Saturday 13 July 2013

Credit Card Frauds and How to Protect Yourself

I have been using credit card since my college days and I remember the risk involved in using a credit card.
A number of times I have been cheated, from credit card robbery to skimming. I lost thousands of rupees because of credit card theft or fraud.
Hence, I decided to pen down an article using my experience to aware people who are using credit cards.
I thought it is my responsibility to help you guys from credit card frauds.
credit card fraud protection
As you know we use credit card for various purpose from online transaction to offline swapping. You need to be careful every time you pull out your credit card.
So you need to know what different types of credit card theft are and how you can protect yourself from it.

Identify Fraud

This is the most common fraud that could happen. They are of two types

Application Fraud

Application fraud is nothing but when a crook make use of stolen or fudged documents to open an account using someone else name without any permission.
These criminals would steal documents like bank statements or your utility bills to generate their personal information.
In other words they may create a forged document.

Hacking of Account

Second is hacking of account.
Here, a hacker would hack or takeover your account by accumulating information about a person and then asking their card issuer by impersonating as if they are bonafide or genuine credit cardholder.
Then the criminal would ask to redirect the mail to a new address. Criminal will report for the credit card theft and he would ask for the new replacement to be sent to his new address.
That is how it works.

Skimming

Skimming is also a common method used by criminals to steal your credit card information.
A thief would try to get your credit card information through various ways.
They would steal your credit card number by
  1. Taking the photocopy of your receipts and bills.
  2. They could use an electronic device called Skimmer to spy or swipe the credit card number of other thousands of victim like you.
  3. Using a small keypad for unobtrusively transcribing the 3 to 4 digit card security code not present on the magnetic strip.
So these are the ways through which a thief could steal your credit card number and take all your money.
This could happen when you are at
  1. When you are in restaurants or shopping somewhere.
  2. At petrol pump when skimmer is placed in the fuel dispenser.
  3. At Call centers where information is stored of thousands of credit card holders.

ATM

I have to dedicate a special paragraph to make you aware that these thefts happen often at ATMs. I am a victim of it because my credit card information was stolen from the ATM itself.
They can put a device or a skimmer at the card slot of an ATM which could read the magnetic strip when a user swipes their card in it.
They could also use spy cameras in the ATM booth to steal your credit card number when you type in.
Another method used is a keypad overlay that matches up with the buttons of the legitimate keypad below it and presses them when operated. Then it records and wirelessly sends the keylog of the PIN entered outside to the thief.

Online Credit Card Theft or Phishing

This is the modern form of credit card theft or fraud. This types of frauds are growing at a faster rate.
Here hackers roaming around the Internet would lead an online visitor to a website which looks genuine and quite authoritative.
They would claim that website is a bank or a credit card company.
The design, look and feel of the website absolutely resembles the website of an original company. They would look into small details while creating it.
Therefore entire process of keying in your credit card information looks safe. But once you click the submit button the entire credit card information falls into the criminals hand and you lose all your money.
These sites are run from countries like China, Nigeria. Criminals sitting there run such fake website to dupe you and you fell into their trap.

Card Not Present

Here the physical credit card is not used because while placing any order online you have to give the number of the credit card.
Thief could use the stolen credit cards without exposing themselves.
How Do You Protect Yourself From Such Frauds
You have to be careful in two situations.
While using physical credit card and other is without presence of credit card.

Online Transaction

  • Tip1: Use the card only on websites that has https as starting web address not http. ‘S’ is for secured.
  • Tip2: See for the lock sign in the address bar or bottom of the screen.
  • Tip3: If an Indian website does not ask for the authentication then do not make the transaction. Always use password a one-time password provided by your bank and the secured access password via Verified by Visa and Master secure code. Otherwise do not more forward. International sites does not ask for passwords so check their credibility before making a transaction.
  • Tip4: Always check for security certificates on the payment gateways sites.
  • Tip5: Make use of virtual credit card instead of real credit card. Generate the virtual credit card number after registration with bank. Your credit card limit is not exposed.
  • Tip6: The most important thing to realize is keep your credit limit minimum.

Offline Transaction

Now comes the credit card theft for offline transaction. You have to be careful at certain places while you are swiping the credit card. Here the only problem is skimmer.
  • Tip1: In restaurant or bar or shopping mall, do not let your credit card out of your sight. Moreover, while making transaction make sure that any electronic gadget or skimmer is not placed under the slot or the device.
  • Tip2: You could also use chip and PIN based cards. It has a SIM-card like chip on the front and can be used only with 4 digit PIN.
  • Tip3: Always blacken the CVV number.
  • Tip4: In ATM or other places see that there are no cameras or devices installed for spying you.
  • Tip5: Lastly always keep your eyes open before you take out your credit card from the wallet.
So these were certain tips that could save you from a credit card theft or fraud. First you need to know different types of credit card frauds then how you can protect yourself from it.

