Archive for January, 2008
January 30th, 2008
I had barely gotten to my desk this morning when the first call came. Soon there were several more, all of them readers who follow the commodities section on our stocks page and wanted to point out to me that our gold and silver commodity listings had not changed in days.
We get our stocks and commodities listings directly from the Associated Press, and from there they go straight into our paper. But even the Associated Press can make mistakes. So I called the AP help desk and mentioned what our readers had said. AP said they’d look into it.
Sure enough, when the AP listings came through this evening, they had changed. Evidently, everybody has a glitch every now and then. So, thanks for calling and letting us know!
January 28th, 2008
Computer, Internet and cell phone technology is supposed to make our work lives easier. And lots of the time, it does.
But all this helpful technology also can seriously blur the lines between “at work” and “not at work.” The very gadgets that are supposed to free us from the confines of an office can end up stretching our work hours to include the whole day and night — and our offices can span the whole city or even the globe.
Cell phones, PDA’s and laptops are “the ‘Trojan Horses’ of the modern world. Take them home and they transport work from the office through the walls of our personal lives,” wrote Carrie Barnett, assistant editor for Knowledge@W.P. Carey, an Internet-based guide from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. She addressed the subject in an article entitled “Shifting workplace boundaries,” in the university’s ASU Research magazine. I’ll admit, defining those walls is tricky for me. And I know it is for others, too.
Case in point: I’ve e-mailed some of you among our business leaders on a weekend — just so I’d be sure to hear back Monday — and then was surprised to get an immediate response, and realized I wasn’t the only one blurring the line between “work” and “off work.”
Back to Barnett and her “Trojan horse” metaphor. When we’re powered by technology that enables us to work anytime and anyplace, how do we keep boundaries? Where do you draw them?
January 17th, 2008
As promised, here’s another famous scam on the Better Business Bureau’s top-10 list for the past year: fraudulent online employment offers and misleading “hiring for managers” positions.
Employment offers looking for “shipping” or “billing managers” or “payment processors” — or anything that has a financial-sounding name — often are fraudulent listings that are actually looking for victims to commit money laundering, says the BBB.
The offers might appear on a legitimate-looking Web site, claiming that a developing company in a foreign country is looking for U.S. emploees to accept, process and forward payments on behalf of that company’s clients.
Also, there are employment ads that lead victims to believe they are applying for an office manager position — but when they’re hired, the company tells them they must pay upfront fees or do commission-based door-to-door sales before they can be eligible for the manager position. You should seek a very clear understanding of what you’re applying for and what will be expected, says the BBB.
And, always be wary of any employer that asks for an upfront fee for a background check.
For more information on what employers can and can’t do, the BBB suggests consumers contact the Illinois Department of Labor at www.state.il.us/agency/idol.
January 13th, 2008
The deadline is upon us: Nominations for the 2008 Rockford Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award will be accepted until Jan. 14.
The award is given to individual citizens from the Rockford area who have made an extraordinary contribution to the welfare and progress of the community — in general, over a period of years. The award is sponsored by OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center.
The 2007 award recipient was Mike Dunn, while Susan Grans received the 2006 award.
How do you nominate someone? In 300 words or less, tell how the person has positively influenced the business community and made Rockford a better place to work and live. Letters of support may be included in the nomination packet. The nominee doesn’t need to be a member of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.
Nominations must be returned to the Rockford Chamber of Commerce by Mon., Jan. 14. The office is located at 308 W. State St., Suite 190. The Chamber’s fax number is 815-987-8122, or you can e-mail teriwatts@rockfordchamber.com.
If you have questions, the Chamber’s main phone number is 815-987-8100.
The Citizen of the Year award will be presented at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner, Jan. 23, 5:30 p.m. at Giovanni’s Restaurant and Convention Center, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford.
January 5th, 2008
The Better Business Bureau has released its top-10 scam list for 2007 — and check scams have overtaken advance fee lenders as the number-one scam reported to the bureau.
Here’s how those check scams work: You get a check in the mail, supposedly for winning a sweepstakes, lottery or promotion. This official-looking letter may have a “final notification” stamp to make it look urgent. In the letter you are told you are a major winner of either a large prize or a lot of money, and the enclosed check allegedly is meant to cover related taxes and fees.
You’re then instructed to deposit that check into your personal account and wire transfer a certain amount of money to a third party — the scammer — to cover those alleged fees. Unfortunately, the check in these cases is a fake, said Dennis Horton, director of the Better Business Bureau’s regional office in Rockford, so it does not cover the money transferred to the scammer. Instead, the money comes directly from your account — and if that leaves you overdrawn, it will be up to you to make restitution to your bank.
If you have any questions or concerns about an offer or prize opportunity, you should contact your local Better Business Bureau for a reliability report before ever becoming involved. You can call the bureau’s local office at 815-963-2226.
More on other top-10 scams later.
