Enter the well-intentioned and verbosely-named U.S. Government task force: National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center). The IPR Center jointly runs something called, “Operation In Our Sites“, which according to its releases, “…specifically targets websites and their operators that distribute counterfeit and pirated items over the Internet, including counterfeit pharmaceuticals and pirated movies, television shows, music, software, electronics and other merchandise, as well as products that threaten public health and safety.”  As a note to consumers, and perhaps a warning to other would-be counterfeiters, the seized sites now redirect to an unfriendly looking site with information about the federal action.

U.S. District Court decisions  have also attempted to address the online counterfeiting problem. An aggressive player has been luxury fashion house Chanel. Chanel has taken its battle against counterfeiters to the courts and has been trying to get the websites of counterfeiters shut down. In a recent U.S. District Court lawsuit, the state of Nevada issued a court order in favor of Chanel, and the domains in question have been shut down. The Nevada court ruling also ordered social media websites and Internet search engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, and Bing) to “de-index and/or remove [the domain names] and remove the 200+  sites from search results.” The court orders have generated a lot of thought-provoking buzz regarding the freedom of the internet. Regardless of the good intentions behind the ruling and government actions, for some, having their internet search results being partially controlled by the government is both Orwellian and unsettling.

• you won’t receive your order or you’ll receive only a partial portion of the order,
• the DVD will be of a different show or film,
• you’ll receive a bootlegged version of very low quality,
• you’ll find an exorbitant amount charged on your credit card that you did not approve,
• the DVD skips and does not work properly,
• the DVD is made for a different region and cannot be played on your equipment
• and you won’t be able to return, refund or exchange the order as you’ll find that the scammers won’t respond to your phone calls or emails.

Tips to Avoid Websites Selling Counterfeit DVDs

Before going online to seek a hard-to-find boxed set of an old favorite or a limited edition DVD of a relatively new blockbuster, be sure to take the following precautions:

Check reviews

By looking up reviews of a particular website on SiteJabber, you can learn from the experiences of other consumers which can help you to avoid scams and find trustworthy sites.

Carefully examine contact information

Whenever evaluating a website, look for a phone number and street address. Sites that lack phone numbers and physical addresses should be used with caution. If you’re at all uncertain about a site’s legitimacy, give the site a call and ask them about their business. It’s also possible to enter the business’s address into Google Street View, which can tell you if the business address is an empty lot or a real storefront. If you have a hard time finding a website’s contact information, you can check its Whois information. Use particular caution with sites based overseas.

Beware phony security badges

Companies such as Verisign and the Better Business Bureau sell “badges” for websites to use to appear more credible. However, many websites use phony badges. A real badge should link to the third-party site which provides the paid accreditation service and can verify the authenticity of the badge.

Look for professionalism

Lousy websites often have lousy spelling, lousy grammar and lousy design. If you find misspelled words, poor grammar or generally bad website design, use extra caution.

Perform a gut-check

The aphorism, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is” certainly holds for websites selling DVDs. So if an obscure site is selling your much-sought-after box-set of True Blood for 90% cheaper than it is on Amazon, you should take it as a big red flag.

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One of the great challenges for anyone seeking medical information online is finding a resource that can provide insight into what they should do next (e.g., see a specialist, research surgeries, change their diet, etc.). Enter FreeMD.com, a “symptoms triage” site that helps ordinary people answer the always important questions: “What could be wrong with me?” and “What do I do next?” The service is powered by software that is written entirely by doctors and triages patients in much the same way a hospital might triage admitted patients. Note: FreeMD.com is not meant to replace consultations with real-life physicians, but instead, help people educate themselves about their own health.

The Remarkable Dr. Stephen Schueler: Physician, Educator & Inventor

FreeMD.com [reviews] was created by Dr. Stephen Schueler, an emergency physician, teacher and author, who has been practicing medicine for over 25 years. Dr. Schueler is a recognized authority in medical expert systems. He has consulted for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. General Accounting Office. Over the past two decades, he has published a dozen software titles that empower consumers to achieve better health. Dr. Schueler’s Home Medical Advisor® multimedia CD series was honored with a National Health Information Award and has sold more than two million copies, in four languages. Moreover, during Dr. Schueler’s residency at Henry Ford Hospital, he received the Outstanding Teacher of Medicine award from students at the University of Michigan Medical School. After completing his residency, he became board-certified in emergency medicine, and practiced in a large suburban emergency department in Florida. Dr. Schueler has been an active member of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) for many years.

An Interview With Dr. Schueler

SiteJabber: What inspired you to start FreeMD.com?

