| LED Digest 1760: Ecommerce Fraud |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" pair Networks: The LED's Web Host Hosting and Domain Reg. from a Trusted Leader pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam,led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com ................................................ March 3, 2004 Issue #1760 ................................................ .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ======= NEW ===================== --== Fraud ==-- ~ Sandi Dettman "I was not aware that my CC processor would approve a purchase when the name and address did not match." ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Usability ==-- ~ Deb Sawyers "I wish I could suggest a usability expert, but I don't know any off-hand." --== Search Engine Marketing Company Guarantees ==-- ~ Donald Nelson "It sounds like they are offering participation in a pay per click program." --== Mozilla vs Internet Explorer ==-- ~ Steve Marriott "...as with all things human the nature of this debate is contradictory, as IE is large, ugly and corporate." ==== BILLBOARD =================== --== Spam Locking Up System ==-- ~ Joe Halbrook --== CSS Problems ==-- ~ Tom Anson ======== NEW ==================================== From: Sandi Dettman Subject: Fraudulent E-Commerce Orders I have been reading with interest the way various LED'ers handle spam, and I applaud the reporting of obnoxious spammers, especially those sending messages containing viruses and worms which can be harmful to our computers, an important tool in all our livelihoods! I would like to bring up however, something which I do not remember being discussed here, E-commerce Fraud. While many of you with e-commerce sites probably have experience dealing with, or rather not dealing with those large, enticing international orders which are to be rushed to Nigeria, Indonesia or Australia, some of the newer or inexperienced LEDers may not. I was the victim of one such order several years ago because I was not aware that my credit card processor would approve a credit card when the name and address did not match. As long as that card is active, they approve it leading a merchant to believe the order is legitimate. I am wiser now and know that in the case of my merchant account, somewhere in their approval code there is a 3 letter "verification code" to match the Name, Address & Zip code. If I don't see all Y's for yes it matches, I check into it further and call the issuing bank to see if the card truly belongs to the person using it. Any more, I can spot the fraudulent international orders right away but still report the the card to the issuing banks. Recently, I took it one step further and notified the company giving these crooks free email accounts which they were using to place these orders. The email provider was more than happy to shut down these accounts and thanked me for my help. I have had several of these orders again recently, so, if you have any suspicious or international orders, make sure you know how your credit card processor issues an approval! Hope I have saved someone a lot of trouble. Sandi Dettman www.artistgifts.com ===== CONTINUING ================================= From: Debra Sawyers Subject: Usability > ... the sales have not increased remotely close to the > increase in traffic... This leads me to conclude that there > might be a usability issue here... Does anyone recommend > a usability expert or have similar issues? - John Fallentine, LED 1758 I did have a problem using your site, but can't tell you why it's happening. I clicked on shades -> honeycomb shades -> 3/4" single -> clicked on any color and then continue. The page takes a few seconds to reload each time I click a blind and click continue, it never gets past the blind swatches. I have to say that I run Norton Internet Security and when I turn that off, the continue leads me to an options page. I can only guess that the page may be checking the referrer and it's coming up against my privacy blocker. If that's the case, anyone with a high privacy settings in IE could also be effected. I wish I could suggest a usability expert, but I don't know any off-hand. Typically, I hit google for the service I'm looking for, then search for that company's name to see what comments have been made about them, especially on webmaster forums. Deb Sawyers ------- new post - new topic ------- From: Don Nelson Subject: SE Guarantees > Do any of these so-called Search Engine Marketing > companies have contracts with the Yahoos of the world, > or are they simply shilling to the uninformed? - Jim Berry, LED 1757 Dear All, I read the letter of Jim Berry about a company promising top placement, and visited their website to see what it is all about. It sounds like they are offering participation in a pay per click program. If you pay enough money your listing can be placed at the top of sponsored results; this is normal and they do not have any exclusive contract with the search engines. Also, if you look at the web page of www.globalinet.net you will see that their own web page is poorly done in terms of optimization -- their title tag says "index". This is not a good sign and you should be careful before entrusting your promotion to them. Sincerely, Donald Nelson www.a1-optimization.com ------- new post - new topic ------- From: Steve Marriott Subject: Mozilla I thought that this discussion thread had just about run its course, although perhaps I should know better as the browser issue has been raised in this bulletin no end of times. But I am moved to reply to Roger. > Personally I have little concern for which browser is dominant... > If my sites display how I want them to on 95%+ computers... - Steve Marriott, LED 1756 > Whether you think you are or not, you are probably very > affected by the browser that you test with, and the one > most of your customers use... IE. - Roger Holden, LED 1759 You miss my point Roger, I didn't say I was unaffected by which browser was dominant and of course you are right to say that I am affected by IE, that is the browser I test with and use, as it is most dominant. My point was about labels. I don't care what the name of the browser is or who powers it as long as sites I design will display the way I want them to - in the vast majority of households. I was alluding to the interminable debate by purists whining about browsers. I don't spend my time here and in other places berating programmers who seem to know nothing of colour theory, font usage or page layout. The number of sites I have visited, where functionality is superb (mind numbingly) and yet the view makes me want to scream (there I've said it now) is countless. Being a small business owner who designs 'on the side' for both my own businesses and others who like what I do design wise (I have completed over 60 small to medium size sites now), I have yet to come across any business owner who gives a damn about the browser wars, they just want their site to display in most households. As soon as I mention there are other browsers and their site may not display so well, usually the eyes start to glaze over. I accept the notion that WC3 compliance may well be a good thing, much the same as telephony standards allow us to communicate anywhere on the globe. But as for browser, well they are entitled to their differences, compliance or not. Here in the UK over 65% of people are employed in SME's and those owners know and understand the beauties of diversity, non conformism and difference, these qualities are what define most small companies and allow them to exist. Of course as with all things human the nature of this debate is contradictory, as IE is large, ugly and corporate. I alluded to this point in my last reply. This is what I find most frustratng about this debate, we all know this don't we? I would suggest that search for perfection is always far more interesting than actually arriving at it. So let's get designing and stop worrying about browser differences, let's help each other out with solutions while accepting difference. Otherwise, before you know it we will be discussing the annoying little differences between Tesco and Sainsbury, Sears and J.C Penny or the Co-op and Spar. Steve Marriott ==== BILLBOARD ==================================== From: Joe Halbrook Subject: Spam lockup > Over the weekend I had a problematic e-mail. I'm writing > about it, both as a heads-up for LEDer's and in the hope > [someone] may be able to shed light on this... - Mekhong Kurt, LED 1759 Mekhong, Thank you for providing a heads-up to the LED community about that particularly nasty email, and it's affect on email clients. It might help speed things up if you used a mailbox previewer to scan your mailbox contents, prior to downloading the mail into your mail client. I always suggest the Ultrafunk Popcorn mail previewer, which you can obtain here: http://www.ultrafunk.com/products/popcorn Using this tool, you can preview only the subject lines and a small portion of any emails that contain attachments - prior to downloading them to your email client. This will prevent problems with email-borne viruses and problems such as what you described, and will speed up the amount of time it takes you to sort through all the unwanted email. Best of success, Mekhong. Joe Halbrook Permission Technologies http://www.cleanmymailbox.com ------- new post - new topic ------- From: Tom Anson Subject: CSS problems Hi LED-ers, I've been working on a re-design of my website (another re-design is in the planning stages -- one day I'll get it right), and have been trying out CSS. Since I'm not a pro, I've done most of my work with IE in mind (that's the default of my system). Once I had my site mostly done, I took a look at it in NetScape and Opera, and some BIG problems presented themselves. It's hard enough to make CSS -- even SIMPLE CSS -- work in IE, but when I get something that works there, it displays quite differently in other browsers (no news to you). I've even had problems getting IE to display consistently. For example, if I want to put space between li-s in ul lists, I've mostly found it necessary to add br br. However, on some pages, this just leaves a huge space -- far more than intended. The other main problem -- that I see -- is getting different levels of li-s to display as I want. I'd like them the first level to be just slightly smaller than the body/paragraph text, with the other levels the same as the first. I've managed to get the first level to display right, but the second level is too large, and the third level looks like headings. I've included some sample pages here. I'd really appreciate some idea of what I'm missing here. http://www.therapeutic-grade.com/References/desk-ref-contents.html http://www.therapeutic-grade.com/whole-life/index.html -- here, Opera doesn't display my div (the image of the oil diagram) as floated to the right. It goes left, with the caption centered on page and text that was supposed to flow around the image set below it. http://www.therapeutic-grade.com/singles/peppermint-essential-oil.html Of course, you're free to look around and find other problems. Any comments? Tom Anson Anson Aromatic Essentials http://www.therapeutic-grade.com ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by pair Networks: pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains Copyright 1995-2004 Adam Audette. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Only the educated are free." - Epictetus |
