Web Design, Social Media Marketing

Moree Marketing & Website Services

Social Media

Website Designers don’t fall for this scam.

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I am Sarah by name. I need a website for my business. I will like to know if you are available to build and design a website for me. If yes, please kindly get back to me as soon as possible. mackensarah27@gmail.com

Hi Julia,

Thanks for your response. I am hearing impaired. And this is the reason why I am contacting you via email.

I have a small clothing business for both male and female which I run here. I am trying to expand the business and I want you to build a website for this business of mine.

Can you do that?

Kind regards,
Sarah.
(Side note I know now  that they claim to be hearing-impaired is so they don’t have to talk to you on the phone)

EMAIL TRANSCRIPT:

Scammer: Hi I am Sarah by name. I need a website for my business. I will like to know if you are available to build and design a website for me. If yes, please kindly get back to me as soon as possible. mackensarah27@gmail.com

Me: Good morning Sarah,
I certainly can help you with a website.
What time would suit you to have a chat about hour requirements.

Scammer: Hi Julia,

Thanks for your response. I am hearing impaired. And this is the reason why I am contacting you via email.
I have a small clothing business for both male and female which I run here. I am trying to expand the business and I want you to build a website for this business of mine.Can you do that?

Me: Good morning Sarah, Absolutely, how do you currently sell your products?  Do you have a large range?  What area do you live?  Will you take payment from the website? What time frame are you working towards and do you have a budget in mind?     Would love to see a photo.

         Scammer: Thanks Juila.

I currently sell through my brick and mortar store. I need you to check out this site (as a sample). Miss Rebel is an ideal sample of what I want. Please check it out and let me know if you can do something like that for me.  http://www.missrebel.co.uk

I am currently dealing with 3 products (clothes, bags and shoes). The 3 products have variations in sizes and colors. Four categories of sizes, with five different varieties of colors.
I have 17 different kinds of bags, 21 different kinds of shoes and 53 different kinds of clothes. Each kind of product has variations in color and size.

I need you to add just the different kinds of each product, and allow visitors to choose what color and size, instead of adding each individually.

I want the site to be an e-commerce. So I need you to get back to me with an estimate for the web design and I need your service on the search engine optimization of the site as well. The estimate should include hosting, domain name and search engine optimization of the site.

I have a private project graphic designer. The graphic designer has the text content, images and the logos for the site.

Kindly get back to me with the estimate, so that we can proceed from there.

Me:

Do you have a preferred option for taking payment on the site.  Do you use Stripe to take payments or Paypal?  What is your target market and what areas are you selling to e.g. Australia?
Do you currently have a facebook page?  Could you please send this to me so I can have a look.  Facebook and Instagram are great places to promote and grow your business.

I recommend you have a look at my website www.northwestmarketing.com.au and I’ll email through you a design brief and we can go from there.

Scammer: Hi Julia,

Thank you for your feedback. 
Yes, the brick and mortar store will keep running.I would prefer Stripe as the payment gateway. And selling within Australia for now.
I do not make use none of the platforms you made mention above, thank you for the insight.
I will like to make use of the platforms you suggested above for my business.
Kindly let me know the cost to get the project done so we can proceed from there
then a week later I got the following email.
Hi,
I am Kayla by name .I will like to know if you are available to build and design a website for me. If yes, please kindly get back to me as soon as possible.  kaylarutherfordwears@gmail.com

Don’t Fall for this Scam

Initially I thought it was a genuine enquiry until I got the second email one week later from Kayla.  My emails to Sarah the first person were very strange in that she didn’t use social media, didn’t have facebook, didn’t have a domain name, but had an online store selling clothing.  She didn’t have images she could send me.  I still thought though I could work with her and help her business, especially with COVID imparting so many small businesses.

Today before going any further, I decided to do a google search on this and found a number of sites reporting it as scam and worse still a number of people leaving comments on these sites stating they had lost money.

Here’s How The Scams Work

They’re called the Third Party Payout Scam, the Payment Reversal Scam, the Advanced Fee Scam or the Overpayment Scam.

The Fraud Prevention department at credit card payment processor Stripe put it like this:

I can see that you work in web design. Designers such as yourself are common targets for a type of scam known as a Third Party Payout. Essentially, the scammer makes a payment (generally in the thousands) for a project, and pays more than they need so you can then transfer money direct to a third party (e.g. a consultant, graphic designer, etc). I imagine your correspondence with your ‘client’ has been along these line. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, the fix is that the card used is stolen and the third party is actually the scammer. So when the legitimate cardholder disputes the payment the business is left holding the bag on the money retrieved from their account and what they transferred to the scammer.

