HeidiAllen.com

Much has been written about the Nigerian scam, a con game that originated using the mail service, and then jumped to email and spread like wildfire. However, there’s a particularly despicable new version of the Nigerian scam now making the rounds.

As the name indicates, the Nigerian scam originated in Nigeria, but it has since become an international phenomenon. The scam has the following hallmarks:

* The author has nowhere else to turn and thinks you can be trusted.

* They own or have come across a large amount of money.

* They are unable to get the money without your help.

* In exchange, you’ll receive a big reward.

* They want to discuss the specifics with you, so please write back ASAP.

* If you write back, you’ll eventually learn that you have to put up money of your own to get your reward. Of course, they’ll just take your money and disappear.

These emails are successful because they push your greed, ego and compassion buttons, but more importantly, because scammers can send out millions of these things for free. Eventually, they’ll find a sucker.

This new version claims to be from an American soldier in Iraq. That makes it especially dangerous and loathsome, since so many Americans are willing to do anything they can for our troops:

How are you and your family? Hope all is well. My name is Staff Sgt. Shelby Cross; I am an American soldier, serving in the military with the army?s 3rd infantry division. with a very desperate need for assistance, i have summed up courage to contact you.

I found your contact particulars in an address journal. I am seeking your kind assistance to move the sum of US$8m [eight million United State dollars] to you in United State; as far as I can be assured that my share will be safe in your care until I complete my service here.

Source of money;

Some money in US dollars were discovered in dog kennels at a farm house and guest houses in  an estate near one of saddam?s old palaces in Baghdad, Iraq during an operation, and it was agreed by Staff Sgt. kenneth Buff, Sgt 1st Class Daniel Van Ess and I that some part of this money be shared amongst us before informing anybody about it. Since both of them saw the money first, they did the informing, while I played the outsider to protect our interest. This was quite an illegal thing to do, but I tell you what? No compensation can make up for the risk we have taken with our lives in this hell hole, in which my brother in-law was killed by a road side bomb last time.

The above figure was given to me as my share, and to conceal this kind of money became a problem for me even after the initial probe of all soldiers of our command which I was cleared from; so with the help of a British contact working here and his office enjoy some immunity, I was able to get the package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble spot. He does not know the real contents of the package, and believes that it belongs to a British/American medical doctor who died in a raid here in Iraq, and before giving up, trusted me to hand over the package to his family in United States. I have now found a much secured way of getting the package out of Iraq to United State for you to pick up, and I will discuss this with you When I am sure that you are willing to assist me, and I believe that my money will be well secured in your hand because you have the fear of God.

I want you to tell me how much you will take from this money for the assistance you will give to me. One passionate appeal I will make to you is not to discuss this matter with anybody, should you have reason to reject this offer, please and please destroy this message as any leakage of this information will be too bad for us soldier?s here in Iraq and tarnish the reputation of other service men. I do not know how long we will remain here, and I have been shot, wounded and survived two suicide bomb attacks by the special grace of God,this and other reasons I will mention later has prompted me to reach out for help, I honestly want this matter to be resolved immediately, please contact me as soon as possible.

God bless you and your family.

Sgt.Shelby Cross.

1&1 Internet is a hosting service and domain registrar that’s recommended by many. However, my own experience with them has been abysmal.

I used them to register two domains and get a basic hosting package. Miscommunication abounded, and everything took much longer than it should have. (You know those telephone conversations that make you feel like you’re having an aneurism?) In addition, I told them that I didn’t want automatic renewal. Instead, I wanted to be notified in advance so that I could make payment decisions.

This week, they tried to do an automatic renewal without notifying me. Fortunately, the card they used no longer exists, so their attempt failed. THEN they sent me an invoice, even though the start date for the new billing period had already passed.

I wrote back, noting that invoices are usually received a minimum of two weeks in advance. Regardless, I asked them to cancel my hosting. Suddenly, the notice of the declined charge magically appeared in my mailbox. They also responded directly, saying they couldn’t cancel anything by email and sending me to a cancellation website. (I’m still baffled as to why my direct request, sent in response to the invoice and from the address they have on file for me, wasn’t adequate.)

When I went to their cancellation site, the only option I was given was to cancel the hosting AND a domain name. The domain doesn’t come up for renewal until next year.

I called customer service and was told that they had to manually activate a third option if all I wanted was to cancel hosting. From the tired monotone and rapid delivery of this information by the rep, it’s clear to me that he deals with this all day long.

