Restaurants are part of all our lives and are one institution visited on a regular basis by many of us. Whether it is a breakfast before work, a quick lunch during work or dinner with family and friends, we often visit these institutions making life easier for ourselves.

In visiting restaurants we enter a relaxed environment feeling safe and secure, and this is exactly the environment fraudsters like to pry on. These circumstances are ideal for fraudsters as their victims can be manipulated easily without causing much suspicion.

How the Scam Works

Offenders of this scam always ensure that they are properly dressed and well-spoken, ensuring that they present the appearance of a professional manager. They then approach a busy restaurant.

Once inside the restaurant, the offender will approach a table and introduce himself as the restaurant manager to the victims. The offender will warn the victims of a recent problem concerning theft and will offer the victim to safeguard their belongings, such as jackets or bags. The victims will be informed of a new safeguarding area inside the restaurant and will also be presented with a small marked token, which must be presented when leaving the restaurant and collecting the property.

Once goods are handed to the fraudster, he will approach a colleague in another area in the restaurant, out of sight of the victims and hand the property over. The fraudster will then approach the next table with the same introduction, warning and proposition while his accomplice removes the goods from obtained from the first victims.

Once finished, the fraudsters will leave the restaurant and victims will be left with worthless tokens and without their property.

Protecting Yourself Against These Scams

Even though you might feel relaxed and secure in your environment, you should never place your trust in any person offering you to part with your property. If you do not know the owner or manager of the restaurant, it is highly suggested that you first call your waiter and confirm the identity of the person claiming to be the manager or owner.

When handing your property to another person, ensure that you go with this person to view the area where your property will be safeguarded. Do not allow the person to leave your table with your property without knowing where it will be taken.

By: Kaung | KMKBlog.com

You can write essay for any specific purpose, but keeping one aim in mind and that is of having a structured well-written Essay.

Three important factors in Essay that matters are Sentence framing, use of appropriate Grammar and than it is the careful use of spellings.

Essay on any topic should be simple and enjoyable to read. The Essay should portray reality, which gets the readers to be enthusiastic more.

Let us start with some of the Tips for Essay writing. We are going to start with Sentences, the use of sentences appropriately is very important in essay writing.

Sentences are formed of Punctuation, Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs and prepositions. Than along with this group comes ‘frequently confused words’ which are used in essay writing as well.

We all have knowledge of what Punctuation is? It is the use of Period (.), question mark (?), exclamation mark (!), comma (,), apostrophe (‘), quotation marks (“), colon (:), semicolon (;), dash (-) and hyphen (_).

Use of period is done at the end of every sentence, for example, [India is one of the largest countries]. Use of period is also done with certain abbreviations ex, [Dr. Hanson is out of town] or [it is 4:00 p.m. here].

Question Mark (?) is used when you have to end a sentence to show a direct question or when you are trying to ask something. Do not use question mark when you are asking indirect questions. Examples are 1. [How many siblings do you have?], 2. [She asked where you went, please don’t ask me why].

Exclamation mark (!) is used at the end of the sentence to show excitement or shock. Ex [I can’t believe that some one can be so pretty!] or [The house is on fire!

Use of comma (,) can be very confusing at times. One has to be very careful in using comma’s at appropriate places in essay writing. There are some rules you can follow.

• Rule one – Use comma to show a pause in your sentence.
Ex – Hence, we ought to leave this place now

• Rule two- Use comma when you want to show some one has said something directly.
Ex- “I can come to your house today”, he said, “but not on Thursday”.

• Rule three- you can use comma to list three or more different things.
Ex- Canada, America, and India are different from each other.

• Rule Four- Use comma around relative clauses when you have to add extra information to a sentence.
Ex- Emily Carr, born in 1871, had a great talent of painting.

Use of Apostrophe (‘) is done when you want to show ownership of something, for ex, this is Jackson’s computer. You can also use apostrophe (‘) when you want to show letters that have been left out of a word, for ex, she doesn’t know how to fix it.

Quotation marks (“) are used when you want to show, what some one has said directly, and ex. Prime Minister Bush said, “We are going to win this war”.