Dr. Schueler: The idea came to us from watching nurses use our professional products.  Although DSHI Systems created FreeMD.com, we have been providing nurse call centers with decision support applications for over 15 years.  We designed our call center solution to guide a nurse through a patient interview.  It informs the nurse what questions to ask the patient, analyzes the responses, and then makes a triage recommendation.  What was interesting was that the product had evolved to the point that the nurses were agreeing with the programs recommendations in 99 out of 100 encounters.  Naturally, we started to wonder: Could we redesign the software so it could work without a nurse?  It was then that we realized that we also needed to do something to the user interface to make it more like a real doctor’s visit.  What we came up with is a video-assisted interview by a “virtual doctor.”  The doctor in the videos is me, since nobody else wanted to record the 12,000 videos we needed make the expert system function.  It was pretty painful, but where I can triage only one person every 5 minutes, a single freeMD server can triage 10,000 people every 5 minutes, around the clock with no breaks.

How does FreeMD differ from other health information websites?

As you already know, many sites offer symptom checkers, but all are variations on the same theme. Most will provide you with a list of diagnoses after you answer questions or select symptoms off a menu.  Some of the diagnoses in the list are very serious, while others are minor.  How is a person supposed to react to this?  Do you assume it’s a minor problem and relax, or do they worry about the worse thing in the list and run to the emergency room?  Triage is a process that informs you how to react to your symptoms.  For example, if you called me in the middle of the night to explain how you feel, I’m going to triage you.  I don’t care as much about what your diagnosis is, since I am not initiating therapy.  But what I do care about is your potential for serious illness.  I listen carefully, ask questions, and try to decide if you need to drag yourself out of bed and go to the ER. FreeMD is designed to emulate the triage process—-just like a physician would do it.  Prior to FreeMD, the only options were to triage yourself, based on what you know, or try and get a hold of your doctor.  I’ve never had any trouble reaching a doctor within 15 minutes, but I’m told most others don’t have a similar experience.

Seniors are a growing segment of internet users, and they’re seeking health information online. How can they benefit from FreeMD.com?

Seniors are faced with two realities: increasing risk for serious disease and diminishing financial resources.  This is a terrible combination.  For example, let’s say I am having symptoms of a stroke, but I don’t realize it.  If I delay my care by more than 4 hours, I deprive myself of a treatment that could reverse the symptoms.  Conversely, running to the ER for an illness that could be handled in the doctor’s office is costly.  In fact, you pay about ten times as much in the ER for the same care.  Sometimes you can’t avoid the ER, but the decision on when to go to the ER is a tricky one and becomes more complicated as you age.  One thing you can count on is that making the wrong decision on where to get care can spend more of your money, contribute to a poor outcome, or both.  FreeMD determines the best place for you to go for care from a variety of venues, including the ER, urgent care center, doctor’s office, doctor e-visit, nurse retail clinic, dentist, or just staying home.

Do you have any recommendations for other healthcare websites?

There are a number of good sites for health content.  What’s interesting is that most of the larger health sites license content from the same handful of content producers.  This means that it’s common to see the same content at multiple sites, each providing its unique look and feel to the content.  One that stands out from the pack on general health information is Mayoclinic.com [reviews].  These folks have been in the health information publishing business for a long time.  They create their own content, and all of it is written and reviewed by physicians.

Any other advice for our users on how to stay safe online and avoid health websites that could be potentially dangerous to them?

Probably the best way to avoid bad sites is to never find them, but this isn’t realistic.  What many don’t realize is that Google search is the most widely used health application in the world.  People connect to health information via keywords entered into Google.  Google generates its search results across all domains of knowledge — from Britney Spears to brain surgery.  The results are generated based on an algorithm called Page rank.  This is a calculation that Google makes based on a multitude of variables, not least of which is the number of websites that link to a given web site.  Here is the crux of the problem:  many believe the higher a site lists on the results page, the higher the quality of the information.  For medical searches, this is a dangerous assumption.  I think overall, Google does an extraordinary job, but in the health vertical, it doesn’t place enough emphasis on the credentials of the author.  In medicine, this is something we simply don’t do.  The credentials of the author are essential to even becoming published—-or practicing medicine for that matter.  Search for any health topic and you are as likely to see results that are written by consumers—-as long as they have high Page rank.  Most of the physicians I know, some quite noteworthy in their field, have little or no Page rank, nor the means to improve it.   I have nothing against freedom of speech, but if you are researching the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, I think we need to consider the wisdom of prioritizing information crafted by licensed physicians.

SiteJabber would like to thank Dr. Stephen Schueler for taking the time to speak with us and encourage all health information seekers to take a look at FreeMD.com.

Beezid.com is a large penny auction site bent on aggressively pursuing new customers. However, in the process Beezid has made some enemies, not the least of which are the members of the SiteJabber community. To date, nearly 100 SiteJabber members have reviewed Beezid, giving the site a dismal 1.5 out of 4.0 stars. Complaints range from unprofessional customer service to non-delivery of winnings to accusations of outright fraud and rigged bidding.