So… Why would an honest company not provide the most logical cancellation option up front? Clearly, they realize that most users aren’t very web savvy and will either accidentally cancel their domain name, or give up and renew the hosting for fear of losing their domain name. Only the tenacious, like myself, will actually call and demand to be able to cancel hosting only. In all scenarios, the result is unhappy customers.

On a positive note, my hosting and domain registration with SustainableWebsites / SustainableDomains has been close to aggravation-free, which I’ve found to be very rare in the hosting world, especially at prices as low as Sustainable offers. I now host three websites with them and have no complaints. As an added bonus, they offset all their energy use with wind power, and operate in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. Two thumbs up!

UPDATE: 1&1 seems bent on being the worst they can be. The first rep told that he was adding an “Instant Domain” option to the cancellation form online. (Why “instant domain” to cancel hosting? Don’t ask me.) Instead, the option was something like “Change your package”. When I called back to make sure this was correct, the rep (a different one) started using terminology that wasn’t on the web pages, and that didn’t seem to refer to what I was trying to accomplish. When I interrupted him to point this out, he told me that if I interrupted him again, he’d terminate the call.

This threw me for a loop. When I was a CSR (customer service representative), we were told never to terminate a call unless the caller was shouting and/or cursing. I was doing neither. After a few more paragraphs worth of miscommunication, I finally got the rep to step me through the page options. When I thought we were done, I mentioned that I’d also like to receive an invoice when my domains come up for renewal, rather than being billed automatically.

The rep, obviously exasperated, informed me that I was now changing what I wanted and I’d have to do everything over again. I pointed out that cancelling my hosting and asking for invoices when my domains approach expiration were two different things. He said I was wrong, that I’d have to wait for the hosting cancellation to finish processing (said it would be “a few minutes”) and that he’d send me instructions by email on how to start over again to get what I wanted.

The email he sent contained instructions on how to cancel my domains. Arggggh! In addition, it’s been over 2 hours and my hosting package still shows as active. They won’t get another penny of my money or a minute of my time.

This is my first entry for a new blog category, ‘Consumer From Hell’. I’m an extremely demanding consumer, so when I find a product or service that meets and even exceeds my expectations, it certainly deserves a little publicity.

Conversly, when a product or service fails to meet even its own promises, someone needs to send out the alert. I’ll do what I can.

EAR POPS VS. EAR BAGS

I’m always trying to find ways to carry everything I might possibly need while looking like I’m carrying almost nothing. When I heard about a couple of products that are essentially flat ear muffs without the band, I was excited. Imagine being able to wear a form-fitting jacket while still packing ear protection in your pocket! Or imagine keeping your ears warm without mussing up your hair.

Ear Pops and Ear Bags work the same way. The user flexes each piece outward, fits it over the ear and then “pops” it forward, which effectively locks it into place. You wouldn’t think there could be much of a difference between the two products. You’d be wrong.

I purchased my Ear Bags several years ago. I was impressed with the quality of materials and craftsmanship. The “Bags” were warm and comfortable, and worked even with my kid-sized ears. I used and abused them often, until finally, towards the end of this winter, I managed to break one.

I immediately went online to find another pair. That’s when I stumbled across Ear Pops. At the time, I couldn’t find Ear Bags for under $20 a pair (you can find them now for $9.50). Ear Pops, on the other hand, were $8, so I thought “Why not?”. Uh… Because you get what you pay for.

The Ear Pops used materials far inferior to those used in the Ear Bags. I tried desperately to wear them, but couldn’t go longer than 15 minutes before I was in too much pain to continue. Worse yet, they didn’t really keep my ears warm.

Now I understand why I keep seeing posts by people calling the whole concept “stupid”. They tried the wrong product. Do yourself a favor. Try Ear Bags and leave Ear Pops to someone else.

I was a AAA Motor Club member for many years. We had a few minor snits, but by and large, I had no problem with them. Until…

I found out that they actually have lobbyists in Washington fighting against things like better mileage standards for vehicles. Huh?!

Now I’m a member of the Better World Auto Club, which lobbies for things that make sense. They even give discounts to owners of hybrid cars and have roadside assistance for bicyclists.

I’ve been a member for a couple of years. Last year, I was forced to use them 3 times in 2 days! No problem. Everyone was nice and understanding about it, and the service met or exceeded what I’d had with AAA.

Their newsletter displays a bizarre sense of humor sometimes (your Aunt Gertrude might tsk tsk), but I highly recommend them. Check ‘em out!