BlueLaserDesign Columbus, Ohio Website Design Designers Programming Ecommerce Marketing

New CVS moneygram scam for website development project

2011-01-07T09:51:00.003-05:00

New CVS Moneygram scam

A new scam that is brand new and as far as our bank said it has never been detected yet by them in this fashion.

We are a web development company of course so we were contacted by a potential new client from the UK that was so called working on a new project to stop malaria etc etc in Africa so needed a new logo, website, etc. etc built.

We proposed the project and sent out the contract and everything seemed legitimate just like normal at that time.

We then received not only the deposit for the project but almost $1,900 in additional funds. We thought the client was just paying us almost the full amount for the project.

We were paid with actual moneygrams that looked 100% legitimate and they sort of were. I took them to the bank, deposited and they actually cleared and looked like the money was in the account.

Apx. 2 days later the client asked if we could just take out our deposit amount but send the rest of the money to his so called photographer that will be supplying us the photos we need in Nigeria?

Instantly I knew something was weird. I went to the moneygram website to verify the numbers and sure enough the money grams had actually already been cashed a month prior and were only worth $30 dollars each.

It would have taken the bank at least 7-10 business days to detect this and we would have been out almost $2,000 in this scam.

So be sure anyone offering money or telling you to send money out of the country even after paying with a money gram, make sure you check the number online via their website or wait at least 3 weeks to make sure it clears.

We see at least 2 normal scams a day via email, phone and websites so we are pretty used to spotting scams but this one was so good and I can see others falling for it that I thought I better put online for future reference.

If you have been scammed by this contact your bank asap, but odds are you are out of money =(

Here is all the info we have on this guy:

Tony Wright or Anthony Wright
barry_legallawfirm@yahoo.co.uk

The scam address for the check delivery was:
Dada Olaleye
Imagery Photography
20, Broad Street, Marina, Lagos State, Nigeria, West Africa

The money grams actually came from CVS in Texas, we cant read the actual name or address on the fedex envelope

Hope this information helps stop this person in the future? Thanks for reading, Will

update: he is also using emails and words related to barry_php berry bary, payment on behalf of his client, art, murals, commissions, products, consulting agents, shopping, he is always in a hurry, will mention something about god or prayer, nigeria, south africa, israel, uk, @yahoo.co.uk .

New Microsoft Outlook 2010 Crashes When Opening Emails

2010-12-21T10:08:00.001-05:00

New Microsoft Outlook 2010 Crashes When Opening Emails

After many hours of frustration with the new Microsoft outlook 2010 crashing emails randomly when you try to open them we figured out it is a font compatibility issue?

You simply just go to your C drive, and find your font folder, select all Helvetica fonts you have, should be apx. 3-5 and just delete them. Once you do that its fixed. When we saw it actually work myself and head designer both looked at each other in amazement. WTH!

Don’t worry about if you need Helvetica fonts or not you should have hundreds of others to chose from.

We tried everything else on the internet and nothing worked. We are hoping this little article helps fixing this issue.

I really hope the next version of Office is bug free, crossing fingers and praying!

Amazon Armazons.com Email Scam Alert

2010-12-21T09:42:00.000-05:00

Be aware of a new amazon.com look alike scam. It comes from Armazons.com. At first glance it leads you to believe that it’s a real order on your credit card to fool you into logging in with real usernames and passwords to a fake website.

Tip to all internet users. Always Always Always move your mouse over the hyperlink before clicking or really look closely at any link before clicking to make sure the spelling is correct.

Or one thing you can do is never click the link but always go directly to the website such as amazon.com, paypal.com or your bank website. Log into your account or call their customer service number.

We actually offer services to our clients at www.bluelaserdesign.com that if they receive suspicious emails or information they can simply pass it along to us to verify within minutes.

Shop safe and watch out for scammers!

Sincerely,
The Team at Blue Laser Design inc.

The Mistake of Using Letters in Your Phone Number Marketing

2010-09-29T09:24:00.001-04:00

One big mistake in marketing that I have noticed by large firms is the use of letters to represent numbers in advertising campaigns. The marketing firms and consultants that come up with the advertising campaigns did not pay attention to small details such as a blackberry phone keyboard does not have letters that match up to the numbers on a typical old style house phone. Older cell phones and other newer phones you can down load an app to match those up but it makes no sense that the phone commonly used the business professional isn’t considered?