SiteJabber user Alan F. explains: “I have spent many hours watching the bidding on this site. Here is what I learned: the people who spend the most money bidding never win! There is always ‘somebody’ (or something) that swoops in at the end and wins the auction for just a few bids. Also, on several occasions my bid was not accepted even though there was a second or two left on the timer. Funny how it NEVER happens early in the bidding, but ALWAYS happens when CaptainBidMaster comes in at the end and places two or three bids, winning the auction.”

Other reviewers offer insight into the site’s potential profits at the expense of its “customers”. Daniel G. surmises: “We’ve all accepted that business needs its profits. But check this out: A 900.00 laptop was bid up to 55.00. OK so at .70 a bid, increasing the total up .01, that makes for a minimum of 5500 bids….at .70 a bid we are talking a Beezid take of $3850.00!!!!! That’s right, By the way…this item was still in play, it was at 55.00 at 8pm on Sunday. Bad bad bad business model….excellent for gambling addicts.”

Enter Ms. Lohan. Beezid apparently purchased a celebrity endorsement from Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan. Even while sitting at home on house arrest after being found guilty on misdemeanor charges of jewelry theft, Lohan reportedly received more than $25,000 (the exact amount has not been disclosed) plus $10,000 worth of credit to be used on the site – all for the 18 second spot. So while consumers are being hurt, Lohan and Beezid’s owners are sitting pretty on top of a mound of other people’s hard-earned cash. Of all the endorsements Lohan could have made, why oh why did she choose Beezid? We can only give Lindsay the benefit of the doubt, and guess that she didn’t do her homework first. So Lindsay, if you’re reading: be sure to check SiteJabber reviews before endorsing an unfamiliar website. It could be a real lemon.

SiteJabber is a consumer protection service which helps people avoid fraudulent websites and find good sites. You can use SiteJabber to review, complain about and report fraud on websites, as well as research unfamiliar sites. SiteJabber is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation and was named a Top 100 Website of 2010 by PC magazine.

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Cody Bye & ZAM Networks — The Bleeding Edge of MMOs

Cody Bye is the Director of Content for ZAM Networks, a leading online gaming network devoted specifically to massively multiplayer online games and their communities. ZAM runs a series of  free online resources and forums for the gaming community, including the hugely popular sites, zam.com, thottbot.com, wowhead.com and Allakhazam. Cody himself has personally been involved with the MMO movement for over a decade and has spent time in dozens of online games spanning Ultima Online to Runes of Magic. As the MMO industry continues to mature, Cody hopes to help enlighten consumers and developers on current gaming trends, draw attention to emerging markets, and promote entertaining and educational editorial practices.

An Interview with Cody

SiteJabber: Tell us a bit about your role at ZAM and how you became involved in the industry.

Cody Bye: I’m in charge of content on ZAM. I’ve been playing games for over 10 years and was initially involved on the EQ [EverQuest] forums. Then I became involved on a more voluntary basis and later it turned to a job.

On SiteJabber we’ve seen thousands of reports of frauds & scams associated with the selling of virtual gold, virtual characters, etc. (e.g., power-level.net) — how does your community deal with these issues?

At ZAM we never endorse gold-selling and try to make sure that our forums don’t have any malicious links by spammers that may hurt our community. It’s difficult to keep all of the spam off of the forum, but the moderators do their best to get rid of it all. We even take down advertisements sometimes when a community member warns us about a potential problem with a website or advertisement.

Why do you think there are so many websites selling virtual gold?

People want to buy gold because they want to get ahead in the game and be able to enjoy the end game content. There are often particular goals that a player is trying to achieve so buying the gold for an item is just one way of doing that. At ZAM we give players the resources such as guides and forums to be able to enjoy the game and reach a particular goal, all for free. They can use our guides, resources, and help from the community to reach their goals without having to resort to buying from shady gold sellers.

How do you think virtual gold-selling affects the MMO experience?

Blizzard and game companies have been very involved in banning accounts that may be involved in currency exchange. Whenever you have an MMO, there will be a gold exchange because gold is basically time played and time is valuable. The game companies do not want a real money currency exchange because this disrupts the “in-game” economy. The more gold there is being sold for real money, the more inflation there is within the game. One day your helmet costs 10 gold units and then later it costs 100 gold units because gold sellers have disrupted the in-game economy. Gold sellers create a viscous cycle where, because of the inflation, players feel more of a need to pay real money for gold because things cost so much more.

[We at SiteJabber also believe that if more gamers fully understood the negative consequences of buying virtual gold, they might choose not to support the websites that sell it.]

What other sorts of online services and products do you see your members using?

Add-ons are very popular with the WoW [World of Warcraft] community and at ZAM we have a site called Mmoui.com. Curse.com and Gamefaqs.com are also places where players can find information and add-ons.

What are some other MMO scams that you’ve seen?

