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How to Prevent Fraud When Shopping Online

Online shopping is finally catching up in Asia, and with it the use of credit cards. Credit cards are one of the best ways to get discounts and rewards. You can even compare credit cards in Singapore to find the best one for you.

However, using a credit card for online shopping brings about the danger of identity theft. Here’s how to prevent your credit card account from getting into the wrong hands:

Avoid Storing Your Credit Card Information

Often, what gets stolen is not your card details but your access to a particular website. If your credit card details are saved on this web account, the thief can then use it to make purchases. For example:

You sign up for an account with an online shopping site (this can range from the App store on your tablet to a retailer’s online store). You are asked to key in your credit card details, which are then automatically saved for your convenience. That way, you won’t have to key it in again on your next purchase.

That sounds like a good idea. But should someone gain access to your shopping account, they may then be able to buy using your credit card, and send the goods to an alternate location (which may very well be in a different country).

To prevent this, avoid storing the credit card information on your shopping accounts. It may be inconvenient, but it’s safer. It also helps in stopping impulse purchases.

Look for Security Signs

Look for the “secure website” logo, a little padlock, which normally appears at the bottom of the browser window. A legitimate e-commerce site should also begin with http://. If the beginning of the address says anything else, you should navigate away and avoid purchases.

You should also observe corporate and brand logos carefully–a common trick is to set up a fake website that vaguely resembles the real thing. Any information you key in is then sent to the identity thief who built the site.

When in doubt, Google the website you are making purchases from. Look for any negative reviews or scam warnings.

Never Pay for Anything by E-Mailing Your Bank Account or Credit Card Details

No legitimate payment portal will require you to e-mail your bank account or credit card numbers. If you receive this request, you are almost assuredly on a scam website. Not only should you navigate away, you should have your computer brought to an expert and scanned for spyware.

Be Stingy with Your Personal Details, However Trivial You Think It Is

Identity thieves can gain access to your computer with nothing more than your NRIC number, address, and phone number. A common way to get this is through scam dating sites–you think you’re filling in details for a dating profile, but you’re really just feeding details to a thief who’s slowly sniffing out your credit card numbers.

Note that, once your credit card number is stolen, chasing down the site owners (an almost impossible task) is useless. These websites often do not use your card information themselves, but sell your data to identity thieves via onion sites.

Call Your Friends Directly if You Get Weird E-Mails From Them

A common tactic is to hack someone’s computer, and then e-mail their contacts to ask for money for an “emergency”.

If your friend’s computer has been hacked, for example, you might get a strange request asking you to send your credit card details because she is trapped in a foreign country, is in an accident, will pay you back tonight, etc.

Call your friend to verify this, and if you can’t get through, seek confirmation from her family or other acquaintances. Do not send your credit card details. If you really need to send money urgently, insist on doing in cash and in person (e.g. no purchasing of iTunes cards or online game currency for transfers.)

Do Not Store or Write Down Your Credit Card Details

There is seldom a good reason to write down your credit card details, or to store them in your phone, hard drive, etc.

If you make a habit of doing this, even a lost phone or discarded computer (on which you may have forgotten to delete the file) can give away your credit card access. It is quite common for identity thieves to acquire “junk” machines and search intact hard drives, in the hopes of coming across sensitive financial information.

Every place on which you record your credit card details gives identity thieves another point of access.

Ultimately, credit cards are a safe, convenient form of payment. With them, you can get a range of money saving benefits–you’ll just have to be careful on how and where you use them.

How to compare credit cards to get the best? There are price comparison sites for credit cards that allow you to find the most suitable card for you.

(This article is brought to you by SingSaver.)

5 Simple Ways To Renovate Your Tiny Flat Without Spending Too Much

It is no secret that most of the flats available in Singapore are relatively small. It is done so as to expand the area available in our wonderful country. Aside from condominiums, HDB flats, ranging from 45 to 110 square meters, are the popular choice of the masses.