I have had several such circumstances to where I wanted to call the number represented by numbers and realized I have no idea how to get the number. In the two occasions this has happened I was so frustrated I just went to google on my blackberry and searched for the type of business I was looking for and went with the top results that had actual phone numbers.

You can argue that it makes the number easier to remember however there are other things you can do to make your commercial or advertisement stick in people’s minds or contact you right away. By using letters for numbers you will instantly knock out some of the potential customers you are trying to attract.

If your company has been provided this advice or presented an advertisement idea with the phone number represented like this, please just go ahead and fire your current provider and contact Blue Laser Design. Odds are your way overpaying for outdated advice. If this is the case for you, let us know when contacting us and we will discount our services to try us out.

Do you need social media?

2010-06-03T10:40:00.001-04:00

In the social media world there have become many thousands of experts that just read the latest marketing book, set up their first facebook fan page, blog or twitter page with zero additional experience, and then claim that you have to use social media to succeed in business. This is not always true in some cases and in most cases businesses are talked into using social media but are given bad advice or no advice at all on the proper usage.

We read various competitors facebook, twitter pages and blog sites along with many prospective clients that are posting things such as how they feel, what their dog or kids did that day and most often irrelevant topics outside of their main business objective because they have nothing else to say. Just because you have a facebook fan page or twitter account doesn’t meant you have to tell the world how you feel or what you’re doing 10 times a day.

Before deciding on which social media outlet to use if any, you really need to think about what you’re even going to write about. If it doesn’t make sense for your business to use any of these outlets or you don’t have a single person on staff that is even willing to keep up with it on a regular basis, then it becomes pointless.

When using social media for search engine purposes there are better ways of going about it then someone telling you that you have to have a blog or twitter page to get higher rankings. That is only about 5% of the conversation you need as a client to fully understand how the entire process works and what you need to do besides posting random information on your blog or twitter page that has zero exposure and possibility of even being found high enough in a search engine to get traffic to it.

Below are just some of the social media outlets and online related services we work with:

Facebook
twitter
myspace
blogs
flickr
yelp
bebo
delicious
dig
linkedin

And many more...

In short if anyone no matter who it is tells you that you need social media, take a quick look at their social media. If they are mentioning things that are not related to their business or industry more than actual usable information, then run for the hills as they say, or contact Blue Laser Design for a consultation to get you moving in the right direction.

Blue Laser Design & Domain Names

2010-05-25T15:29:00.000-04:00

We are not an actual domain name registrar, however we do consult with clients on all the pros and cons of domain names. Many clients come to us with various problems or have been talked into buying thousands of dollars in useless domains.

You can easily purchase the domain name of your choice from a reputable registrar such as godaddy.

Several things to avoid or think about when purchasing a domain name:

1. Never allow your website company or a contractor purchase the name for you in a bulk account. This can become a huge problem if they go out of business, do not check the email admin contact your domain name is hooked to or your relationship becomes not so desirable.

2. Never do random searches in google to find domain names that are available unless you plan on buying it right away. We have seen many clients do some searches for great domain names and when they go to buy them a month or so later, magically another company now owns that name.

What happens is all search queries are tracked in google and many companies actually will see what your searching for and go buy that domain name. It then is no longer a very cheap domain name but the company that bought it out from under you can charge typically $500 plus.

What you want to use is a whois lookup that is not tracked by search results. We can assist you with this.

3. Please don't allow an inexperienced company or consultant talk you into buying every possible name under the sun related to your company.

One of our jobs here at Blue Laser Design is coming up with domain name choices that are available for a new client. Many times we run into domains that are taken already, but it is extremely easy to come up with a very similar combination or variation. So in short yes you can try and buy every possible variation of a domain name, but someone will always be able to find a close variation that is just as good.
4. Do not fall for the snail mail domain renewal notices or the over seas scam letters trying to either get you to transfer your domain to an unknown company or buy up domain names in another country.