Read this article and start using your credit card smartly.

Why Home Business is Much Better than 9-5 jobs

Usually young graduates and experienced professionals work for a 9 to 5 job whether it is a govt job or a private job. However, there are many other alternatives to 9 to 5 jobs.
But the problem is common man hardly knows anything about jobs other than 9 to 5. So what are those jobs & business ideas from home which could be good alternative to your 9 to 5 job?
First such job that comes to my mind is home business. Do not get scared by the word business. Here business does not mean investing huge capital but a small start up cost that a lay man can afford it.



I have 21 reasons to convince you, why home business is better than 9 to 5 jobs.





1. Go to Work with a Broad Smile

In 9 to 5 job, you have seen every morning people going to their work in a depressed mood. However, in home business you start your work with a broad smile.
In home business, you start your day in a happy mood. However, in 9 to 5 job this is not the case.

2. Start Your Work in Pajamas

You can start working in pajamas. If you have a laptop, then start working right from your bed.
It is a home business hence you can operate your business from home also. Many businessmen who work from home have offices in their homes.

3. Choose Your Own Working Hours

In a private job, your working hours are decided by the company, but in a home business you choose your working time.
You can work at night, afternoon, morning anytime. It is not necessary that you have to work only from 9 to 5.

4. No Need to Commute

Commuting is the biggest disadvantage of a 9 to 5 job. I personally hate commuting in rush hours.
It is so crowded that, there is no space for even breathing. Moreover, it consumes so much of your time only in up and down.
However in home business, you have to hop from your bed to office table.

5. Be Your Own Boss

Sense of ownership is a great feeling and everyone would like to feel one day. In home business, you will be your own boss.
In 9 to 5 job you have to obey your boss or seniors. You have to work according to them. There is no sense of freedom.

6. No Prior Experienced Required

Starting a home business does not need any prior experience. It is not at all necessary that you need to have years of experience.
Home businesses are based upon an easy concept. You can start even if you do not have any idea. However to get a 9 to 5 job you need to have experience of many years.

7. No Work Pressure

When you do not have to commute and you are your own boss then the work pressure would obviously be zero in a home business.
But if you work for 9 to 5 then you have to meet deadlines. You have to finish your work on time. Otherwise you won’t get your salary.

8. No Limit when it comes to making Money

Unlike private jobs where your salary is decided by the management of the company, in home business salary depends upon you, how much you work.
If you work more then you could earn more money. There is no limit for making money in a home business.
But in a private company this is not the case.

9. Give More Time to Family & Friends

You could give more time to your family and friends because you are choosing your working hours.
In home business you can always take out time and spend that time with family and friends.
In a private job you get less time to spend with family and friends.

10. Go for Vacations Any Day or Any Week

You do not have to take permission for holidays from your boss. You can plan your vacation any time.
You can operate your business while you are enjoying your holidays. In a 9 to 5 job forget about going for vacations they do not even give one or two day leave.

11. Start with Minimum Qualification

Starting a home business requires bare minimum qualification. Even a 10th class pass can start his or her own home business.
You do not need any graduate degree or an MBA degree. What you need is simple common sense with a desire to succeed.
However in any 9 to 5 job a degree in any discipline is a basic requirement.

12. Home Business is Evergreen Business

Some businesses totally depend upon the market force. If market is doing well, only then their business will do well.
However, home business is evergreen and it is irrespective of how market is doing.

13. Minimum Start up Cost

If you talk about starting up a business then it requires a lot of investment. But in home business the initial investment is very less.

14. Risk Free Business

Home business involves no or very little risk compared to other forms of business. Anyone can afford to start up his own business if he is serious.

15. Ideal for Women & Housewives

One of the best things about home business is that even women and housewives can start it very easily.
In fact, many home businesses are run by women. It is a great way to become independent in their life.
Women who are looking after their families and do not have money, can start a home business and stand on their own feet.
9 to 5 job is very difficult for women. She always find very difficult working and looking after the family, at the same time. Hence home business can help them out.

16. Support from your Family

Moreover, in running a home business you get all necessary support from the members of your family.
Anyone can help or even join your business. This kind of support is missing in 9 to 5 jobs because there, you are responsible for everything.

17. Expanding Your Business

You always have an opportunity to expand your home business and explore new horizons. You can expand your business and make it real big.
However, an opportunity to expand is very limited in a 9 to 5 job.

18. Fully Recession Proof

Any kind of business is directly affected by recession. If there is a downturn then it may affect a business.
But home business is more recession proof. You make money even at the time of recession.