In addition to the problem of gold-selling, there has been quite a few problems with email phishing and accounts being stolen. If someone is unsure if an email promotion is legit, they can go on to a ZAM forum and ask the community about it for more information.

SiteJabber would like thank Cody Bye and ZAM Networks for their words of wisdom. We encourage  anyone interested in reading more to visit: http://www.zam.com/

After pouring through eBay, Craigslist, StubHub and countless others, somehow you stumble upon some no-name website that has front row seats. And they’re cheap. Or at least they don’t seem to have the egregious fees sported by Ticketmaster (which was sold out anyhow). You’re on cloud nine, and your dreams are still alive. Journey’s reunion show will be the best day of your life…until you realize, the $300 you just dropped was for completely bogus tickets. That’s right, this summer the hottest ticket seems to be the ticket scam.

Fake Tickets Sites

Sporting and entertainment event tickets are generally sold through an official and authorized dealer (e.g., Ticketmaster and their ilk), but the high demand for choice events plus a huge market for scalped tickets can make it nearly impossible to get some tickets through these channels. And when events sell-out, scammers get to work, luring in desperate fans to their bogus ticket websites. These sites are set up with the sole purpose of selling non-existent tickets or tickets priced (scalped) at well above face value. The SiteJabber community has flagged several sites for abuses such as failure to deliver tickets on the day of the event,  hidden “fees”, charging for front row seats and delivering nose-bleed seats and non-delivery of tickets by mail, just to name a few.

An illustrative story comes from SiteJabber member Cbizzle B. reviewing AnyTickets.com: “I bought 4 front row bullpen tickets on the phone for an Astros/Marlins game that were marked up 66% above face. I was still looking forward to the game as my 7 yr old son and his friend of his were excited about getting to the game early and getting some autographs from the Astros bullpen. We picked up the hard tickets from will call and went to enter the game 35 minutes prior to the start. The tickets would not scan and we were told to go to the ticket resolution booth. It took 30 minutes at the booth to find out that ANYTICKETS.COM had already sold the electronic version of these tickets to someone else and that our barcodes were no longer valid. We ended up having to buy $53 club seat tickets just to get our kids in the game – which by then had started. And of course, we were no where near a row where they could get any autographs. The ticket resolution agent at minutemaid was very nice but said that this happens all the time with Anytickets.com…”

√ Our advice: As singer Robbie Williams warned the public last year, don’t buy from unauthorized dealers online. When you do, you run a high risk of receiving fake tickets, if any at all. If you’re unsure about a site, you can try calling the event’s producers to ask whether the site is authorized to sell the tickets. You should also check on SiteJabber for reviews of the website to ensure its credibility.

Scammy Scalpers on Craigslist or eBay

Scammers who lack the wherewithal to develop their own websites will perpetrate their scams on Craigslist or eBay. They often masquerade as the people you think you’re lucky to find – the couple who can’t make the sporting event or show because they’ve suddenly been confronted with a family emergency, or the guy who ended up with extra tickets because his friends backed out on him. While some of these ticket sellers are certainly real, some of them are certainly scammers. Recently, a man in Lakeland, Florida reportedly pocketed about $92,000 from unsuspecting people who were expecting to receive VIP concert tickets from him but never did (he never had any to begin with). Plenty of similar stories like that one are being told around the globe. In Australia, fake Justin Bieber tickets were being sold to “Beliebers” in amounts upward of $700 through eBay. In Toronto a man, using the “my wife and I can’t make the show so we’re selling these tickets” tale, sold thousands of dollars’ worth of fake tickets through Craigslist. Authorities surmised his each of his 20 or more victims to have lost between $50 and $1200.

√ Our advice: While their stories may sound legitimate, you want to take the necessary measures to ensure that the tickets will be the real deal. Fraudguides.com provides a list of tips to use when validating tickets. Their suggestions include asking for the seller’s invoice and account number in order to validate it with a ticket representative, meeting the seller in person, paying with a cashier’s check or through PayPal for protection (though PayPal protection is somewhat limited), asking for a written receipt or contract, paying only half of the amount upfront and the other half when you receive the tickets, among others. Keep in mind that many people who sell on Craigslist and eBay are indeed honest people, but it doesn’t hurt to err on the side of caution before you dish out several hundred bucks. If you want to try buying from an individual versus a business, SiteJabber users have had reasonable experiences with StubHub, a ticket buying and selling website which offers protection against fraudulent sales.

Phony Olympics Tickets

A big ticket scam target this year is the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Although applications for admission are officially closed, scammers have set up bogus websites in order to phish for financial details. These sites send emails to applicants asking for additional information in order to get to the next step or to secure the tickets. The Metro reports that over 1500 malicious sites have been set up for this purpose – and with the London 2012 committee’s announcement that they would be contacting applicants between May and June 10, 2011 to take payments, that means there are still a couple more weeks of potential scamming. If you’ve given out private, financial details, make sure to check your accounts regularly. And if you have any doubts about who is contacting you for your details, check with the London 2012 website first.