If you have any of the following questions we can also help:

Q. The website company and or domain name company that has our url is out of business, what do I do?

Q. If I lost my domain username and password, how do I get into my domain name account?

Q. My domain name expired and website is now gone, what do I do?

Q. I need to transfer my domain name, how do I do that?

Q. I need someone to move my domain name, who can I hire?

Q If my current domain name / website company is holding my domain hostage, what can I do?

Q. What is a domain name control panel?

Q How or where do I buy a domain name for my website?

Website Hosting & Blue Laser Design

2010-05-25T15:16:00.001-04:00

We are not an actual website hosting company, however we have worked with a reliable trusted 3rd party hosting company for over 9 years that we always suggest to new clients for there hosting needs.

If your website project requires hosting we have no problems working with any 3rd party hosting company. We also know of which companies actually provide great service and can can steer you away from hosting companies that will only cause huge problems.

When purchasing your own hosting always ensure that the hosting company has a phone number that technical support actually answers. We run into the problem all the time when potential clients or emergency clients run into the issue of there hosting company is a reseller supported by overseas email support which can take days to weeks to get an answer if at all.

At Blue Laser Design we like to take all the confusion out of your project by not only taking care of the purchase of your hosting, but also the full set up and support. That way all you have to do is sit back and relax. If you run into any questions or problems we are here to answer them.

We offer fully supported hosting packages from basic to full ecommerce.

If you have any of the following questions we can also help:

Q. The website company and or person doing my website went out of business, how do I find out where my website is hosted?

Q. If I lost my hosting username and password, how do I get into my hosting account?

Q. My hosting expired and website is now gone, am I able to find another copy stored on the internet?

Q. I need to transfer my hosting, how do I do that?

Q. I need someone to move my website, who can I hire?

Q If my current website company is holding my website hostage on there hosting, what can I do?

Q. What is a hosting control panel?

Q What is ftp access?

Hosting, Support & Website Maintenance Packages

2010-05-06T11:16:00.001-04:00

Hosting, Support & Website Maintenance Packages

We are now offering to current and potential clients a wide variety of packages for hosting, support and website maintenance packages. The new packages will help clients spread the cost of website updates and hosting throughout the year instead of all at once up front. We are still in the process of updating our information online, so for now feel free to give us a call to change your current account or to become one of our new clients. Packages will start as low as $30 per month.

For other information on our services and portfolio go to http://www.bluelaserdesign.com .

iPad Virus? Apple Products Have Problems?

2010-04-30T08:35:00.002-04:00

ipad virus? I thought macs / apple computers didn’t have those problems?

With the ever growing popularity of Apple products it was just a matter of time before hackers and other scrupulous individuals turned their attention to these various products.

Apple always claimed that pc had viruses and Apple products had nothing etc etc… you know the story, but that was only because most people in the business world and consumers didn’t have Mac’s or Apple products. So it was pretty much a “not exactly truthful” claim to begin with and now its just a matter of time before the hacker world is turned against and challenged by this growing market share of products.

Link to iPad Virus Info: http://www.appletablet.net/ipad-virus/

Below is just one of my favorite Mac related videos enjoy. Who said Mac’s don’t have issues?

How Many Indian Website Companies Are There?

2010-04-28T09:40:00.001-04:00

How many web development companies can there possibly be in India? For the past 11+ years we continually get 2-5 phone calls per day from website design and development companies in India. It doesn’t matter if you talk to them politely, hangup, transfer the call to Pizza Hut, tell them you’re not interested, etc. etc. they just call right back, start talking and do not stop. Then some of them will even argue with you about why we don’t want to outsource even though they have a warehouse of people willing to work for $5 per hour or next to nothing.

I don’t think they realize that if an American company outsources all their work to India then we would have to fire all of our employees. On top of that as an American website design and development company we would no longer be growing our own company but another one overseas which makes no sense.

With all the calls we get I wonder exactly how many of our competitors outsource to India? We know of a few but sometimes we see competitor quotes from a few of our local companies and a couple will undercut us. The prices don’t make sense unless they are sending money overseas?

