“A grandmother pretends she doesn’t know who you are on Halloween.”
- Erma Bombeck
October 29, 2009
People First
Submitted By: Caroline Verdi Century 21 Select Group Tyler Hill, PA
Hello everyone,
I am involved in three businesses all of which I enjoy and look forward to on any given day. This fact is a true blessing especially since most people don’t even have one job that they enjoy.
Whether I am at the office at Century 21—Select Group in Tyler Hill, singing at one of my gigs in the area or selling furniture at Rasmussen’s, I find that one thing is almost always true. It is the people around you that matter and contribute to making you successful and happy in your work.
Networking is not new to anyone. Every person we interact with is a potential client or could connect us to a client. I believe that in order to gain loyal customers we must concentrate on the person before the sale. By that I mean listening to what they have to say, really hearing their needs and concerns and showing respect. If we take a genuine interest in someone and actually have something of value to offer them, then the rest will come naturally.
On that same note, keep in mind that you also matter as a person in your business dealings. We all have a choice in how we act towards others. If someone treats you in a negative manner you might respectfully decide not to work with them. Sometimes the potential dollar amount to be made is not worth the personal expense.
Make it a great day!
Real estate scams hitting more REALTORS®
Submitted by: Kim Shindle
Add real estate as a medium for the growing trend of Internet scams.
Several Pennsylvania REALTORS® have recently discovered their names being used by Internet scam artists, particularly on the popular site Craigslist.com. The scammer often “adopts” a REALTOR’S® identity and uses it to trick unsuspecting consumers into sending deposits for apartment or home rentals.
The sophistication level of the scams continues to increase as these con artists lift property photos from the REALTORS®’ web sites, load them onto Craigslist and try to lure consumers into sending them deposits.
Nils Frederiksen, spokesperson for the PA Attorney General’s office, said, “The office has seen every form of financial scam more than double in the last two years. People are getting burned as both buyers and sellers.”
Fredericksen said if a REALTOR® is using the Internet to do business, he/she should make it a priority to find out what’s on the Internet about him/her. “These days you have to not only market your listings online but almost counter-market your information,” he said. “It behooves you to do a Google search on yourself to see if someone’s blogging about you or if someone is falsely using your name or information.”
Adding a watermark to photos, perhaps the REALTOR’s® web site, also makes it harder to use the photo illegally, Fredericksen advised. “You want to make it as difficult as possible for someone else to copy your information,” he said.
Fredericksen said if a REALTOR® suspects someone in his community is conducting this type of crime, they should contact their local law enforcement. Many times, however, this type of Internet crime involves people overseas and that makes it a federal crime.
If a REALTORS® discover their identity has been falsely used, they should file complaints with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).
The PA Attorney General’s office tracks such crimes and REALTORS® may file complaints online or call 800-441-2555.
If it appears that an item posted for sale on Craigslist may be part of a scam, e-mail the details to abuse@craigslist.org including URL (or 10-digit post ID number) in the message. Craigslist advises contacting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online or at 877-382-4357.