19. Financial Freedom

After running your home business for a small time you will make enough money that you will be completely financially free for your entire life.
On the other hand, a 9 to 5 job can never give you this kind of financial freedom even you work for decades.

20. Employing & Helping Others

At the time, when unemployment rate is so high, you are helping the country by providing jobs to people.
Small business like yours would always provide jobs to people who are unemployed. You are helping the country economically.

21. Go to Bed with a Feeling of Satisfaction

Finally, the most important thing is satisfaction. Whatever you do, you must be satisfied with the work you are doing.
When you go to sleep you will be completed satisfied with your home business.
However, in a 9 to 5 job you do not get the satisfaction because you are working for someone else.
A small home business is much better than a high paying 9 to 5 job in a private company or a sarkari jobs.

Hence, start planning to start your own home business now. For more help and complete guidance you can visit our website Jobs8Home.


Does Working from Home Decrease Productivity

After Yahoo decided to ban its employees from working remotely, a serious debate has started around the world, whether working from home decreases productivity of a company or not.
work from home problem
Due to this ban, people who want to work from home would be disappointed. With this ban the most affected class would be the woman. For them working from home gave an opportunity to earn their living as well as take care of the family from the comfort of their home.
But now it would not be possible, at least for Yahoo!
So why working from home decreases productivity of a given company?
Is it true or just a myth?
Let us find out.

Why there is a Debate that Working from Home Decreases Productivity?

Why suddenly Yahoo decided to ban their employees from working remotely? Does it really decrease productivity? Or Yahoo is just overreacting?
Well! we really do not know what is going inside yahoo, so we can only speculate.
Before we discuss all possible reasons that may decrease productivity, let us debate why people want to work from home.
Is working from home better than working from office? It may be good for you but does it benefit the company.
Therefore, we will also compare working from home to working in office.

Why People Choose to Work from Home?

Today technology has made things easier for us. Now we are connected through each other much closely than before.
People want to take advantage of the technology and want to work right from the comfort of their home.
They do not have to waste time in commuting and choose their working hours.
Moreover, working from home allows them to make money and at the same time they can take care of their family.
Hence, they want to work from home especially women.

Working from Home Vs Working in Office

If you compare both of them then you will find both have advantages as well as disadvantages.
In a work from home job, you do not have to travel and you choose your own work time. So boss is not standing on your head.
You can also take care of your family as you get more time.
But working from home could be less productive as I give you 5 reasons why it is so.

Possible Reasons Why Working from Decreases Productivity

1. Inferior Work Culture

The first possible reason why working from home decreases productivity would be inferior work culture. There is a lot of difference between working from home and working from office.
The work culture is very negative if you are working from home. At home, you cannot focus completely on your work because of disturbances and commotions. In home, while you’re working anyone can come and disturb you.
This certainly decreases the productivity. In office, you have to work in an environment which is very competitive and you have to give results within a specified timeline.
So the inferior work culture in home may be the reason for banning employees from working remotely.

2. Not Able to Conceive New Ideas or Thought

If you work for a company which pioneers technology then you have to be very innovative. For innovation or creating something new every day you need an ideal environment or the work culture.
In office, you will get to meet new people in cafeteria or while having lunch or tea break. There you could share an idea with them, so this exchange of ideas would help you think something new and innovative.
On the other hand, if you work from home then it is quite difficult to come up with an idea while sitting in a room. You have no one to share thoughts or exchange ideas.
So this could be another reason why working from home decreases productivity.

3. Poor Management

From the aspect of a company, it is going to be very difficult for HR managers to manage their employees. Moreover, managers or team leaders would find it very difficult to assign task and monitor each employee.
If employees are working from home then because of poor management company will not make the profit they desired. So it is certainly going to affect the productivity of a company.
Lack of discipline and inferior work culture would never allow a company to grow as they expected.
So working from home might be convenient for an employee but it has adverse affect on a company at large.

4. Reduced Competitiveness

As I said earlier working in home would never allow you to come up with innovative ideas. Hence it will reduce the competitiveness of employees working for a particular company.
Reduced competitiveness of employees means a company can never compete in a tough environment. If workers are not competitive then other competitors would take the lead.
So competitiveness of employees would be affected if they are working from home.

5. Breach of Company’s Business Secrets

This is the most important factor why companies would not allow their employees to work from home. Every company wants its business secrets not to be revealed.
A company puts all its effort to protect their data and other important intellectual property. Companies totally depend upon their intellectual property, specially software and IT industry.
So there is always a threat that an employee working from home could pass secrets regarding the work he or she is assigned.
You might have seen how it is difficult to get an entry to workplace of a company. You need special ID cards or biometrics to get access. They take all security measures to ensure only right person gets the entry.
Therefore, a company does not want their employees to work from home.