We hear horror stories and have actually experienced a few working with either clients that have tried to outsource or projects that just never get finished. The two biggest complaints we hear are 1. The initial cost is not the end cost the client pays. They typically provide an extremely low upfront cost but fail to tell you what that actually includes. As a normal consumer most clients do not understand exactly what goes into a website and every question they need to ask to make sure its included. This leaves deceitful companies wide open to say “ Oh that wasn’t included and it will cost another $1,000 dollars “ this happens all the time with these jobs. Or 2 the site just never works correctly, they may send you a beta testing site that has so many bugs you may not be able to even find them all, when the company developing a site should have already tested it for you and as a client you should only be doing minimal testing and checks on the site. We get about 2 clients per month that ask us to fix their outsourced projects. We typically turn these jobs down because of the horrible programming we have ran into.

If anyone knows how to completely block your phone numbers, website and email from an entire country let us know. It is getting out of hand with the amount of telemarketers and spam emails we are getting.

The government or someone needs to regulate or change something so other countries cant undercut American companies and then provide in some cases deceptively cheap labor or sub standard projects.

Disclaimer Note: We are not referring to all web development companies in other countries. We are sure there are some that are legitimate not only with pricing but actual web work. Just please stop calling us “ WE ARE NOT INTERESTED!!!!! “

2010-04-07T08:43:00.000-04:00

Don’t fall for web 3.0, now it seems that the internet will change names just like a new cell phone. The almost useless term of web 3.0 is being spread across the internet slowly as a misused term. As a web development company we got used to the term web 2.0 and all the buzz created behind it but now its going to start getting out of hand when just like a cell phone as soon as someone hears and begins asking about web 3.0 and what it means someone else will already start talking about web 4.0 and web 5.0.

Just like social media / marketing, twitter, facebook etc. we see marketing firms, companies and inexperienced newer people to the industry, talk new clients and businesses into spending excessive amounts of money for “NEW” technologies and services online that just won’t do them any good for certain industries / businesses. We can show you twitter page after twitter page and an abundance of facebook pages that clients were talked into but in no way benefit a clients business because they updated how they felt that morning on twitter.

We wish all people researching this information and “NEW” so called technologies would consult with us first so we can inform them of all the information instead of Whats New and how much it costs……

What to expect in website development.

2009-08-25T09:30:00.003-04:00

When most clients come to Blue Laser Design, they have an idea and some direction for their project... but, really don't fully know what to expect throughout the process.

Blue Laser Design will work one on one with the client to ensure that the project and process is understood, and the clients' end result is above satisfactory. We have compiled below a few pointers and tips to help our clients along in the process:

Initial Consultation
Design
Development & Programming
Testing & Launch
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Ongoing Maintenance

1. Initial Consultation: In this stage, we will sit with the client or consult with them in a virtual meeting and discuss the clients needs and wants. We listen to the client and offer cost effective solutions within their budget. Sometimes, the client will discover that all their wants aren't necessarily their needs.

Somethings that should be considered:

Budget
Purpose
Goals
Target Audience
Identity / Branding
Content
Aggressive Marketing
Maintenance

Once the project is detailed out, we will then be able to provide a detailed estimate for the client.

2. Design: Once the estimate is approved by the client, a 40% deposit and contract will be required and we will then begin our Design Stage. In this stage, the client will have the opportunity to detail out with their personal Project Manager / Designer their specific design requirements (i.e. branding, color choices, layout ideas, etc.) Our designer will then translate that into a visual layout for the client to review and approve or revise.

Our Design Stage is estimated and proposed with a set number of design hours based on the clients input and direction in the initial consultation. The client needs to be conscious and aware of these design hours throughout this stage. Because, the more time spent in this process could cause the project to go over on budget for the client. That is why it is extremely important that we get as much information from the client to minimize design time and revisions.

Once the design has been formally approved by the client, it is considered a final layout and we will require the next installment (30% of the project) as second payment before we move onto the next stage of development.

3. Development & Programming: This is where we take the approved design layout, and make it into an actual site. In this stage, we ask the client to start gathering the textual content that they want for each page of their website. Therefore, when we have completed the programming we will be able to input the clients' copy into each page and launch the site onto a test server for the clients' review. Based on how the project was estimated, we have several options for copy writing and insertion. The client can choose to provide us with the copy prechecked for spelling and grammar, or they can choose to let us do it for them.