Final Words of Advice

The thrill of experiencing a big sporting event or concert first-hand is undeniable. Unfortunately, so is the risk of fraud. Buying tickets from the wrong person or website can quickly turn the excitement for the big event into the melancholy of disappointment. Don’t let ticket scammers turn you into an “unBelieber”. As you do research on your interests, put the same efforts into researching the validity of a website or seller.

If you find yourself on the other side of the stadium, having been scammed, do report it to the authorities: your state Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, and the FBI’s Internet Complaint Unit. Those small dollar amounts can add up to thousands of dollars and many more people scammed. Finally, you can help out as well by writing a review of your positive or negative experiences with ticket sellers and passing the advice along to your friends.

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Finding quality health websites is not easy, and the stakes are high. Following medical advice from the wrong site can cost you money, waste time and put your health at risk.  Today SiteJabber speaks with a health expert–Dr. Margaret Polaneczky, obstetrician/gynecologist and Professor of Cornell University’s Medical School–and asks a few questions about her blog, her favorite health sites, and how we can all stay safe when looking online for information on our health.

Dr. Margaret Polaneczky – A Distinguished Career of Service

Dr. Margaret Polaneczky is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Weil Medical College of Cornell University. She has been featured as a medical expert in publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. Dr. Polaneczy is the creator and writer of The Blog That Ate Manhattan, a popular blog about medicine, food and New York City. Her blog contains rich information on women’s health care ranging from Pap smears to mammograms but also broaches less serious topics like Dr. Polaneczky’s love of cooking (the blog has enough recipes to fill a cookbook). She notes in her blog that she subscribes to the Healthcare Blogger Code of Ethics, which includes full-disclosure of bias and commercial interests as well as reaffirms her commitment to writing reliably, citing references, being courteous, and protecting the privacy of  patients.

An Interview with Dr. Polaneczky

SiteJabber: What inspired you to start your blog?

Dr. Polaneczky: It started as a food blog as I am sure you can tell by the name [The Blog That Ate Manhattan].  I started the blog back in 2005.  Eventually, it just grew from there to what you see today.

In her blog Dr. Polanescky recognizes that the more she writes, the more she understands the significance of the blog in providing women with accurate medical information. She aims to create an “…unbiased, non-commercial space that helps women make sense of the conflicting, confusing and voluminous health information they are receiving in this digital era, much of it from sources with huge commercial bias and a product to sell.”

Do you have any tips for consumers looking for accurate medical and health information?

1. Always look at the “About Us” section of the website to see who’s funding the site. Many health sites have become very commercial so you always need to look to see who’s funding it. If it’s a pharmaceutical industry funding the site then you may need to be careful.
2. Avoid sites that have links where they are trying to sell you something.
3. Stay away from sites with celebrity endorsements.

Are there health sites that you would recommend or that you use yourself?

I have a section on my blog where I do list medical websites that I recommend.

To what do you attribute your blog’s tremendous growth and popularity?

I never sought to make a commercial blog and never had any advertising on it. It just spread by people telling people. I have a link to it from my Cornell website too.

SiteJabber would like to express its gratitude to Dr. Polaneczky and encourage everyone to visit her blog at: http://www.tbtam.com/

SiteJabber reviewers write in year-round with horror stories of impossible customer service, getting the wrong dress, receiving shoddy-looking replicas, and/or not being able to get a refund on a supposed “100% money back guarantee” – all cases surely leading to tears and stressful scrambles to find a replacement for what was supposed to be your dream gown. Hundreds of online dress-sellers have received negative marks from SiteJabber reviewers, including Fashionlande.com, Milanoo.com and Dresstimes.com, among scores of others. Before you find yourself in the same predicament, be aware that plenty of replica websites claim to sell high-quality replica wedding gowns and bridesmaids’ dresses. These are some red flags to watch out for.

The Chinese Seamstress

The general consensus from our users’ reviews seems to be – if you’re going to order online from a Chinese retailer, you’re much more likely to be in for a miss than a hit. Oftentimes, even if you want to avoid a Chinese shop, the location of the online retailer can be hard to determine from the website–it could be written in English and even say it’s based in the US when it is, in fact, based in China. If you inspect further, though, in the FAQ or “About Us” sections, you may be able to detect spelling and grammatical errors such as “You are about to embark on a fabulous journal in choosing the wedding dress of your dreams”; professional, English-speaking businesses should not make these mistakes.