What is Your Decision?

Well! Finally, it is your decision. Whether you want to go for a regular job or work from home.
If you feel that a company is not allowing you to work from home then you can start your own business right from home.
There are plenty of business opportunities which can be started from the comfort of home.

If you are determined to work from home then you can do it because there are plenty of jobs available. You do not have to depend upon a big company.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Being Working Mom

As we know women are known for their multi-tasking. They have an ability to do various tasks at one time. They could be working somewhere and at the same time taking care of their family.
However, if you are a working mom then there could be some advantages as well as disadvantages.


Today, due to economy crunch many women have started supporting their family. They are no more dependent upon the man in the family.
Women have taken upon themselves. And not just due to bad economy many woman are smart enough to find their place in the competitive world.
So let us look at advantages and disadvantages of being a working mom.

Advantages

Complete Financial Independence

Off course the first advantage of a working mom is complete financial independence. You do not have to depend upon your husband for money.
You are on your feet. This is the big advantage of being a working mom. It gives a sigh of relief that you do not have to fear if tomorrow your man leaves you because you would be capable enough to take care of yourself and your children.
You live confidently compared to other moms who are just housewife.

An Inspiration for Your Children

A working mom always inspires her children. If you have a son or daughter then he or she can look up to you and say I want to become like my mom.
When they grow up they would look up to their mom instead of looking somewhere else. It is because their inspiration is right in their home.
Working moms not only work but also take care of their children.

You Get More Respect from Your Husband and others

I have personally noticed that the working woman is better respected than a woman who is a housewife.
I am not suggesting that housewife do not get respect from their husband. However, in case of a working woman, husband’s attitude towards her wife is completely different.
In fact, not just husband but other members in your family like father-in-law or mother-in-law also give value to a working woman.
A real morale booster for a working woman.

Never Feel Bored Sitting in Home as Working Life is Exciting

Usually, a housewife has a very little piece of work. After doing that they do not have anything left. Hence, they start getting bored.
However, life of a working woman is full of exuberance. Daily they have something new to do and they feel very excited about it.
This is the big difference between a housewife and a working mom.

Give Back Something to Society

Although there could be many other advantages of a working mom but for being last but not the least advantage is working woman could give something back to her society.
In other words, many other young girls could learn from you or you could teach them how to be financially independent.
Working and independent woman is always a sign of a healthy society and a working woman could contribute in creating such a society.
There are more advantages as described here. However, there could be some disadvantages of a working woman as well. Here are they

Disadvantages

You Might Tend to Neglect your Children and Husband

The biggest disadvantage of a working mom is family. If a woman is working then she will be not able to give time to her family.
And for many individuals family comes first. Therefore, family would be badly affected because your children may not get that quality time that they would have deserved otherwise.
Not just children but even your husband may complain about it if you are working for long hours.

Fatigue Because Managing two things at a Time

Research shows working woman have to bear so much stress because they have to juggle between two jobs.
On the one end they have to look after their family and on the other, tension for their work. Therefore she has to maintain a balance between the two.
She has to perform well at both place and it can fatigue her. Therefore most of the working women have to go through this.
However, most of the working women are able to manage it because of their capability of multi tasking.

Feel Isolated from Rest of the Society

Women become completely engrossed in their work and managing family. They are totally consumed by managing at both ends.
Hence, there is very little left for their friends because of it they might become isolated and that is not good for them.
Normally, working woman do not find time for their friends.

Disturbed Family Life and a Guilt Feeling

Working woman might feel guilt because she is not giving quality time to her family.
Many marriages end up in divorce because of an imbalance created by working outside.
Your relationship with the husband may go sour because you are not present when he wanted.
Therefore, because of all these reasons you feel guilt. I have noticed this in many working women.

You Might Suffer Harassment at Workplace

This is very common that almost everyone has to face some kind of harassment at her workplace.
Harassment could be from eve teasing to sexual harassment. Many women had to go through this on daily basis.
While on the other hand a housewife does not has to face all of this.
Any form of harassment could dent the woman’s morale and could leave her in permanent depression.
So these were disadvantages and advantages of a working mom. You could have valid reasons that a working woman is more suitable rather a woman in home.
Working from home is one of the solution for mom & there are many companies who are offering this option to their employees. Recently Yahoo has raised a question mark on people because he think working from home decrease productivity.
Although I personally don’t think so but many companies think the Yahoo’s way & they are asking their employees to get back to the office for the work.
Work from home business or internet jobs are another opportunities for women where they can earn some money as well as take care for their family.
It is up to you and how you are able to adjust your life.

More important thing is being happy whether you are working or you are a housewife.