4. Testing & Launch: Depending on the complexity of the site and the amount of programming / databasing, this stage is usually pretty quick. We test and debug anything that would need tweaking, and we are ready for launch! Before the launch, we would require the final installment for the project and any additions that may have been added throughout the process (don't worry, we don't add anything that you aren't aware of and approve first).

5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This stage is always after the site is lauched and live. If this option was estimated for the client, we will work with them in gathering proper keywords, coding the site with the apporpriate meta tags, etc. for the best search results. We will consult with the client in reasonable expextations, as well as other avenues and tricks for the SEO world. The SEO process can be confusing for most people, and we will do our best to explain our process as well as what the client can expect. This stage can get as aggressive as the client would like and we can get the results they desire.

6. Ongoing Maintenance: Blue Laser Design offers multiple maintenance packages for our clients who wish us to maintain their website for them. You can review some of these options at www.bldstore.com & refer to the link on the left "Labor Hours & Subscriptions"

Some clients also choose to maintain their websites themselves. We can work with them on this option as well. Depending on what was estimated in the proposal, we have the capabilities to create a custom CMS (content management system), or offer suggestions on HTML editing software.

Do you need maintenance, updates or revisions on your current site AND want to save money?

2009-03-11T14:10:00.010-04:00

Then a BLD Maintenance Subscription is for you! Blue Laser Design, strives to give our clients the best options and services at affordable rates. Therefore, we have put together website maintenance subscriptions for all of our current clients, as well as our future clients.

Single Hours ($60/HR)


Block of 5 Hours ($55/HR)


Blocks of 10 Hours ($50/HR)


Blocks of 15 Hours ($45/HR)


1 Hour / Month Subscription ($55/HR)


2 Hours / Month Subscription ($50/HR)


3 Hours / Month Subscription ($45/HR)

For more information please visit:

www.bldstore.com

Blue Laser Design Food Drive

2008-12-30T13:16:00.001-05:00

BLD thanks all of you who participated in our first ever food drive for the Mid Ohio Food Bank! The turnout was amazing! We donated over 200 pounds of goodies!!!

For those of you who weren’t able to stop by, you still can! We had a couple of people drop off items after we delivered the donation… so, if you still would like to participate and receive the 10% discount from us… you are more than welcome to stop by our office and drop off your donation! We will be making one more drop off at the food bank on Friday (1-2).

Some of you are not in the Columbus area, and we understand that you couldn’t stop by. We encourage those of you to donate to your local food bank! It doesn’t take a lot of time nor money, and the benefits go a long way in helping to keep less fortunate people fed.

Again, thanks to all of you who participated!

I have a website but can't.....

2008-12-22T13:55:00.000-05:00

Do you already have a website but lack the ability to update it? Have you tried to learn software that is suppose to be easy but turns out difficult.

Many large corporations get high-end (and costly) Content Management Systems. For most small or new businesses, you may want to look into a customized blog as an alternative. A short list of features include:

Update your website with daily, weekly, monthly specials
Upload photos and video of your work
Add a calendar
Allow your customers to make comments/feedback
Broaden your search engine keywords
Link up and network with other blogs/businesses
and many more...

If you are a BLD client, we will be at your service. As every website is different, blog customization is estimated and approved before we can begin. BLD clients can expect a 2-day turnaround once BLD receives initial deposit. For more details, contact your BLD rep.

If you are not a current BLD client that is not a problem. Call us for a free consultation and estimate.

To see examples, all of our client blogs are located in the bottom right of this page.

We are blogging....so should you!

2008-12-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the new Blue Laser Design blog! Lately we have been researching on all of the advantages to blogging and it made sense for us to create one. Along with our blog, we have been busy adding blogs to current BLD clients. See our work here:

Hoochie Poochie Studios
H2H Sales
JP Horizons

Overall blogs are becoming quite popular. If your a current BLD client, contact your BLD representative to see all that a blog can do for your business. If you are seeking a new blog or just looking to extend your brand through print and online mediums, contact Blue Laser Design today!