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MarketMonitorthe News for Better Business Bureau Accredited Businesses

This One’s For YouBBB Campaigns Promote Value Of BBB Accreditation and Services

Your BBB is proud to promote the BBB Accredited Businesses who have taken the extra steps to assure consumers that they are a business that can be trusted.

Maybe you have heard one of the two BBB radio spots airing on a few of the local Clear Channel Radio Stations? Or caught a glimpse of one of the two BBB Branded RTA Buses?

Have you seen a BBB co-branded billboard on your morning commute? Or maybe you have seen our “Screened – Approved – Monitored” print ad in one of the area’s community publications?

If your community publishes an annual community directory, take a look inside – chances are you will find a BBB ad.

Have you seen a BBB promotion on your Facebook feed?

Helping consumers find trustworthy businesses like your company is just one of the many ways BBB serves our community!

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BBB Serving Greater Cleveland October 2014

INSIDE: Fraudulent Online Rental Listings Lure Consumers

‘Tis The Season To Be Generous On Our Radar

B2B Discounts For BBB Businesses Cyber Risks◊

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Check Out One Of Cleveland’s “HOT” New Venues

Celebrate students and business leaders who embody integrity. Hear riveting comments from a man who spends his life protecting you from danger. Don’t miss BBB’s “Celebration of Integrity” on December 4th. The breakfast event is being held in the 4th floor banquet room at the recently renovated Ariel International Center (formerly Leff Electric) on E. 40th St., just a block south of the E. Shoreway.

Take in the spectacular lake and downtown views while enjoying comments by Stephen Anthony (pictured at right), Special Agent-in-Charge of Cleveland’s regional FBI office. Hear the FBI’s perspective on the looming cyber threat and other significant threats facing northern Ohio. The event will also feature the popular and inspiring Students of Integrity Awards presentation, and, for the first time, will honor special businesspeople whose marketplace conduct and leadership in promoting ethical business practices have earned them the title “Champions of Integrity.” Space is limited. The first two admissions to the breakfast event are free to BBB Accredited Businesses. Additional admissions are only $20. RSVP now by calling Mary Hanes at 216-623-8964 x 121.

Have a BBB Blast at our December 4th Event Service to the Community

Greater Cleveland BBB Activity Report From

January - September 2014Reports issued on

companies/charities.................. 942,337

Customer complaints filed............... 6,447

Online Accredited Business Directory listings viewed......................... 8,035,025

bbb.org/cleveland visits............... 882,379

Advertising review cases initiated...... 278

The Short List (from Business News Daily)

5 Common Money Mistakes Businesses Make

Not having enough cash reserves.

Being plastic dependent.

Mixing personal and business finances.

Shorting yourself on compensation.

Not having an organized accounts receivable

system.

Seek out industry professionals to help

guide you through the labyrinth of the endless financial pitfalls that could be looming.

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Follow Us On:

On Our Radar

Calls from “IRS” Several local communities have reported a rash of calls to residents from someone claiming to be from the IRS. The caller claims you owe back taxes and, unless they are paid immediately, you will be arrested. BBB has worked with local media to publicize this scam.

Government Grant Scams A young mother of two called BBB to report she has lost $7,000 to a government grant scam. She received a call announcing she had been selected to receive a $10,000 grant being awarded to single mothers who wanted to return to school. She was told to get several Green Dot MoneyPak cards to pay various required

fees. The government does not award grants by phone and does not require the immediate payment of any fees in order to receive a grant. Real government grants

are posted at grants.gov.

October 2014

‘Tis the Season to be Generous (but Careful!)

The holiday season is approaching, and with it will come mailings, calls, and other solicitations from a whole spectrum of charitable organizations. Many

are worthwhile, others less so. Some are outright scams. How do you recognize trustworthy non-profits? Unfortunately, a convincing name and persuasive marketing do not guarantee legitimacy. The US Navy Veterans Association, a fake charity created by scam artist Bobby Thompson (real name: John Donald Cody) was able to bilk donors across the country out of an estimated $100 million, including nearly $2 million here in Ohio. The “charity” operated for nearly 8 years until law enforcement finally caught on. Cody was convicted by an Ohio jury in 2013 and sentenced to 28 years in prison. The millions in donations, unfortunately, are long gone and never reached their supposed veteran beneficiaries.