It Seems So Real

The amazing things about these scams are:

  • How involved they are, I’ve had over 8 emails from Sarah thus far.
  • How long these scams have been around and worse how people have been caught out.
  • The scam is basically the same every time, though there are some minor variations the approach and communication is generally the same each time.

Here’s How the Scam Works

This is called a “third party payout scam” or an “overpayment scam.”

Here is what would have happened.  You would have accepted a large sum of money for an invoice with your company name on it. Your company name would show up on the statement of what is obviously a stolen credit card (hence the apparent urgency to get the deposit paid and the project finished).

You would then send money to this un-named “designer” who can only accept untraceable forms of payment.

After such a large transaction, the legitimate owner of the card would then dispute the charge, leaving you on the hook to the bank for all the money paid to you, plus the money sent to the “designer” who is likely the same person using you and your business to launder dirty money.

I’ll keep you posted with the ongoing emails, but be warned and don’t send any money anywhere.

 

 

Google My Business Listing

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Your Google My Business Listing

Is one of the most important things you can do to increase traffic to your website.

According to Google, a whopping 56% of businesses haven’t yet claimed their Google my Business FREE listing.

94% of internet searches in Australia are through Google’s search engine.

Customers are relying more and more on your Google listing for the information they need.

They want it in your listing and don’t want to trawl further for more information.

What you can do:

Claim you Google My Business Page Listing

      • Go to Google Maps search your business and claim your business listing. You can read more on Google Support
      • Complete your listing with your business details.  Google takes your through it here.
      • Verify your Google My Business Listing – you have options to do this via post read how to verify here
      • Add to your Google My Business Listing images including your logo, inside photos, outside photos.
      • Ask for reviews to your Google My Business Listing from your happy customers. Click here

Businesses with 5-star reviews  onyour Google My Business Page rank higher in a search than their competitors.

46% of all Google searches include a location, so your business could be missing out if you choose not to include the location of your business.

If you require help with claiming your Google My Business Listing Page and setting it up we are here to assist.

What can your business do to keep going during COVID-19 sole traders.

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What can Businesses do to keep going during COVID- 19 Sole Traders.

What can your business do to keep going during the COVID-19?  No one saw this coming right?  I don’t know a single person within my circle that hasn’t noted changed in their business as a direct result of COVID-19.  Some have seen an increase, whilst the majority have not.

It feels like crisis after crisis.  The drought, then fires, panic buying and I still haven’t been able to purchase hand sanitizer or wipes or toilet paper.  I’m been asked if we are at the end of the world!!!  We aren’t, but the world won’t be the same again, the way we think, eat, operate, communicate, do business is changed forever.

On my walk yesterday along the beach path, I had to pass a lady with her arms out and a water bottle on either side of her hands???

What can businesses do to keep going during COVID-19?  How do we recover?  How are you now?  If you are not coping, need financial assistance please reach out .

To help you manage business disruption associated with coronavirus (COVID-19), we’ve put together a range of support information focused on the needs of small business ownersto assist with keeping going during COVID-19.

The State and Federal Governments have announced small support packages for small business.

Stay Safe from CORID – 19 and keep informed.

Nothing is more important than you!  I’m sure you have now heard about the importance of washing your hands, social distancing.  Safeguard your staff from getting sick along with your cutomers.  Have crosses marked for customers to know where to stand, hand santizer at the entrance or on counters, no handshakes or hugs 🙂  Where possible allow staff to work remotely.

Stay in touch with your customers

Proactively share important information with your customers using:

  • email
  • your website
  • Facebook Page
  • Instagram Business Profile
  • or however you typically connect

Facebook has created a hub for business during this time and you can find out more HERE.  They suggest:

  • update your Page hours to show your customers how and when you’re available for business
  • Notify customers of any changes or modifications to your availability or services by updating your Page Info and selecting Open With Service Changes or Temporarily Closed, depending on your situation.

Look for other ways to communicate with your customers.  Not just as mentioned above but Whats App, Web Chat.

  • The apps are available for free through the App Store for Apple devices and Google Play for Android devices.
  • To activate the Whatsapp channel, users have been told to visit aus.gov.au/whatsapp to launch the new feature.

Work from home

If you haven’t already made the shift to work from home this is a great option, however it isn’t possible for all roles and all businesess.

Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins is one of the countless big businesses leading the way with work from home measures. She has told media that she asked all of her 870 staff to work from home last week.

Understand your current financial position

This is critical, you need to know where you stand currently.

  • What have you got coming in and what is going out?
  • Ask your suppliers for better pricing or payment terms
  • Consider a payment holiday for 30-60-90 days
  • Negotiate with lenders how you can increase credit or decrease repayments.
  • Negotiate your rent and access the offers in place to assist you with this.  How to do this read here. 

We encourage you to call your landlord to discuss what arrangements can be put in place regarding your lease, particularly if your business can no longer operate.

On 29 March, the Australian Government announced a moratorium on evictions over the next six months for commercial and residential tenancies in financial distress who are unable to meet their commitments due to the impact of coronavirus. Commercial tenants, landlords and financial institutions are encouraged to sit down together to find a way through this period to ensure that businesses can survive and be there on the other side.

Seek Advice on Deferring Tax Payments

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) can grant you a deferral of certain tax obligations if your business is impacted by COVID-19. Call the ATO on 1800 806 218 or speak to your tax professional to discuss your options. Deferring payments may impact on your eligibility for other stimulus package options, so seek professional advice.

Pivot

Remember as the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention.   So how can we keep selling and doing business during COVID-19?  Diversify.  If you don’t have a digital presence now is the time to look at what this could look like.  Give me a call on 0438 222 060 to go through options to suit your business and your suitation.

Consider whether you can draw on your superannuation

If you are a sole trader whose hours of work or income has fallen by 20 per cent or more as a result of the pandemic, the Federal Government is allowing you to access your superannuation. This is capped at $10,000 this financial year and a further $10,000 next financial year. The withdrawals will be tax free.

Build your networks

This is an important time to reach out to your networks for support and advice. Being able to keep some control over your situation is good for your positive mental health. Keep communicating with your support networks and speak with other small businesses to share ideas and innovative practices.

A write up from Smart Company suggests:

Don’t panic, instead, look for opportunities. Clever investors, business leaders and salespeople look at downturns in markets as opportunities find new ways, new solutions, new markets. They look at the evidence at hand, the trends that are emerging and see opportunity, when many others see disaster. These people aren’t idealistic or oblivious to the challenges facing communities, markets and economies.

Thisi is thetime to ramp up market research, market presence and sales efforts by getting in front of the right people , prospecting and investigating where people and markets are at and how they can help them. They understand that selling is the vehicle that allows opportunity to flourish and people, businesses, economies and societies to prosper.

New markets and new ways of operating can emerge during a crisis.

Try to stay level-headed and to assess pragmatically what can be done to hold your ground, or even progress into new opportunities without putting your business at risk.

So keep the doors open and find ways to keep on selling and doing business.

There are more opportunities than you think.

If you would like to chat about where you are at and how we can help you please contact us as we are here to help.

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Social Media

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NEW: Instagram has now 1 billion users. That is the answer to the question, what will be the next big thing.

Do you use Social Media in your Business?

One of the easiest ways to use social media is Facebook.  By having a Facebook Page you can link from your page to your website. 

It is surprising how many people search on Facebook when looking for an update phone number or business hours.  Whilst you may have a white page listing which is great but is it up to date and correct?

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve search for a certain plumber, electrician or business to find that although they have a white page listing, the details are no longer correct.  Same when searching on Facebook, the business may have a page but it has no content.

Get this correct though and you are setting your business up for ever oppotunity to be found on Social Media and on the internet.

Do you need a hand with your social media?  North West Marketing offer a starter content digital marketing package from $497 a month.  This will help you the local business get a competitive advantage and North West Marketing will look after content on your website and share this on your Facebook Business Page and Google My Business page.

North West Marketing can tailor made your package, this is just an example of what we can do.

We will create your Facebook Business Page for just $247 and we will create your Google My Business Page for just $247 (prices exclude GST)

Social network

Monthly Active Users
Facebook 2,230,000,000
YouTube 1,900,000,000
Instagram 1,000,000,000
Qzone 563,000,000
Weibo 376,000,000
Twitter 336,000,000
Reddit 330,000,000
Pinterest 200,000,000
Ask.fm 160,000,000
Tumblr 115,000,000
Flickr 112,000,000
Google+ 111,000,000
LinkedIn 106,000,000
VK 97,000,000
Odnoklassniki 71,000,000
Meetup 35,300,000