Use of colon (:) is used when you want to introduce a list of things in your essay, ex. She has three belongings: hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste.
You can also use colon (:) when you are introducing long quotation, ex. Prime minister of India said: “we are going to fight this war against terrorism. We will not give up. We have to keep looking at our aim”.

You can use, Semicolon (;) to join related sentences together, ex. The festival of lights is popular; everyone wants to celebrate it.

You can use, Dash (-), when you are summarizing the idea of the sentence, you can use it before and after a phrase or list that adds extra information in the middle of the sentence. Examples are 1. [Smart, pretty, witty- these are the characteristics of Miss. Johnson], 2. [Children- Ashley, Laura, Adie- went to the store together].

You use hyphen in your essay when you are joining two words that form one idea together, ex. Bad-odor or sweet smelling.

These are some of the basic but important rules in essay writing that help in having a good frame of sentence in an essay.
Making a proper use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions will give you one of the best essays. You have to know where to use each of these grammars in your essay. This definitely comes with practicing some grammar skills before you write your essay.

Some of the frequently confused words in the essay are,
(Accept, except; advice, advise; all ready, ready; buy, by; choose, chose; complement, compliment; emigrate, immigrate; it’s, its; loose, lose; miner, minor; past, passed; principal, principle; stationary, stationery; than, then; their, there, they’re; threw, through; to, too, two; weather, whether; your, you’re).

The above words as explained can be confusing while writing essay, therefore you need to make proper evaluation of the following words to use them appropriately in your essay.

Paragraph in an essay can contain, topic sentence, supporting details and closing sentence. Paragraphs can also contain definition, classification, description, compare and contrast, sequence, choice, explanation and evaluation.

Paragraphs always have three stages, Introductory Paragraph, supporting paragraphs and the ending or summary paragraph.

You can start and end your essay with a thoughtful introduction and a challenging summary, this is what most of the readers look for.

By: Kaung Ko | KMKBlog.com

Building traffic to your website

In order for a webmaster to succeed in building a valuable website, you need traffic. Traffic, in short, is the number of visitors to a website, which will eventually determine the success of your website in terms of monetary resell value.

In building traffic to your website, and before we continue with this guide, you need to take into account the golden rule:

“Building traffic does not cost a lot of money, but rather some time and effort you dedicate to establishing a good traffic base. Also, remember, traffic to your website does not happen overnight!”

In this guide we will focus on building long term and quality traffic to your website. By following the steps in this guide, you will soon find visitors visiting your website on a routine basis.

Before we continue explaining some methods you can follow in establishing traffic to your website, we need to focus on the basics first. The basics we are referring to is your website itself. You need to ensure that your website is in the correct format and complete before you attempt any of the suggestions contained in this guide.

An improper formulated or incomplete website will prevent your site from being promoted correctly and will cause you to loose tons of potential visitors.

Your website

A completed website

The first and foremost important factor is to ensure that the design and information contained within your website is complete. There should be no broken hyperlinks between pages, broken links to images or ‘Under Construction’ pages.

Take the time to visit each page of your website and ensure that it is complete. Make use of this opportunity to look at spelling or grammatical errors and fix them.

Your HTML Structure

The HTML structure of a website is of utmost importance when it comes to search engine visibility. If your HTML structure is correct, the majority of search engines will be in a position to crawl your website. An incorrect HTML structure will lead to you losing thousands of potential visitors as search engines will be prevented from crawling and indexing your website.

When looking at your HTML structure, there are three tags that should always be present and completed on each and every website page. They are:
1. The Title Tag
2. The Meta Description Tag
3. The Meta Keywords Tag

These tags are used by search engines to identify the contents of your web pages.

Tip: In each of these attributes you should always mention your main keyword of your website at least once, but not more than twice.

Another important tag in your web pages is the <h1> <h2> and <h3> tags. These are often refer to as your Heading tags and many search engines pay particular attention to these tags in order to identify the content of the various web pages.

