Trick #1: Conference Calls On The House

If you are still paying good shekels for conference calls, then it's time to visit these nice folks. We're not sure why, but they will give you your own conference line and phone number and let you set up conference calls any time you want - without cost.

It's easy -- all you need to do is enter your name and e-mail address - no credit card - no nothing. You will be instantaneously provided with a dial-in number and access code for immediate phone conferencing.

Your teleconferencing line is available to you 24/7 for any legal purpose - committee meetings - clubs, training, business meetings etc. And there is no need to schedule or make reservations. Each conference call account accommodates up to 96 callers and you can make an unlimited number of conference calls - up to 6 hours each.

Great service - and the price is right!

Trick #2: Protect Yourself From ID Theft

The topic of ID Theft is like the weather - everybody talks about it but nobody does anything about it. This is probably because there are so many outfits out there who offer to protect you from the rascals who ploy their dastardly trade, that it's hard to weed them out.

The Consumer Federation of America stepped in and now offers some pretty solid nonpartisan advice. Along with lots of consumer and victim resources they present a white paper "Nine Things to Check When Shopping for Identity Theft Services" that will help you wade through the morass of information on identity protection services. In addition they also point to advice from the Federal Trade Commission.

Visitors to the site can also learn how to protect themselves and find out what to do if they become ID theft victims. Advice for businesses about data security is also provided.

Nice people helping the good guys!

Great Place #1: Fix Your Image

If you've ever struggled with high powered (and expensive) image editing programs we think that you'll fall in love with this simple program that's easy for beginners while still powerful enough for most professionals. .

Many use this program as their default image program because once they open an image here they can quickly view, cleanup and edit it. Most image editing functions come easy here - resize - flip - add borders and frames - color adjustment - red eye reduction - custom cropping - you need an image fix - you'll find here.

And guess what - it's on the house!

Great Place #2: Check Out The Latest Rip-offs

Is it this deal legit - or a big rip-off? If it's too good to be true it's most likely a rip-off. But, if you really want the inside scoop, these folks and their followers will help you out. They cover rip-offs, scams, complaints, lawsuits and frauds. Consumers who follow them help keep fellow consumers informed.

The good work these folks do has been covered by 20/ 20, Dateline, 48 hours, Inside Edition, and 60 Minutes, CNN, The New York Times, Inc. Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Newsday, and The Los Angeles Times.

Easy to use - just visit this great place and type in the name of the company, product or category and search to get any information recorded. For example type in "vitamin" and get 355 reports. There is also a plethora of additional consumer resources covering telemarketing fraud, telephone cramming, Medicare RX schemes and, of course, the familiar African money schemes.

Valuable information when you expect skullduggery!

Copies of all previous "Real Estate CyberTips" columns complete with all direct links are available at REcyber.com.

Published: October 13, 2011

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

John M. "Jack" Peckham is the Executive Director of REcyber.com (the Real Estate CyberSpace Society). In that capacity he oversees the development and delivery of the latest up to the minute Real Estate Cyberspace tools, strategies, networking structures and services that the Society provides its members to leverage their effectiveness, visibility, professionalism and earnings. As host of Real Estate CyberSpace Radio, he provides over 40 hours of programming to help listeners integrate the power of the Internet into their daily business lives. He is the author of several real estate books published by Prentice Hall and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich including his latest Master Guide to Income Property Brokerage from Wiley Publishing. A columnist for the Boston Herald for nine years, his syndicated columns have appeared in over 100 papers nationwide. Jack loves to sell real estate has been involved directly in the sale of over one billion dollars in Real Estate. Today he sells in his jeans and fuzzy slippers as a one-man shop and has closed over $40,000,000 in sales on the Internet recently in 20% of his working time. The balance he spends directing the affairs of the 10,000 member Real Estate CyberSpace Society. The Society awards the RECS (Real Estate CyberSpace Specialist) Designation to members based on the current criteria. He served as Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a Past President of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and has been honored as the Massachusetts State Realtor of the Year. You can reach Jack at or by calling 617-523-4441.