30% Discount!

[Guest Shep]

Fellow riders:

 

Microsoft wants to get people to use their "Live" search (competition for Google). So they are offering what is called "Cash Back".

 

Here's the deal

1. You must have a Ebay account

2. You must have a Paypal account

3. You must go to http://search.live.com/cashback and get a chashback account.

 

Then: (These are important)

 

1. Go to http://www.live.com/ and search for whatever product you want. If it is a qualified product you will see the "Cash Back" logo.

2. Click on the product and it will take you to the Ebay listing (DO NOT go to the Ebay listing without using LIVE or it won't work.

3. Buy your product the normal way paying through Paypal. You will notice the "Cash Back".

4. You will be charged the full amount - and in 30-60 days you will get your "Cash Back" deposited into your Paypal account. This is so that people do not return the product and they get ripped off.

 

So far I have $251.99 - that I have saved.....

 

Please keep in mind - I have no stake in this - I just use it. Make sure you read the terms and conditions and they are something you can live with...

 

Have fun!

Shep

[V7Goose]

Man, I sure hope for your sake that offer is real - it sounds pretty suspicious to me.

 

I personally have not looked into it, so I can't say if it is real or not, but there are a number of things in what you described that sound like a pure fraud. I just advise everyone to be EXTREMELY careful about making online orders or creating new accounts based on such information.

 

My own personal guidelines are that I will NEVER order any item online based on an ad or post of any type. If I am interested in an item, I must independently find the information by directly going to the vendor's site and not using any link or information from a different source. In addition, I never deal with paypal or ebay in any way. Never ever. Even that is not a guarantee, but it is about as safe as you are going to get.

Goose

[Guest Shep]

You can use it - or not - your choice... This is a Microsoft discount and it is good. If peeps are paranoid of Ebay or Paypal - again, their right. But we can't just "poo poo" something that we know nothing about.

 

Goose - I would not have posted this - if I wasn't sure - and I surely woudn't have risked my money. Read the terms and conditions - then you have a better understanding. I didn't get this information from an unsolicited email or a random post. I looked it up and read the terms and conditions.

 

I realize that I am fairly new to this forum - but not new to the Internet, Ebay and Paypal - or computers: been at it for over 25+ years. Not saying that I can't make a mistake - just want people to not be so afraid of things that they won't even do the research and save themselves some money

 

 

Man, I sure hope for your sake that offer is real - it sounds pretty suspicious to me.

 

I personally have not looked into it, so I can't say if it is real or not, but there are a number of things in what you described that sound like a pure fraud. I just advise everyone to be EXTREMELY careful about making online orders or creating new accounts based on such information.

 

My own personal guidelines are that I will NEVER order any item online based on an ad or post of any type. If I am interested in an item, I must independently find the information by directly going to the vendor's site and not using any link or information from a different source. In addition, I never deal with paypal or ebay in any way. Never ever. Even that is not a guarantee, but it is about as safe as you are going to get.

Goose

Edited December 1, 2008 by Shep

[skydoc_17]

Hey Shep,

I have used Ebay and Paypal, for over 5 years now, I have been a Power Seller on Ebay in the past, I have Purchased and sold well over 300 items on Ebay, I have 100% positive feedback, and the few times a deal has gone south, Ebay and Paypal have stood behind me 100%. I saw this cash back feature promoted but have not taken advantage of it myself. The wonderful thing about this forum is the fact that a member can share a "good deal" a fix to a problem, Quality equipment they have used, or a way to save a few bucks when purchasing Items on an INTERNET site. As is always the case, every person must decide what is within their comfort level, I look at on-line purchasing as a valuable tool, I try to always do my homework on a new feature available to me on the INTERNET, I try to never let a general "fear" of new things affect my judgment about the new process I am exploring. I wanted Shep to know that "Thinking outside the box" is encouraged here and I am grateful when a new member has the courage to "jump right in" and share his excitement of a newly found "good deal" with the rest of us. Today, the information shared by Shep may have had little to no value to the people that posted on this thread, but tomorrow, the information that Shep shares with us may help us to fix a nagging problem with our scoots, or save our lives! Shep please feel free to continue to share your ideas with us, I for one am an "old dog" that loves to "learn new tricks"!

Earl

[davepa]

Hi Earl !

I was told about this "cash back " site from a co-worker. I was in the process of researching when I noticed your post. You know me well enough that I will turn over some stones before I give the cash back site a try.

 

That being said, I hope my research proves positive !

 

Say HI to Jean for me...Dave

[StarFan]

I have Purchased and sold well over 300 items on Ebay

 

326 to be exact Earl - And excellent feedback record to say the least !

 

Let us know when the money starts pouring in !

ohhh,, and waiting for the Google map picture when you have time.

[autopilot]

Man, I sure hope for your sake that offer is real - it sounds pretty suspicious to me.

 

I personally have not looked into it, so I can't say if it is real or not, but there are a number of things in what you described that sound like a pure fraud. I just advise everyone to be EXTREMELY careful about making online orders or creating new accounts based on such information.

 

My own personal guidelines are that I will NEVER order any item online based on an ad or post of any type. If I am interested in an item, I must independently find the information by directly going to the vendor's site and not using any link or information from a different source. In addition, I never deal with paypal or ebay in any way. Never ever. Even that is not a guarantee, but it is about as safe as you are going to get.