Many search engines only look at the first <h1> tag, as this is seen as the most important tag. For this reason, you will always ensure that your Heading tags contain at least your most important keyword.

Years ago, Meta tags played a huge role in search engine rankings, but this has changed. Search engines have become more complicated in their algorithms when determining rankings and are now focusing more on the actual content of your web pages than on your Meta tags. For this reason you should not expect high rankings in search engine results, but rather ensure that your website is at least crawled and indexed.

Search Engine Spiders

Search engine spiders, in short a programmed script, which will visit your website and collect certain information, such as content, code, link popularity, etc. This information is then analysed by an algorithm which will determine your search engine ranking for various keywords related to your website.

Here are some tips, which will ensure that search engine spiders read the content of your website:

1. Use HTML

Although various scripting languages, such as Javascript or flash, add cool features to your website, the majority of search engines do not read these scripts. Limit the usage of these scripts to the utmost minimum and stick to the plain old HTML language.

2. Use of Keywords

Search engines love reading information contained in tags. When placing images on your web pages always attempt to add keywords as descriptions to the images.

When making use of hyperlinks to internal web pages, make use of keywords that describe the different pages you’re linking to. As example, instead of creating a hyperlink like: Click here, rather create a link like: Visit my Car Racing page.

When creating your pages, always ensure that keywords are used in the filenames associated with your web pages. As example, if you have many pages do not name them page1.html, page2.html, page3.html. Rather spend time at looking at each page’s content and create page names like car-racing.html, car-accidents.html, etc.

3. Google Adsense

If you are signed up as a member of Google Adsense ensure that the ads are placed throughout your website. Once your website is uploaded and live, Google will automatically start to crawl your website.

Images

Ensure that all your images have completed HTML tags with descriptions. These are often great for search engine listings, such as Google’s Image search.

Great, we are done looking at your website. You have corrected and completed your website content and HTML source.

We are now ready to start with the recommended steps in attracting traffic to your website.

Day 1 – Search Engine Submission

There are tens of thousands of search engines on the Internet. Just by doing a Google search will damp the spirit of many prospective webmasters when they realise the large number of search engines they will need to submit their websites to.

Do not fear, here is a secret you need to know about search engines. The majority of Internet users only use a handful of search engines, with Google being the most popular, followed by Yahoo! The majority of search engines on the Internet are Meta search engines, meaning they extract their results from the larger search engines such as Google and Yahoo!

“So what are you trying to say?” you might ask. Well, what we are saying is that you need only to submit your website to a small number of search engines, the bigger ones. Eventually your website will appear on all the smaller search engines.

The first and foremost important step is to start submitting your website to the following search engines:

Google.com – http://www.google.com/addurl/
Yahoo.com – https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit
Live.com – http://search.live.com/docs/submit.aspx
Entireweb.com – http://www.entireweb.com/free_submission/
Scrubtheweb.com – http://www.scrubtheweb.com/addurl.html
Alexa.com – http://www.alexa.com/site/help/webmasters#crawl_site

While at Alexa.com, also take a few moments to update the contact information for your website. If possible, download and install the Alexa browser. Each time you visit your website and work on it, you will be increasing your Alexa rank.

Aboutus.com

Go to the website, aboutus.com – www.aboutus.com. In the search box type in the URL of your website. A page will then be created automatically for your website. Having a page in aboutus.com is great for a backlink and actual traffic over a period of time.

You can now create an account with Aboutus.com and start to edit your website’s page.

Great, you have completed the submission. Now, please remember not to submit your website to any of the above-mentioned sites within at least 8 weeks. By submitting your site again may lead to you being banned from being listed in these search engines.

In all likelihood you will still have some time on your hand for the rest of today. Why not use this by submitting your website manually to smaller search engines? As stated, this is not necessary as many of them will display your results in any event when you are indexed by the larger search engines. In some instances, smaller search engines may index you quicker if you manually submit your website to them.

