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social media scams to avoid in 2016 - Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions

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social media scams to avoid in 2016 - Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions

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Nowadays, almost everyone is vulnerable in the virtual world and it's not surprising that scammers often target victims in social media sites. The power of social media is massive these days because there are billions of people using social media platforms every day to perform different purposes.

Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions claims that the personal, especially the financial information of a person are not 100% secured online. Experts reveal that in the past few years, the number of phishing attempts on social networking sites has exploded to more than a hundred percent.

To hide their identity, fraudsters often blend in with the crowd and use social media to target a lot of people. They take advantage of the way people use social media by mimicking users and their activities to deal with business matters. Alfa One Corporation reviewed some studies and found out that the following are the most common scams on social media sites today.

Fake customer service accounts

This deceitful scheme often happens on Twitter. Criminals who reside online can phish the financial and other sensitive data of their victims by creating fake customer service accounts. Their usernames may seem identical to the genuine ones, but note that there are usually some characters that do not match or does not belong to the original one. Look for an extra underscore or other keyboard characters.

One example of this scheme is that when a real customer tweets at a major bank, the fraudsters will divert the conversation by replying to that tweet with an answer that seems authentic. And intercept the tweet with a link to a fake support site that attempts to steal the customer's actual banking account details.

Fake comments

Well, this could be done by anyone, but scammers have different motifs behind and often done on popular posts. It's apparent that a well-liked social media post or news story will generate a lot of comments and the scammers will take advantage of that. They will pretend to be an ordinary Facebook user and will comment on posts with links that could catch the interest of many that often leads to a credit card phishing scam.

Fake discounts

Some online discounts are bogus and this scheme is somewhat similar to fake customer service accounts. Scammers will create social media accounts that are identical to real businesses and pretend to offer real deals and discounts, and then steal your personal and financial information.

Fake live-stream videos

Live-streaming appears to be a trend nowadays and a lot of media companies began streaming their shows and movies online. Through this, scammers find a new way to find possible targets and carry out financial phishing scams. For example, they usually offer a link to a free live stream and many people will tend to believe them and not knowingly, becomes a victim of an evil scheme. In this tactic, the link will take you to a fake website and demands you to provide your personal information in order to begin the live-stream.

Fake surveys and contests

Not all online surveys and contests available on the web are real. Scammers can mine and sell your personal data by doing surveys and contests that require you to provide your credentials through personal questions. Scammers use the comment section on social media sites to target as many people as possible with fake online surveys and quizzes that steal personal information. They often embed them into social media posts and often look legit because of URL shorteners and there's also a normal looking profile picture. Be aware of a comment that goes something like this: "What's your opinion? We'd like to know! Participate in our research surveys and enter to win prizes!”

Alfa One Corporation always strives to give people important warnings about scammers on social media sites. The firm wants you to remember that the only one responsible for your own safety is yourself. Not every post you see on the internet is real, so be cautious all the time.

For over two decades, the financial experts of Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions in Tokyo, Japan have provided a one-stop financial-services source in management of business practice, tax and financial planning, accounting, transition, investment counseling and retirement planning consultancy especially for the dental industry in Malaysia, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Since our company started its operations, dentists have relied on our knowhow, expertise, and experience to help them attain their business and personal objectives with excellent results. Our well-trained staff of Certified Public Accountants, Certified Financial Planners, accountants and bookkeepers are ready to provide dentists the assistance they require on a day-to-day arrangement. We aim to enhance all our clients' financial productivity as well as the quality of life.

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Alfa One Corporation Complete Accounting Solutions: How
to Protect Your Business Against Fraud

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Alfa One Corporation Complete Accounting Solutions: How
to Protect Your Business Against Fraud

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The amount of fraud being perpetrated against businesses is getting worse, both in terms of the number of instances and the amount of money that is being lost, and some of that can be attributed to worsening economic times, according to research. Almost half of the companies around the world surveyed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in 2009 reported that they suffered one or more instance of economic crimes. The survey, which involved 3,000 executives of businesses large and small in 54 countries, found that 88 percent of U.S. companies that reported some type of fraud also reported declines in financial performances. In addition, three-fourths of the crimes against businesses in the U.S. were carried out by insiders.