Lindsay H., a SiteJabber reviewer, tells us an all-too-common story about her experience: “…I had recently gotten engaged and found this amazing Mon Cheri dress that had (of course) been discontinued…I had almost given up hope on my ideal wedding dress when suddenly a glimmer of hope….I found my dress on a online bridal store called Shop Of Brides. I couldn’t believe it!! I immediately grabbed my credit card and ordered it. Not only was it (the) dress that was discontinued, but it was incredibly inexpensive. Now, I know at this point I truly should’ve know better than to trust this site but I was just so thrilled that I had found it again. So I bought it and paid extra to have it shipped as soon as it was finished. Thank god I did…The dress showed up about 6 weeks later, it was delivered to me through UPS, in a small gray plastic bag. When I opened the bag this poor little helpless gown was balled up and tossed in a bag like it was a dust rag. I pulled the gown out to look at it…Not only was the gown NOT the one I had ordered, but was not even remotely close. The best part of the whole dress was that the dress wasn’t even completed!! There were several holes in the dress from where the seamstress had apparently forgotten to even sew them up. I even tried this awful thing on and of course to no surprise it didn’t fit at all. I ordered a size 8 so that I could have it taken in if need be. I couldn’t get this dress over my head. I have tried several times to contact this company, but they refused to talk to me. The only response I got from them is that it must be my fault….Well, I agree…I never should’ve thought that they were a reputable company.”

Virginia L. went through a similar experience trying to order a gown for her daughter on Beautifulbridaldress.com last month: “Bought a dress for my daughter, got a totally different dress than the one we picked and she loved, it smelled of fish, wrinkled beyohd belief! And they sized it wrong, I have pictures of the dress I picked versus what I got….My daughter is so upset and her wedding is June 11. This is close. Never again! These are the type of companies that ruin it for others!”

While it is possible to have a wedding gown custom-made for much cheaper is Asia, you’re less likely to get scammed if you actually fly to China or Hong Kong and get it done in person. However, if you’re going to do that, you may as well shell out the dollars to get the dress in the United States unless you’re looking for an Asian vacation.

√ Our advice: Before taking the plunge, check reviews of the website on SiteJabber to see what other consumers might be saying about the site. Even if there aren’t reviews of it, you can ask the community to help you evaluate it. Because it’s your wedding dress, be sure that there are ways to contact the company by phone, email and physical address. Make sure to contact the business using the listed phone and email. Ask the business specific questions regarding the dress you’re admiring, and be mindful of the business’s making what sound like unrealistic promises (for example, the dress will be exactly like the Vera Wang you like; that’s just not possible). If there is no other contact information other than a “live chat” or a contact form, it’s best to look at another place for your dress. Finally, make sure to pay with a major credit card to ensure that you can dispute any erroneous charges. Bridal Tips also offers a useful list of other common scams for which to be aware when you’re making your wedding arrangements.

The Second Hand Dress

Not only are the buyers of wedding dresses in peril from scammers, it seems that con artists lurk in the darker corners of Craigslist and eBay as well. In addition to selling bad secondhand dresses, they also want to buy your old and used wedding gowns – for more than the asking price. All you have to do is ship the dress to them in Nigeria, and then they’ll make the payment. This is unlikely to happen. You won’t get your money, and they’ll profit on your old wedding gown.

Final Words of Advice

It’s your wedding day–do look for bargains, but don’t take on too much risk. If you’re going to chance it and get a dress from overseas make sure you can either get your money back (via your credit card) or be okay with losing that money if something bad happens. And please please, check reviews first. With the many factors that can cause you stress, your wedding gown should not be one of them. Also, if you want to keep it local, check bridal stores for discontinued dresses. Or you can try department stores like Filene’s Basement, which has a special day of the year referred to as “Running of the Brides”. In the end, you’re paying a little extra for peace of mind, and a guaranteed dress might be the smartest investment.

Do you have a wedding story to share? Help future brides to be by sharing your good and bad wedding dress experience in the comments below or by reviewing it for the community.

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1. Bin Laden raid video

The biggest news of 2011 arrived when the world heard of Osama bin Laden’s death. While the news spread, scammers took the opportunity to build a new application to trick Facebook users into installing malware onto their computers and spamming their Facebook friends. Facecrooks points out that the application asks you to copy and paste the link into your address bar, something that you should never do (unless you know where the link goes obviously) as it bypasses your browser’s security controls. This and other types of “Whoa, this was on BBC News (or some other major media outlet)” should be ignored or handled with much caution. As a safety measure, mouse over the link to identify the real source of the URL, avoid dodgy-looking URLs and look up the rest on SiteJabber.

2. I can’t believe what I saw…

We all have at least a little fascination with rumors and shocking headlines. Underhanded application developers know this well enough to develop “apps” that reel you in by claims of “never before seen photos of Matthew McConaughey without a shirt on” (come on, you can just Google that) or the recent “RIP Charlie Sheen found dead at his house! See the shocking coverage!” Clicking on anything like that will send you to a page that looks fairly legitimate. A pop-up may appear to ask you to complete a survey which should prove that you’re human (but why would a robot or a dog want to see Charlie Sheen photos?). And subsequent interactions will result in installation of malware onto your computer.