A list of recommended search engines and Day 2 and beyond totaling 15 pages can be purchased through the link below.
Topics covered are:
Day 2 & 3 – Directory Submissions
Day 4 – Bookmarking Your Site
Day 5 – Commenting on Blogs
Day 6 – Links Exchange
Day 7- 8 – Forum Posting
11 Steps Guide

BY: Kaung Ko | KMKBlog.com

Since our childhood days we all experienced a time when we dreamt of becoming the next TV or pop star entertaining thousands of people in our visionary audience. Thank you to technology this dream is far more realistic and easy to achieve, anywhere around the world. In addition to becoming an international star, the monetary advantages makes the majority of adults relive their childhood dreams by attempting to participate in a wide variety of reality programs presented by a large number of television studios around the world.

Where a large amount of people place their hopes and believes in possible future successes, fraudsters tend to thrive with their endless attempts at defrauding the innocent and unsuspecting dreamers.

How the Scam Works

In this scam fraudsters will identify a new reality program to be launched on a television channel. Generally they succeed in reality shows where large amounts of money stand to be won.

After identifying the basis for their scam the offenders will spend money by placing advertisements in local newspapers or magazines. In these advertisements offenders will misrepresent to be the television channel inviting interested participants for the upcoming reality show on television. Interested participants are invited to contact a specified phone number.

Victims phoning the phone number will be told that interviews will initially be held telephonically. Short-listed participants will be contacted at a later stage for a face-to-face interview at the television studio.

All victims phoning the number will later be contacted and informed that they were short-listed for a face-to-face interview and will be required to pay a small administration fee in order to ensure their commitment and attendance of the face-to-face interview. They will then be requested to pay the deposits into a specified bank account.

Once these deposits are paid the victims will not hear from the scammers again.

Protecting Yourself Against These Scams

Always remember that no legitimate organization will charge you any fees if you have qualified to attend any competition, especially reality shows on television. If you are required to pay a fee, this should always raise a flag for you to investigate the offer.

If fees are required, always be sure to contact the actual television studio by looking up their number in a telephone directory and confirm the competition and required fee, before you pay any money.

Always be sure to keep any proof of deposits made and telephone numbers you dial. Also keep the actual advertisement you found in a magazine or newspaper. In the event of a scam, you will need this information when reporting the matter to local law enforcement agencies.

By: Kaung | KMKBlog.com

Small businesses are continuously looking for opportunities to advertise or promote themselves in their respective communities. Often small businesses advertise in local newspapers, magazines and on street poles in order to attract the attention of their communities.

The need of small businesses in promoting their products and services naturally attracts the attention of fraudsters who subsequently infiltrate this market in performing their cunning scams on these institutions.

How the Scam Works

Scammers of the business directory scam will approach small businesses in a certain area and inform these institutions of a new business directory, community newsletter or any other distribution media that will be released and distributed, free of charge, to thousands of residents in the area.

Small business owners will be persuaded to advertise in these publications at very low rates. Often scammers will offer all businesses owners prime advertising space on the front page or full page advertisements throughout the publication if they reserve advertising space immediately. Small business owners will also be offered free advertising design if they sign up with immediate effect.

In order to lend credence to their scams, offenders will request upfront payment from advertisers, but victims will be informed that they only need to pay a 50% deposit. The remaining 50% will be payable once the advertisement has been designed and is ready for placement.

Offenders will receive these 50% deposits from small businesses and then disappear to another area where they will start the scam all over targeting new businesses. The promised publications will never materialize.

Protecting Yourself Against These Scams

Small businesses should always be wary when approached by an individual selling advertising space in unknown publications.

It is highly suggested that the publications be researched before a decision is made on advertising. Things to look out for or ask the agent should include:

• How long has the publication been in circulation
• How many residents will receive the publication
• Who will do the distribution
• Who is the holding company of the publication
• View previous samples of the publication
• Who will be doing the layout and printing of the publication
• Who are previous advertisers

Once these questions are answered, it is suggested that phone calls are made to the company to establish their existence. Contact previous advertisers and ask their comments. Contact the printing and distribution company and ask questions about the publication and the number of the prints that will be released.