Whether you recently got off your parent’s estate or you relocated in the city center, the limited space of a flat can pose different challenges ahead. To live comfortably in it, here is the “5 Simple Ways To Renovate Your Tiny Flat Without Spending Too Much”:

1. SHOP AT IKEA

This Swedish super brand is a hub for home decorating while on a budget. IKEA’s two Singapore stores sell multiple organizational items and furniture that are perfect for small living spaces. For example, you may purchase the BRIMNES slim mirror with 4 storage squares for S$99 or the BYGEL removable dish drainer for only S$6.90.

What’s more? You can get free #homeinspo from their in-store displays or website catalogs.

2. AFFIX YOUR APPLIANCES TO THE WALL

Instead of getting huge drawers for the flat screen television or microwave oven, mount or affix them on the wall. This inexpensive trick is a surefire space saver for a small-scale kitchen or living room.

3. ADD MIRRORS

Adding mirrors to a modest room can make it appear bigger. Wide and oversized mirrors can fool the eyes by reflecting more light and by brightening the room. Save money by mounting two 70×70 cm IKEA STAVE mirrors costing to S$29.90 each.

4. OPT FOR SOFA BEDS

Buying a mattress, a headboard, and a bed frame can be costly and space consuming. Opt for a sofa bed instead. For about S$100, you can purchase a multi-purpose coach that expands into a bed for yourself or your guests.

5. NO-COST VISUAL DISTRACTIONS

You can easily maximize your space for free! All you have to do is to create visual distractions. Keep the room bright by opening the curtains. Then, make room for more by fixing your furniture diagonally.

Image Credits: Jim Cramer via Flickr with Creative Commons License (Attribution-NoDerivs)

Sources:1 & 2

How To Keep Employees Happy And Efficient At The Workplace

Beyond costly monetary benefits, you can keep your employees happy and productive at the workplace by knowing the underlying factors that induce motivation. Daniel Pink, the renowned author of “Drive” book, highlighted that the three elements of motivation include purpose, autonomy, and mastery.

Applying these elements realistically, here are the three key ways to keep your employees efficient and happy:

1. HAVE A SOCIAL PURPOSE

Having a meaningful cause larger than oneself drives the deepest motivation. Generation Y employees, in particular, want to feel that their work is making a difference. This is why they are drawn to work or patronize products of TOMS. TOMS is company that equates their sales into helping people in developing countries. For example, whenever they sell a pair of shoes, a new pair of shoes will be given to a needy child.

Even if your company does not include a direct social mission in the system, you must do your best to practice altruism. Have the social responsibility to donate to charity whenever possible.

2. MAKE ROOM FOR EMPLOYEE AUTONOMY

I am sure that no one enjoys being micromanaged especially in a small business! Employees work happiest and most efficient when they have personal control over the situation as they can freely express their creativity and solve the problems by themselves. When employees feel that they are able to make tangible impact to the company through regular brainstorming, they are more likely to give their all for the company.

3. GIVE EDUCATION AND FEEDBACK

Mastery is formed when there is a comprehensive knowledge or skill built in the company. Employers can hone mastery by encouraging further training or education as well as conducting regular performance feedback. A sense of progress in oneself contributes to the inner workplace motivation. Allow your employees to grow by empowering a new responsibility. Everyone wants to feel that they are getting better at things.

Image Credits: AJC ajcann.wordpress.com via Flickr With Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike

Sources: 1 & 2

4 Incredibly Premium Websites For Free Music Downloads

Music is something that transcends over the generations. And, if you were a passionate music listener, you would want to download songs legally to support the artists, labels, and distributors.Thankfully, the Internet has made it possible by hosting premium websites that allow you to legally stream and download songs.

Although most of the no-cost songs are by independent or rising musicians that does not mean that it sounds bad! With a myriad of genres and music collections, I am sure that you will find a song that hits your taste.

1. MP3.COM

Kicking it off with the veteran on the list, MP3.com was first established on 1997. It is one of the most popular websites that offer free music sharing services, especially for the independent artists who want to share their works. With years of experience, it has a good collection of songs from pop, jazz, metal, country, and so much more.