For small and mid-sized businesses, the vulnerability to fraud can be compounded because of the sometimes informal nature and the fact that fewer staff members can result in less oversight -- and a lack of checks and balances.

'Small businesses tend to be very informal in nature. A lot of times they're either formed with friends or family members, and all the formalities are not in place as they would be in a larger business,' says Elena N. Lougovskaia, co-founder of Lougovskaia Boop, LLC, a law practice in Cleveland, Ohio, focused on business law and commercial litigation. 'Employees wear many different hats and perhaps decision makers should be separated from people who sign the checks or one person should be responsible for signing check and a separate person should be responsible for accounting, processing invoices, and purchasing.'

The following pages will cover the types of fraud against business, how to detect fraud in your business, and how to set up policies and procedures to prevent your business becoming a victim of fraud.

How to Protect Your Business against Fraud: Types of Fraud against Business

The media is filled with stories of consumer victims of fraud.  But the reality is that businesses, especially smaller enterprises, are more often the victims of fraud than consumers.  The types of fraud can vary wildly, from accounting scams carried out by employees to fraudulent returns from customers to data theft by outsiders. Businesses have less protection than the consumer and, in some cases, can be held responsible in a business fraud scheme, owing liability to banks, shareholders, insurers, credit card processors and other entities. New laws also hold businesses accountable for liability in the event of some types of fraud perpetrated by third parties, such as data breaches.

Sources of Business Fraud

In order to understand the types of fraud that your business may be vulnerable to, you must first understand the different sources of these crimes. Most professionals agree that the top sources of business fraud, ranked in the order of frequency and cost, are as follows:

For over two decades, the financial experts of Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions in Tokyo, Japan have provided a one-stop financial-services source in management of business practice, tax and financial planning, accounting, transition, investment counseling and retirement planning consultancy especially for the dental industry in Malaysia, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Since our company started its operations, dentists have relied on our knowhow, expertise, and experience to help them attain their business and personal objectives with excellent results. Our well-trained staff of Certified Public Accountants, Certified Financial Planners, accountants and bookkeepers are ready to provide dentists the assistance they require on a day-to-day arrangement. We aim to enhance all our clients' financial productivity as well as the quality of life. Continue reading

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Alfa One Corporation: Accounting tips for new
entrepreneurs of small businesses

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Alfa One Corporation: Accounting tips for new
entrepreneurs of small businesses

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Are you planning to start the business of your dreams? Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions can make it happen.

If you have personal savings, you can use it to finance your needs to get started, which may include computers, brainstorming sessions, and the user experience designer.

However, some individuals achieve a lot of things for their small business, but fails at one thing: accounting, simply because they only put their receipts on one of their desk drawers every day or two to keep track of all their expenses.

When they opt to open a business bank account, they’ve been shuffling between different credit and debit cards to pay employees and sellers, and they had late fees and interest piling up. And thus, they’ll end up calling accounting majors for help.

If you can’t identify which receipts are personal or business-related, your financial history and profit-and-loss reports will be inaccurate. It’ll be a real struggle for you if you don’t have a proper accounting system set up for your small business. It’s also a poor habit to combine business and personal finances. You can easily consult Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions now in Tokyo, Japan for an even more expert advice. For now, here are few accounting tips for your small business:

Identify the costs

Create a summary of all the costs you’ll need to take into account as soon as you make an idea about your small business. Make sure that you remember the costs including the preparation of a business plan or renting an office space. This can help you determine your business expenses and stop you from mistaking personal expenses for business expenses in the future.

Quickly set up business accounts

As an entrepreneur, you should open a separate business checking and savings account when you start your business. This allows you to keep your small business accounts separate, simple and direct.

Use the right card

You don’t need a sharp memory for this one, and remember that there should be no excuses. It’ll be surely hard for you if you accidentally use your business credit or debit card for personal expenses. You can also put a mark on each card if you have trouble remembering which card to use, or open the cards at different banks.

Transfer your income to your personal account

Some small business owners make personal purchases on their business cards as their income. It’s sometimes easy to think that way, but it’s not the case. It’s wrong to make this a habit. Keep in mind that you should make the transfer for the amount you need from your business account to your personal account when you need to take an owner’s draw.

