree, and so it’s something that I want to chat about a bit today.

I find that for people who don’t use social media currently, they base their impressions of what it is on media stories.  The problem with this, of course, is that the media likes to play on our emotions, and highlight worst case scenarios, because that’s what sells.  Quite honestly, there’s not a lot of drama in the day to day work of using social media effectively.  It’s not really a story.  Instead, it’s just another way of getting to know people.

Now those bad stories that the media plays up, involving hackers, people pushing porn, etc, are based on fact.  Those people ARE out there.  But I would be willing to venture that they are NOT the majority.  The vast majority of people using social media are just like you and me.  They are there to connect with people they enjoy socializing with.  And by employing a few strategies to keep yourself safe (click here for a post I did on being safe online) you can enjoy tremendous benefits by using social media to both reach new people, as well as follow up and build deeper relationships with people you already know.

I equate this to the telephone.  Are there people who use the telephone to annoy you at dinnertime with their marketing messages?  Have people used the telephone to harrass other people?  Yes.  But that doesn’t keep you from using the telephone as a tool to build your business.  You might invest in a caller ID to screen calls before you answer the phone, to control who you speak with.  But at the end of the day, there are other people at the end of that line, and the vast majority of them are good people, just like you.

I think that the direct seller I spoke with about this handled the situation just right.  She knew this person had already made up her mind, and simply respected her decision.  But as more and more people learn about social media, I think it’s important for us to be ready to share that this is a TOOL, and that there are people involved.  That’s what makes it so powerful.  Obviously you have to use your common sense when connecting with new people anywhere.  But at the end of the day, your business is built on your ability to connect with new people, and provide superior service to those you have worked with before.  And social media is a powerful tool to help you do just that.

What do you think?  Have you encountered these attitudes?  How have you handled them?  Please take a minute and share your comments below!

Photo Credit: meddygarnet

P.S. Are you looking for ways to build and support your team through social media?  Check out my newest class that starts on November 23…Team Building Through Social Media.

Social media is such a fantastic tool for your direct selling or MLM business.  However, it IS social, which means that there are LOTS of people there…not all of them good people.  Now some people decide that they’re not going to engage in social media at all because of this.  However I believe that this approach will cause more harm than good for your business.  After all, if you want to attract leaders to your team, studies in our industry show that most director-level people started the business in their 20′s.  This is Generation Y, and they’re more comfortable communicating through social media tools than talking on the telephone!  And because there are SO many people engaging online these days, chances are you’ll miss out on a LOT of potential orders and reorders if you choose not to engage.

A better solution is to make smart decisions that protect you and your private information.  That way you can enjoy the benefits of social media, while avoiding the nasties.  Here are some tips:

• Never list your real birth date, especially the year of birth. (This is open season for identity thieves)
• Never enter your user name and password (for anything) into a site you did not purposely navigate to yourself.  I even avoid sharing my Twitter ID on sites that need it in order to work.
• Never give the exact time or address of where you’ll be. (The only exception might be an event where there will be a lot of people in a public place.)
• Never share your home address (and possibly your home phone number) on any social media sites.
• When sharing pictures of your children, you may wish to avoid sharing their names, where they go to school, their exact ages, etc.
• If someone friends/follows you that makes you feel uncomfortable, unfollow/block them immediately.
• If meeting an online contact in person for the first time, go with someone else, and meet in a public place.
• If you’re sent a link to something, even by someone you know, double-check that the person sent it and their account wasn’t hacked.  (And if there are tons of misspellings in the words around the link, you can almost be guaranteed it’s spam…well unless your friend’s just a bad speller

By making some smart decisions, you can meet a lot of wonderful people who will help your business grow.  You’ll also spread the word about your amazing company, helping even more people experience the benefits that you enjoy.  Just be wise, and social media will help you shine!

What do you think?  Do you use social media to help you grow your business?  What steps do you take to protect yourself online?  Looking forward to reading your comments!

Photo Credit: erix!