Have you ever tried to type in a web address in your Internet browser and misspelled the address and another site came up. Believe it or not, webmasters and/or businesses take advantage of your errors. Some of the most popular websites in the world are targeted by these individuals/businesses trying to make a quick buck.
In an article published in the March 26, 2006 edition of The Wall Street Journal, it was stated that financial aid and credit report sites have the most problems dealing with this. According to the article, the site www.freecreditreport.com is actually not free. The site is produced by Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States. It may say you can get a copy of your free credit report, but only after you sign up for one of the company's credit monitoring services. The services are free if you back out in the 30 day period window, but if you do not back out, you will then be charged $9.95 or $12.95 per month depending on what service you choose. The actual website that has free credit reports with no obligations is www.annualcreditreport.com. Make sure to spell it correctly.
Other types of sites like www.espn.com, www.myspace.com, www.ebay.com and www.nytimes.com have followers that are taking advantage of their names in case a user misspells the address.
• Myspace.com - If you accidentally type in Myspave.com (the "v" key is to the right of the "c" key), an unaffiliated site to Myspace.com pops up and offers a "Who is on Myspace" service. This service enables the Myspace user to keep track of who is looking at their profile. The catch is, in order to complete the registration for this service; you must register for www.tagworld.com, which is a Myspace competitor.
• ESPN.com – If you type in ESON.com by mistake, and adult link site comes up that claims they have the best adult links on the net. Notice that the "O" key is right next to the "P" key.
• Ebay.com – If you type in Eaby.com, an unaffiliated site to ebay comes up and offers books to help you close deals on ebay. The book's advertisement states "Learn 27 ways to avoid being ripped off and 13 ways to find the best deals on eBay."
• Nytimes.com – The New York Times has one of the most popular news related websites. If you type in nttimes.com, a page comes up with links to buy subscriptions of The New York Times at different sites, such as amazon.com and ebay.com.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some suggestions include:
• Take care in what you type.
• Mind suffixes that you are using, so as to not input a ".com" when you really need a ".gov." And if you are not sure who is producing the site, look for information within the "Privacy" or "About Us" sections.
Copyright 2006 Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp.
Pete Glocker is employed in the Education and Charitable Services Department at Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp. ("DMCC"), a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization located in Boca Raton, Florida. Pete graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a BA in Multimedia Journalism and was a web producer Intern for Tribune Interactive products Sun-Sentinel.com and SouthFlorida.com. DMCC provides free financial education, personal budget counseling, and debt management plans to consumers across the United States. Debt management plans offered by DMCC help consumers relieve the stress of excessive debt by reducing credit card interest rates, consolidating and lowering monthly payments, and stopping collection calls and late fees. DMCC financial counselors can be reached for free education materials, budget counseling and debt management plan quotes by calling 800-863-9011 or by visiting http://www.dmcccorp.org. Pete Glocker can be reached by email at pete@dmcccorp.org.
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