3. See who has viewed your profile!

It comes in all shapes and sizes, but essentially the ruse is the same: to get you to be so curious about who’s supposedly looking at your profile (or who has deleted you), that you click on a “Like” button that sets into motion a chain of events, which is affectionately referred to as “likejacking”. For those users who do fall for the “Check out who’s stalking your Facebook” phishing application, they’ll be asked to complete some surveys, which could very likely ask for personal data that shouldn’t be given out. Simultaneously the same message will appear from them to their friends’ walls to do the same thing to them. All the while, you won’t get to see the identities of your stalkers because there’s no way for apps to get that information. There are no signs that point to this feature’s being added to Facebook anytime soon, so it’s best to warn friends who have that application posted on their walls that their accounts may have been compromised by a bad app. Passwords should be changed, computers should be scanned for malware, and other FB friends should be warned to prevent further damages.

4. Is that really GhostfaceKillah? No! It’s KoobfaceVirus!

As a general rule of thumb, anything that has an air of scandal or mystery to it (other than your friends playing Vaguebook on their profile statuses) should be promptly ignored (as should Vaguebook postings, come to think of it). This includes messages through Facebook that allude to videos of you – “Is that really a video of you?” No, it really isn’t going a video of you. What it will be is a link to a video player or update of “Flash” that you need to download to see the supposed video of you. And instead of installing a player or update, you’ll download Koobface, malware comprised of Trojans and worms, as well as send the same message to all of your Facebook friends. The malware itself is a heck of a problem to get rid of – so delete that message and don’t think twice about it.

5. Help via Western Union!

If you get an urgent instant message from a friend who’s stuck in Tunisia with no money in his pockets and who’s begging you to wire him money ASAP so he can get out of there, think again. It might seem like he’s messaging you right then and there, but if you take the time to ask him specific questions (ask questions a stranger wouldn’t know the answers to), you may find that he isn’t who you thought he was. This is the most classic of scams, and now it’s been taken a step further to the instant messaging front. And while people are more informed of it, with an older group of folks getting online now, you should let your parents and grandparents know what to look out for when social networking.

6. Get a free goat on Farmville!

It just takes one person to click on one of those “I just got free Farmville cash” or “I got myself some free Mafia Wars ammo” applications to send a frenzy of links on the walls to every one of their farm- or ammo-loving Facebook friends. Targeted mainly at naïve youngsters, adults have too been the unknowing victims. The applications will seek permission, and upon getting it, will mine any data you have set up on Facebook and sell it to third parties. And just remember that, if you fall for it, chances are your FB friends will fall for it, and who will trade goods with you after that?

7. Take a quiz to find out your IQ or personality type

If you want to find out your IQ, Facebook is probably not the best place to do it. Or if you want to know more about your personality, ask your best friends for their honest opinions (and be ready to hear it). They’ll surely be more accurate than a Facebook quiz anyway. Quizzes on Facebook which ask for your permission to enter, have you complete some easy questions and then want for you to enter your phone number – are a scam. The next thing you know, unknown charges will show up on your phone bill.

8. I answered a question about you…

We’ve all seen now the posts on walls that claim someone has “answered a question about you” and you have some “new answers to unlock”. What in the world does that even mean? It means that you’ve just allowed an unknown third party into your account to take information. On top of that, if you actually go through and answer questions about other friends, you end up breaching their privacy and causing the message to be posted on their walls. It’s really no wonder people hate Facebook.

9. Join a group or community on FB

Everyone wants to be part of something – whether it be a church group or a book club. This is no different on Facebook. If you receive a Facebook message to opt in to a group that could actually be related to a cause or concern of yours, make sure to check it out first. It could be a marketing strategy to get you on their all their mailing lists, and you’ll spend the next few weeks dodging sales calls and emails, the sources of which you may not realize.

10. Taking the scams off-site to list aggregators

Maybe after you realize your mistake in joining an on-site Facebook group, you decide to take your interests off the Facebook stage. A number of Facebook aggregator sites exist now. These sites aim to bring together like-minded individuals who, when they’re not on Facebook, do Facebook-related things anyway. For example, the millions of folks who would like vote for Justin Bieber to be admitted to the Hall of Fame pronto – before his talent runs out. These sites can also breach your privacy and lead to the same fates we’ve mentioned above.

11. Sexual predators

Sexual predators on social networks sounds like old news, but it still happens. Unfortunately, photos and chatting don’t prove that a person is as they say they are. Sexual predators may initiate interactions from random friend requests (they may explain that they know you through a mutual non-Facebook friend) or from playing a Facebook game or using a Facebook application. Treat a stranger online as you would a stranger in real life – take precautions and don’t give out any personal information.