You can avoid situations like this and find responsible charities by checking with your BBB at bbb.org/cleveland. Non-profits that participate in BBB’s charity review program are evaluated against our 20 Standards for Charity Accountability, and only those organizations that meet all 20 become BBB Accredited Charities. BBB Accreditation ensures that these charities meet basic standards in:

- How they govern their organization, - The ways they spend their money, - The truthfulness of their representations, and - Their willingness to disclose basic information to the public.

So give yourself the gift of confidence this holiday season and check with bbb.org/cleveland before you donate!

Your Employees Could be Your Greatest

Cyber Security Risk

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. An essential part of your company’s online security rests with your staff. The National Cyber Security Alliance provides these tips:

Talk to Your Employees About: Keeping a clean machine: Your company should have clear rules for what employees can install and keep on their work computers.

Make sure they understand and abide by these rules. Unknown outside programs can open security vulnerabilities in your network.

Following good password practices: Making passwords long and strong, with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, along with changing them routinely and keeping them private are the easiest and most effective steps your employees can take to protect your data.

When in doubt, throw it out: Employees should know not to open suspicious links in email, tweets, posts, online ads, messages or attachments – even if they know the source. Employees should also be instructed about your company’s spam filters and how to use them to prevent unwanted, harmful email.

Backing up their work: Whether you set your employees’ computers to backup automatically or ask that they do it themselves, employees should be instructed on their role in protecting their work.

Over the past few weeks, BBB Serving Greater Cleveland has received several calls about A1 Realty Home. The business lists several homes available for rent in the Cleveland area.

A Cleveland woman contacted BBB after searching Craigslist for a single home rental property that would accept pets. She was excited to find several options that seemed perfect and fit her budget.

The properties were advertised by A1 Realty Home and listed (818) 435-3998 for information. The woman told BBB, “The man I spoke to said his name was ‘Dave Green - Green, like your mon-ey.’ He was a fast talker. He said the house was cheap because it was ‘pre-foreclosed.’ You know, when you have a pet, you are vulnerable. I could get this house and didn’t have to pay a deposit for my dog or anything. But he wouldn’t give me the address until I wired $500 to Robero Santos Jr. in the Philippines. That’s when I started to feel funny about it.”

Advertising phantom properties for sale and/or rent online has become a common scam. Pictures of homes are often lifted from valid real estate websites and may not even exist in your area. In the case of A1 Realty Home, BBB found that a home advertised for rent by the business and listed as located in Cleveland was also advertised for rent in Wilmington, North Carolina by another unrelated company.

The pictures of the two properties are identical and the description appears to have been slightly tweaked by A1 Realty Home for the Cleveland ad.

The domain registration for A1 Realty Home’s website, A1RealtyHome.com, originated in Panama. BBB emailed a request for further information to the company but has (not suprisingly) not received a response to date.

Fraudulent Online Rental Listings Continue to Lure Unsuspecting Consumers

Be Sure To Check Them Out At...bbb.org/cleveland

USPS Statement of Ownership

Donating To A Charity This

Holiday?

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October 2014

‘Tis the Season to be Generous (but Careful!)

The holiday season is approaching, and with it will come mailings, calls, and other solicitations from a whole spectrum of charitable organizations. Many

are worthwhile, others less so. Some are outright scams. How do you recognize trustworthy non-profits? Unfortunately, a convincing name and persuasive marketing do not guarantee legitimacy. The US Navy Veterans Association, a fake charity created by scam artist Bobby Thompson (real name: John Donald Cody) was able to bilk donors across the country out of an estimated $100 million, including nearly $2 million here in Ohio. The “charity” operated for nearly 8 years until law enforcement finally caught on. Cody was convicted by an Ohio jury in 2013 and sentenced to 28 years in prison. The millions in donations, unfortunately, are long gone and never reached their supposed veteran beneficiaries.

You can avoid situations like this and find responsible charities by checking with your BBB at bbb.org/cleveland. Non-profits that participate in BBB’s charity review program are evaluated against our 20 Standards for Charity Accountability, and only those organizations that meet all 20 become BBB Accredited Charities. BBB Accreditation ensures that these charities meet basic standards in:

- How they govern their organization, - The ways they spend their money, - The truthfulness of their representations, and - Their willingness to disclose basic information to the public.

So give yourself the gift of confidence this holiday season and check with bbb.org/cleveland before you donate!

Your Employees Could be Your Greatest

Cyber Security Risk

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. An essential part of your company’s online security rests with your staff. The National Cyber Security Alliance provides these tips:

Talk to Your Employees About: Keeping a clean machine: Your company should have clear rules for what employees can install and keep on their work computers.