Goose

 

?????????? Are you saying you don't use paypal or Ebay??????? That's fine if you don't, mind you, I'm just curious. Regarding the use of links. There is software available for free that will tell you whether the site you're landing on is spoofing you or not. (spoofstick is one that comes to mind) and you can click on the little icon at the bottom of the internet explorer screen (next to the little world globe where the page load progress bar appears) and check to see if the that site you are on is a phishing website. If you have a good antivirus suite on your machine, one of the functions will be a screening for potentially harmful sites. Plus, if you desire additional protection, there is free software for that as well. If you're out there all over the web alot, run virus & malware scans more often. Finally, if you happen to have more than one computer and use a router, you automatically gain the benefit of a hardware firewall. Now I'm simplifying alot, but a little commonsense protection goes a long way these days and if you're still wary, use Mozilla's Firefox as it seems to be a little better in the security dept. according to most reports. Bottom line...Sure....be judicious about putting your personal and financial info. out there, but there are a multitude of ways to limit vulnerability in the process.

 

That's my 3cents

[ddoggma]

I have been using it for a month or so now, No problems so far. Fingers crossed...lol

[MiCarl]

Finally, if you happen to have more than one computer and use a router, you automatically gain the benefit of a hardware firewall.

 

Having a router isn't a bad idea even if you only have one computer. After I put one in my mother's house (1 computer) her problems decreased. Now, if I could just get her to quit clicking on attachments that end in .exe she'd be all set.

 

I've known quite a few people who refuse to make an internet purchase because they're worried about credit card and identity theft. Those same people routinely go into restaurants and hand their credit cards to people (wait staff) who disappear with the card for 5-10 minutes. Want to bet which transaction is more likely to result in credit card theft?

[frogmaster]

DELETED... I mixed 2 posts into 1 and that is not accurate.

Edited December 2, 2008 by frogmaster
Error on my part.

[V7Goose]

Shep, please understand I was not chastising you in any way for posting that info. In fact, I think it is great to share things you find that may have value to others. My caution was a general one to all about the risks of ordering stuff and opening new accounts on the internet. There are MANY bad things going on out there, and more and more people are getting shagged every day.

 

I was very careful to state several times that I had NOT looked into the specific thing you posted, but there were some indications that often indicate a fraud or phishing schemes. I simply want all members to be aware of the risks and use extreme caution before giving out any personal or financial information.

 

?????????? Are you saying you don't use paypal or Ebay??????? That's fine if you don't, mind you, I'm just curious. Regarding the use of links. There is software available for free that will tell you whether the site you're landing on is spoofing you or not. (spoofstick is one that comes to mind) and you can click on the little icon at the bottom of the internet explorer screen (next to the little world globe where the page load progress bar appears) and check to see if the that site you are on is a phishing website. If you have a good antivirus suite on your machine, one of the functions will be a screening for potentially harmful sites. Plus, if you desire additional protection, there is free software for that as well. If you're out there all over the web alot, run virus & malware scans more often. Finally, if you happen to have more than one computer and use a router, you automatically gain the benefit of a hardware firewall. Now I'm simplifying alot, but a little commonsense protection goes a long way these days and if you're still wary, use Mozilla's Firefox as it seems to be a little better in the security dept. according to most reports. Bottom line...Sure....be judicious about putting your personal and financial info. out there, but there are a multitude of ways to limit vulnerability in the process.

 

That's my 3cents

Yes, autopilot, I AM saying I will never use ebay or paypal. I am not a Luddite - I think that most of the things I buy come from the internet. I would say that I am a bit of a technology expert. I have been in the computer field for 30 years (and radio, audo, video before that), and although I have recently retired at just over 50, I spent the last 11 years as Chief Information Officer of a billion dollar health care company. Many of the things you suggest are very good, but I would still suggest not good enough. For example, if you rely exclusively on some product to identify spoofed links, you WILL eventually get bit. There are many different products that look for misdirected links, including all the major browsers, but there is absolutely NOTHING that will ever detect or warn you of a perfectly valid link that simply takes you to a site that intends to steal your money or identity.

 

My suggestions are simply that any user take simple precautions to do their own research before jumping. When you hear about a good deal, just look up the company name and go directly to their web site to find the source of the information. Simply doing a google search (or any other search engine) of a particular term or company name can often turn up a bunch of hits about a scam or fraud if there is one going on, so just looking up the company name can sometime give you a heads-up to a scam.

 

I guess the one point you made that I most disagree with is "a little commonsense protection goes a long way." No, it doesn't. That just keeps you from being immediately raped and murdered (metaphorically speaking, of course). In this advanced tecnology with the many, many bad guys spending all their time trying to figure out how to rip you off or set your computer up as a zombie for some future fraud or attack, a "little commonsense protection" is not nearly enough.

 

Finally, I want to warn everyone about potential risks in "free software", ESPECAILLY free software that is supposed to protect you. Yes, there is a lot of free software that is safe and excellent, but there is even more that is specifically designed to load bad stuff on your computer and keep you from finding it just because you think you are protected. I do use a lot of free software myself, so I am not suggesting you stay away from it. Just KNOW what you are getting.

 

Just in case anyone is wondering, my current choice for free antivirus and firewall software is COMODO Internet Security. In addition, I run a hardware firewall and router with network address translation. Even so, I still run everything in stealth mode and do not allow any machine in the DMZ except for testing or running the occasional honey-pot for the scum.

 

Stay safe out there,

Goose