Be as paperless as possible

Putting the receipts on shoeboxes? This case is quite common in small business accounting. However, this era is coming to an end. Look around you, most data can be stored online, right? So this is not surprising. As a new entrepreneur, you should consider the benefits of running a paperless office. Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions can play an important role with this one since they’re great in handling most accounting concerns.

Choose electronic payments and online invoicing

Electronic payments and online invoicing should be an integral part of your small business accounting, especially here in Tokyo, Japan. Business owners can have the advantage of saving time and having less stress of not having to remember to pay the bills because of automatic debit. It’s such a good thing that bill payments were made easy today. You should better think twice and choose online invoicing and offer electronic payment because you don’t want to be one of those business owners who are still sending their clients paper invoices and waiting for a long time to get paid. If you want to make your books much simpler, you have to completely remove paper check writing.

Great advisors should be in your team

It’s totally fine if you have a lot of questions about your small business accounting. As a new entrepreneur, you can ask for the help of experts from Singapore, Malaysia, or Hong Kong such as the Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions. A positive change is expected if you have an access to a team of financial experts, especially when you’re starting a business. Establish a relationship with accounting professionals as soon as possible, and you’ll benefit not only with their advice but also with their networks over time. Don’t wait until tax time or a legal fiasco to happen.

For over two decades, the financial experts of Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions in Tokyo, Japan have provided a one-stop financial-services source in management of business practice, tax and financial planning, accounting, transition, investment counseling and retirement planning consultancy especially for the dental industry in Malaysia, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Since our company started its operations, dentists have relied on our knowhow, expertise, and experience to help them attain their business and personal objectives with excellent results. Our well-trained staff of Certified Public Accountants, Certified Financial Planners, accountants and bookkeepers are ready to provide dentists the assistance they require on a day-to-day arrangement. We aim to enhance all our clients' financial productivity as well as the quality of life.

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Alfa One Corporation Complete Accounting Solutions, Tips
on how to avoid tax scams

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Alfa One Corporation Complete Accounting Solutions, Tips
on how to avoid tax scams

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Scammers have managed to swindle U.S. taxpayers out of $15 million since 2013 and this crisis is still prevalent nowadays. Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions provides important information people should know about some common tax scams and how to avoid them.

Today, it is apparent that tax scams come in different forms, so Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions provides the list of these scams and describes each of them with some basic tips on how to prevent them.

Suspicious IRS phone calls

Scammers are sharp and witty. They could change or use different caller ID numbers to appear as if they’re calling from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Based on scam reviews, scammers often target the most vulnerable individuals such as the senior citizens and new immigrants. They often threaten them with arrest or deportation.

Scammers could recite the last four digits of your Social Security number to gain your trust. They may say that you have a refund due and you need to provide your personal information in order to claim it. They may also demand payments from you and send a follow-up email that appears to be from the IRS, stating that your payments should be made through prepaid debit cards.

Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions needs you to remember that the real IRS wouldn’t ask any of your personal and financial information through phone, email, text, or social media. If someone calls and says he or she is an IRS agent and asks you to send money, end the call.

Phishing

Scammers may send “phishing” emails that appears to be from the IRS and says that the recipient either owes money or is due a refund. Their purpose is to acquire sensitive information from their victims to steal their identity or their money.

If you receive a suspicious email that looks like from the IRS, or any government agencies, Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions suggests that don’t open any of the attachments, and don’t click on the links within each email. This may allow the scammers to collect your personal and financial information, or infect your computer with malicious code.

Summary: For over two decades, the financial experts of Alfa One Corporation Accounting Solutions have provided a one-stop financial-services source in management of business practice, tax and financial planning, accounting, transition, investment counseling and retirement planning consultancy especially for the dental industry in Malaysia, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Since our company started its operations, dentists have relied on our knowhow, expertise, and experience to help them attain their business and personal objectives with excellent results. Our well-trained staff of Certified Public Accountants, Certified Financial Planners, accountants and bookkeepers are ready to provide dentists the assistance they require on a day-to-day arrangement. We aim to enhance all our clients' financial productivity as well as the quality of life.