By: Kaung | KMKBlog.com

Teaching or nursing, in any country around the world, is often some of the lowest paid professions known. In third-world countries the majority of individuals involved in these professions wish to emigrate abroad with the aim of increasing their monthly remuneration. Many teachers or nursing staff from around the world often simply wish to travel to other countries in gaining experience of other nationalities and/or cultures.

Fraudsters have come to realize the need of those in the teaching or nursing professions and started preying on unsuspecting victims.

How the Scam Works

Fraudsters will start their scams by placing advertisements in newspapers or magazines offering teaching or nursing positions abroad. Often offenders will offer the employment accompanied by free flights and accommodation to successful applicants. Interested applicants are invited to send their CV’s to a specified address or postal address.

Once received, the offenders will contact the victims and inform them that no interview is required and that the victims’ application was successful. The fraudsters will then request the victim to complete an employment contract and Visa application forms in order to prepare for the relocation to another country. The victim will also be informed that an administration fee is required before the Visa application is processed.

Fraudsters will then provide the victim with a fictitious employment contract and Visa application form. These forms need be returned to the fraudsters, along with the administration fee.

Once payment is made to the offenders, they will disappear and the victim will never hear from them again.

Protecting Yourself Against These Scams

Always start off by investigating the company offering the employment. Conduct Internet searches or contact local authorities to ensure that the company is legitimate. Equally important is to ask who the employer abroad will be and investigate the employer. If possible, contact the employer and confirm the positions advertised.

Always be wary when upfront payments are requested. Employment agencies will often generate income from your monthly salary and should not request an upfront fee for their services.

Always ask the company for possible references of people who successfully were employed abroad by their services. Contact these references to ensure the company is delivering a legitimate service.

In the event of a scam, always ensure that you keep the proof of all correspondences and payments made to the company, as this may be required by law enforcement agencies in a criminal investigation.

By: Kaung | KMKBlog.com

Premium numbers used by organizations in earning revenue from mobile phone users are becoming an increasing phenomenon. More businesses are advertising shortened mobile numbers, to where users may send an SMS in order to subscribe to services or ask questions. SMS’s sent to these numbers are charged at higher rates than your normal SMS’s that are being sent by mobile phone users. Many organizations are also making use of the premium number facility in obtaining donations from mobile phone users. SMS’s sent to these numbers are often charged at very high amounts.

Not only did legitimate business institution realise the potential of this income generation facility, but fraudsters have also realised the potential of the premium number service as yet another source of generating more ill-gotten gains.

How the Scam Works

Fraudsters register for membership to a premium number facility. Relatively small amounts are required to launch this service and many institutions offer this service free to qualifying users, sharing only in their profits.

Once successfully registered, fraudsters obtain lists of active mobile phone numbers from the Internet. Often specialized software is used to crawl websites, identify and collect mobile phone numbers. In many instances offenders may obtain lists of mobile phone numbers from existing companies, using friends or family members to illegally gather this information from company systems.

Once obtained, offenders will create an SMS falsely indicating to mobile phone users that they have been registered as users of the system and that a certain amount of money will be deducted from their mobile phone accounts on a daily or weekly basis. The user is also informed that he/she may cancel the subscription by sending an SMS to the premium number.

The majority of mobile phone users will then send an SMS to the number in order to cancel the subscription. What the victim does not realize is that he/she will, by sending the SMS, subscribe themselves to the service and funds will then start being deducted from their accounts.

It has been found that a number of fraudsters are working, along with the service providers, to automatically mass subscribe a number of mobile numbers on their systems. Here no SMS’s are sent and money will be deducted from the subscribed mobile phone numbers automatically.

Protecting Yourself

Always be alert when you receive SMS’s. Make sure that you carefully read every SMS received. If you do receive a notification that you had been subscribed to a service, when in fact you never subscribed, simply delete the SMS without replying to it.

If funds are being deducted from your mobile phone account for a service you have not subscribed for, immediately contact your service provider and launch a formal complaint for the funds illegally deducted.

In many countries around the world you will find specific organizations dealing with consumer scam related issues. Be sure to identify any such organization in your country and report the incident without any delays.

By: Kaung | KMKBlog.com