Make sure they understand and abide by these rules. Unknown outside programs can open security vulnerabilities in your network.

Following good password practices: Making passwords long and strong, with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, along with changing them routinely and keeping them private are the easiest and most effective steps your employees can take to protect your data.

When in doubt, throw it out: Employees should know not to open suspicious links in email, tweets, posts, online ads, messages or attachments – even if they know the source. Employees should also be instructed about your company’s spam filters and how to use them to prevent unwanted, harmful email.

Backing up their work: Whether you set your employees’ computers to backup automatically or ask that they do it themselves, employees should be instructed on their role in protecting their work.

Over the past few weeks, BBB Serving Greater Cleveland has received several calls about A1 Realty Home. The business lists several homes available for rent in the Cleveland area.

A Cleveland woman contacted BBB after searching Craigslist for a single home rental property that would accept pets. She was excited to find several options that seemed perfect and fit her budget.

The properties were advertised by A1 Realty Home and listed (818) 435-3998 for information. The woman told BBB, “The man I spoke to said his name was ‘Dave Green - Green, like your mon-ey.’ He was a fast talker. He said the house was cheap because it was ‘pre-foreclosed.’ You know, when you have a pet, you are vulnerable. I could get this house and didn’t have to pay a deposit for my dog or anything. But he wouldn’t give me the address until I wired $500 to Robero Santos Jr. in the Philippines. That’s when I started to feel funny about it.”

Advertising phantom properties for sale and/or rent online has become a common scam. Pictures of homes are often lifted from valid real estate websites and may not even exist in your area. In the case of A1 Realty Home, BBB found that a home advertised for rent by the business and listed as located in Cleveland was also advertised for rent in Wilmington, North Carolina by another unrelated company.

The pictures of the two properties are identical and the description appears to have been slightly tweaked by A1 Realty Home for the Cleveland ad.

The domain registration for A1 Realty Home’s website, A1RealtyHome.com, originated in Panama. BBB emailed a request for further information to the company but has (not suprisingly) not received a response to date.

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Pre-Employment Background Reports - Online criminal checks for $15.95 each. Other reports also discounted. Call IntelliCorp at (800) 539-3717.

Document Shredding - All Ohio Secure Shred will shred documents on site for $25/month for one container. Also, one-time bulk purge for 10 cents/lb. $50 minimum. Call (330) 659-0840 or (888) 747-3394.

Phone Service - Easton Telecom - Rates ranging from 2.5¢ - 3.5¢/minute for long distance calls, toll-free lines as low as 1.79¢/minute. 5% discount off most retail services. Contact Jim Butler at (800) 222-8122.

Some member discount programs generate revenue which BBB reinvests into the organization’s operations.

B2B Discounts for BBB Accredited Businesses

Text SCAMto 24587

Sign Up For Free BBB Scam Alerts!

There is no fee to sign up for BBB Scam Alerts, but your carrier’s text messaging

rates do apply.

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The Market MonitorBetter Business Bureau2800 Euclid Ave., 4th Fl.Cleveland, OH 44115-2408

The Market Monitor (ISSN 1085-5122). October 2014. Volume 9 No. 5. Published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October and December by the Better Business Bureau, Inc. 2800 Euclid Ave., 4th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44115-2408, Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, OH. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Market Monitor, 2800 Euclid Ave., 4th Fl, Cleveland, OH 44115-2408.

Periodicals Postage Paid

October 2014

BBB At Community Events Congratulations to the Winners of this Fall’s BBB Coloring Contest!We have been on the road attending local business shows

throughout our service area.

You may have seen us at the Chagrin Valley Community Expo, Berea-Brook Park-Middleburg Heights Biz Expo, Beachwood B2B Show, or the Rocky River Business Expo.

We’ll also be visiting Strongsville, Parma, Parma Heights, Seven Hills, Garfield Heights, Brecksville, and Maple Heights.

Elisabeth Corrigan and Sharon Pelagalli of PJ’s Day Spa at theRocky River B2B event.

Six year old Kelsey Drab was awarded First Place for the 3-7 age category.

Ten year old Annie Koppitch was awarded First Place in the 8-11 age category.

Our Facebook fans voted 7 year old Allison Ott as the winner of People’s Choice Award.

Each of the three winners will receive a $50 Visa Gift Card. The two First Place winners have also earned a $50 donation to their current school’s art program.

Thank you to all who entered. We hope to receive as many great works of art for our upcoming Spring BBB Coloring Contest.