2. AMAZON.COM

An established household name, Amazon proves its efficiency by offering a comprehensive list of over 46,000 songs. To make your searching experience easier, Amazon has classified the free tunes by genres, by artists, and by ratings. Simply navigate your mouse here to get started.

3. PUREVOLUME.COM

Since 2003, PureVolume is dedicated to bring new music from several rising artists. Acting as a networking platform, PureVolume allows both artists and listeners to create music profiles and discuss musical tastes. All the song downloads are legal and majority of it is free but there are some premium songs that users can buy.

4. JAMENDO.COM

Over 400,000 songs from more than 40,000 artists awaits you at Jamendo. With that vast amount of collection, it has been one of the biggest repositories of free music to date. You do not have to waste loads of time to find music that pleases your ears because you can quickly browse through by popularity, genre, most played, or most downloaded. The greatest thing about Jamendo is that it allows unlimited downloads of free MP3s and unlimited listening with the in-page music player.

Image Credits: epSos .de via Flickr with Creative Commons License

Sources: 1 & 2

Is Hiring A New Employee Worth It For Your Booming Business?

Having a flourishing business sounds well doesn’t it? But, for a business owner who has not planned about growth, it is possible to find himself or herself in the crossroads – not knowing where to go next. Furthermore, the challenge rises when the perfect employee for the job is asking for a competitive salary.

Employers must calculate the hiring budget and the total cost of hiring a new employee. Additionally, they can find new ways to gain the help they are looking for on how to keep hiring costs low.

COST OF HIRING A NEW EMPLOYEE

Since the workforce of Singapore consists of a diverse mix of employees in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity, employers are strongly advised to practice fairness especially in the matters of talent recruitment.

This fairness expands to the general obligations of the employers. For instance, the cost of hiring a new employee includes the taxes issues for foreign employees and the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions for the local employees. CPF is mandatory for all local employees including Singaporean citizens and Permanent Residents that earn more than S$50 a month. And, the maximum CPF contribution rate for the employer is 16%.

Aside from this, the recruitment process can cost you if you are planning to pay for a job advertisement. Fortunately, you can post cheap or free position Ads online through various websites that are available here.

Once you select the perfect candidate, you may have to accommodate to their needs such as purchasing new desk, computer, writing materials, and other tools. Lastly, the hourly wage or the base salary heavily affects the cost of hiring a new employee.

ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO GET HELP

After analyzing all the factors that contribute to the cost of hiring a new employee, you may come to a conclusion that you are still low in hiring funds. This is when creativity and alternative ways to get help comes in.

1. ENHANCE YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYEE’S SKILLS

Instead of hiring a new employee, enhance your current employee’s skills to meet your company’s needs. As the business grows, relatively increase the level of responsibility and the amount of salary. By doing so, you can enhance the current employee’s productivity, effectiveness, and loyalty to your company.

Upgrading your employee’s skills does not necessarily equate to burning your pocket. You can search for a variety of affordable workshops that Groupon.sg offers. Here are just some:

a. Instead of hiring a social media manager, learn with the 3 Hr Branding + SEM + Facebook Marketing Workshop for S$28.

b. Instead of hiring a graphic designer for a few projects, learn with the Adobe Photoshop CC Online Course from Teacherbird.com for S$23.

2. HIRE PART-TIME EMPLOYEES FOR YOUR TEMPORARY NEEDS

If your company’s needs are temporary only, hire a part-time employee, as it is more cost efficient. A sense of flexibility, in both the salary and employment benefits, is undeniable when hiring part-time employees. The working hours of these employees are less than 35 hours a week.

Image Credits: Alex France via Flickr with Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike

With all these in mind, ask yourself this: “Is Hiring A New Employee Worth It For Your Booming Business?”

3. Outsourced Staff

Of course, if you’re truly in need of the assistance and short of human resources staff, you can always rely on a good old recruitment agency to help you out.

It has become a trick of the trade for most companies to hire a Philippine, Indian or China recruitment agency. Should there be a temporary vacant spot in the company’s roster, companies choose to outsource a temp instead of having their current staff pick up the slack. This also guarantees that everyone in the company stays focused on their core tasks.

Sources: 1 & 2

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