Clickfirst—A Breakthrough In Real Consumer Protection
by Bob Cefail on 2008-07-24
Clickfirst—A Breakthrough In Real Consumer Protection
As 2007 draws to a finish, a review of some of the most recent consumer fraud shows that unethical businesses and outright scammers have had a active as well as a lucrative year. Targeting the most vulnerable citizens and using increasingly sophisticated tools, most have been able to easily avoid both civil and criminal enforcement efforts as they pick their victims' pockets, sometimes even robbing them of their life savings.
Americans are cheated out of an estimated $40 billion a year in telemarketing fraud alone, and additional $4 billion in mail scams. The victims in many cases are senior consumers who are constantly approached with fraud, con jobs, scams and ripoffs on a consistent basis. One can find unethical behavior when buying a car, purchasing insurance, using your credit card, shopping at the mall, making purchases online, or taking out a loan.
Some scams are easy to identify and avoid yet others are harder to spot. You need to be able to identify all of them before it's too late. Failing to detect a single scam can cost you thousands of dollars. For example, telephone-number "spoofing" technology, available through certain providers on the Internet, bypasses one popular consumer safeguard, caller ID, to make you believe a scammer is actually your bank or a government agency. How does one protect themselves from even the most sophisticated of business or consumer cons?
Jim Merrick, who was himself the victim of a complex financial scam, founded Clickfirst (www.clickfirst.com) a breakthrough in consumer protection which provides detailed background information on businesses who participate. Companies who have nothing to hide, that are seeking to provide the best possible service, and supply flawless customer support are streaming to the Clickfirst and registering as members of the consumer advocate network. “I know that knowledge is the key to real consumer safety”, states Merrick at his Florida headquarters. “I wish I had this type of site to go to before a suffered a devastating financial blow when trying to fund another company”.
The use of background checks in human resources offices is now a common practice, saving companies hundreds or even thousands hours of grief from avoiding bad hires. Clickfirst is now the first place any consumer should go to properly check the background of companies one is planning a purchasing products or services from. “All of the companies who participate in Clickfirst are businesses who are taking that extra step to provide consumer confidence and trust”, Says Merrick. “This is at the core of Clickfirst. We want you to know your dealing with “stand up” businesses”.
Consumer fraud has many faces. One of the more devious types of fraud involves a caller with insider investment advice who has mistakenly dialed a "wrong number"--yours. They spill their guts about something that is confidential that they let slip accidentally. The scammer ultimately hopes that their calling mistake triggers future buying by the unsuspecting victim.
Con artists even buy mail listings of names and contact information of people whom market-research companies have determined are gullible or desperate to get rich quick because of illness. There's even a scam for cheating people who have already been victimized: So-called recovery-room operators buy lists of people who lost money in worthless investment schemes, then call to "help" recover their losses--for up-front fees.
With more people using internet research as their first line of consumer knowledge and defense Clickfirst is growing in popularity. Companies who are registering at Clickfirst will see large spikes in their sales because of their presence on the site. As more companies find out about and then become members of the Consumer Advocate Network, consumers will increasingly rely on the site as the first place to go to before making a buying decision. They will click first before they purchase or invest. That is one way to foil the attempts of unethical companies and scammers looking to make a clean get away with consumer payments.
Bob Cefail
Editor In Chief
Press Direct International
As 2007 draws to a finish, a review of some of the most recent consumer fraud shows that unethical businesses and outright scammers have had a active as well as a lucrative year. Targeting the most vulnerable citizens and using increasingly sophisticated tools, most have been able to easily avoid both civil and criminal enforcement efforts as they pick their victims' pockets, sometimes even robbing them of their life savings.
Americans are cheated out of an estimated $40 billion a year in telemarketing fraud alone, and additional $4 billion in mail scams. The victims in many cases are senior consumers who are constantly approached with fraud, con jobs, scams and ripoffs on a consistent basis. One can find unethical behavior when buying a car, purchasing insurance, using your credit card, shopping at the mall, making purchases online, or taking out a loan.
Some scams are easy to identify and avoid yet others are harder to spot. You need to be able to identify all of them before it's too late. Failing to detect a single scam can cost you thousands of dollars. For example, telephone-number "spoofing" technology, available through certain providers on the Internet, bypasses one popular consumer safeguard, caller ID, to make you believe a scammer is actually your bank or a government agency. How does one protect themselves from even the most sophisticated of business or consumer cons?
Jim Merrick, who was himself the victim of a complex financial scam, founded Clickfirst (www.clickfirst.com) a breakthrough in consumer protection which provides detailed background information on businesses who participate. Companies who have nothing to hide, that are seeking to provide the best possible service, and supply flawless customer support are streaming to the Clickfirst and registering as members of the consumer advocate network. “I know that knowledge is the key to real consumer safety”, states Merrick at his Florida headquarters. “I wish I had this type of site to go to before a suffered a devastating financial blow when trying to fund another company”.
The use of background checks in human resources offices is now a common practice, saving companies hundreds or even thousands hours of grief from avoiding bad hires. Clickfirst is now the first place any consumer should go to properly check the background of companies one is planning a purchasing products or services from. “All of the companies who participate in Clickfirst are businesses who are taking that extra step to provide consumer confidence and trust”, Says Merrick. “This is at the core of Clickfirst. We want you to know your dealing with “stand up” businesses”.
Consumer fraud has many faces. One of the more devious types of fraud involves a caller with insider investment advice who has mistakenly dialed a "wrong number"--yours. They spill their guts about something that is confidential that they let slip accidentally. The scammer ultimately hopes that their calling mistake triggers future buying by the unsuspecting victim.
Con artists even buy mail listings of names and contact information of people whom market-research companies have determined are gullible or desperate to get rich quick because of illness. There's even a scam for cheating people who have already been victimized: So-called recovery-room operators buy lists of people who lost money in worthless investment schemes, then call to "help" recover their losses--for up-front fees.
With more people using internet research as their first line of consumer knowledge and defense Clickfirst is growing in popularity. Companies who are registering at Clickfirst will see large spikes in their sales because of their presence on the site. As more companies find out about and then become members of the Consumer Advocate Network, consumers will increasingly rely on the site as the first place to go to before making a buying decision. They will click first before they purchase or invest. That is one way to foil the attempts of unethical companies and scammers looking to make a clean get away with consumer payments.
Bob Cefail
Editor In Chief
Press Direct International
About The Author: Bob Cefail is one of the founders of In Touch Marketing and Editor In Cheif for Press Direct International.