The Take-away

The lesson at the end of the day is – be careful where you click on Facebook. When you’re face to face with a Facebook connect pop-up, make sure to evaluate the potential cost-benefits. Do you really need that free chicken for your farm? Do you need to see the shocking thing that a teenage girl’s father posted? Can you find an IQ test somewhere safer? Checking reviews on SiteJabber can be a way to help you avoid trouble.

If you’re nervous about something you may have clicked on, check your computer for Malware using anti-virus programs like AVG or Avast, change the password to your Facebook account, delete the applications from your account, and let your friends know to help protect them.

Image source 1, 2, 3, 4

Golf is not a cheap sport. So in a bad economy, what is a budget-conscious golf-lover to do? Buy used balls? Only play at twilight? What if you need new clubs? Turning to the Internet to buy discounted clubs has become an answer for many. At SiteJabber, we have seen a substantial up-tick in the number of reviews of online golf stores. Sadly, the lion’s share of reviews tell unhappy stories of people losing money on counterfeit clubs sold by unauthorized dealers.

In 2003 Time Magazine published a report on the Chinese market for replica golf clubs. Eight years later, the market seems to have grown. Before you try to save a couple bucks on what you believe to be a new Titleist 910D2 driver that will shave 4 strokes off your handicap, keep these telltale signs of a golf club scam in mind:

Legit golf clubs don’t ship from China

Rule number one, as we’ve learned from the many reviews we’ve seen: avoid buying golf clubs and balls that ship from Asia, namely China, Hong Kong or Taiwan. These places are notorious for counterfeit factories, as reported by Golf.com, which cheat thousands of consumers and cost our industries approximately $6.5 billion a year. This is not without irony as many golf clubs are made in Asia, but the danger of counterfeits from Asia remains real nonetheless. The SiteJabber community has flagged a number of sites selling fakes clubs including: Edangolf.com, Golfclubs365.com, and Ordergolfonline.com.

√ Our advice: Validate a website’s reliability before making a purchase. Checking SiteJabber is a great place to start. Even if there aren’t reviews of the site you want, you can ask the community to evaluate the site for you. In addition, you can also check out the location of the website by looking up its domain registration. If the registration information is kept private, be wary. Also, scan the site’s “about us” page–be on the lookout for poor grammar or other signs that the site might be not be a professionally run business. And of course, check for accurate contact information including the phone number and physical address. Contact the business using phone and email. Ask them specific questions regarding the products you’re looking at, including serial numbers. If there isn’t any contact information, that’s a huge red flag. Lastly, make sure that you can pay with a major credit card, because if you cannot it might be impossible for you to get your money back if something goes wrong.

Amazing deals are amazing rip-offs

That old adage, “if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is” also goes for golf clubs. The price for a set of new Ping irons is well-established online, so it’s unrealistic to be able to pay significantly less. However, it’s not impossible to get a deal. But it is important to only use reliable sources.

√ Our advice: SiteJabber community member and avid golfer Frank C. advises in a review: “You’re better off NOT buying golf equipment on the internet, but if you do be sure to buy from the big guys like GolfSmith.com, GolfGalaxy.com or DicksSportingGoods.com. They all have CLEARANCE areas where you can find some interesting deals on all sorts of golf equipment and accessories. Most of the prices are all competitive so don’t get burned trying to save a few bucks.”

The eBay scam

The biggest case of fraud at eBay has surprisingly been one related to golf clubs. In 2010, courts sentenced to prison the ringleader of an elaborate scam ring that brought in roughly $3 million over the course of five years. Though this made headlines across the golfing world, one can bet that this kind of scam continues to be perpetrated by lesser connected individuals and businesses. It would behoove any avid golfer to make sure to take the necessary precautions when buying on eBay.

√ Our advice: My Golf Spy has provided a friendly 10-point checklist for those who are buying off of eBay. The site suggests checking serial numbers with the manufacturers, asking for close-up photos and doing visual comparisons of them against authentic clubs, being wary of folks selling full sets (which is less common), and playing close attention to sellers’ ratings.

A final bit of advice

When in doubt about any website selling the gear you’re eyeing, do two things:

1. Research the website. Check for reviews by other consumers who may have had good or bad experiences with the site.
2. Give the manufacturer a call to inquire about whether the website you’d like to buy from is in fact an authorized dealer. If the manufacturer says no or has no idea what the website is, you can bet that it’s a counterfeiting plant.

If you’ve been scammed by a golf site, help other golfers out by reporting the scam site or bad business.

SiteJabber is a consumer protection service which helps people avoid fraudulent websites and find good sites. You can use SiteJabber to review, complain about and report fraud on websites, as well as research unfamiliar sites. SiteJabber is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation and was named a Top 100 Website of 2010 by PC magazine.

Note: misspellings within reviews were corrected for this article. Image source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5