Offshore Outsourcing & Scammer

Blog about offshore outsourcing and scammer in the outsourcing industry

Sperian Engergy - How call center marketing can go into the wrong direction

From a posting in the social network Sperian Engergy has been coming into my focus. I decided to ask for more info and got the following response:

Thank you for reaching out, sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. We are looking for centers that can commit more than 10 existing seats to selling electricity in our Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland and/or New York markets. We pay a Cost per Acquisition commission and each center purchases their own leads. We consistently maintain competitive rate plans in all markets. If this is something you feel your center can assist in, let me know and I will send over commissions, agreements, etc. for your review. This year we are focusing on less partners and building up the production seats with the partners we choose to bring on. We want the best relationships with the best partners.

Sperian EnergySean Wise
Channel Manager
Sperian Energy
O: 702-757-2691
C: 408-355-3480
www.sperianenergy.com

On the first view the offer does not look so bad and does not differ to the standard offers at LinkedIn. As they are searching for a few call centers, which need to buy their own leads, are the following questions open:

 

  • How are the centers coordinate their leads?
  • How the centers can exclude already existing customers from Sperian Energy from calling them?

 

I also have taken a look at the website of Sperian Engergy for getting some price information. There you'll find that you have enter the zip code for a price information. Ok, take it easy and revoke a few zip codes from the US. The site mapsofworld.com let you select the country, state and town/city. 

I have taken tried three cities from Illionois:

County/BoroughTown/CityZipcode
Montgomery Hillsboro 62049
Rock Island Hampton 61256
Washington Nashville 62263

The result has been negative: We do not currently offer service in the area for the zip code entered. Please check back soon or call us for immediate assistance at 888.682.8082.

How a call center can offer in such a case a change of the energy provider, if the prices cannot get announced? To say only that we are the best and cheapest is not enough to convince people.

My summary: The same way like Sperian Engergy is searching for the best call center, the call centers are searching for the best partners. The problem is only that Sperian Engergy is at the moment even not a good partner for a call center as long as they are not doing their homework. Maybe they even don't have enough income to update their own database or they like to find customers, which like to change their energy provider first. In both cases is this not a good campaign for a call center. Call Centers can expect that they not getting paid for their work, because their referred customers are not living in the supported area from Sperian Energy. The referred customers are kept by them for a future expansion. As they don't expect to pay something, they even did not offer any amount per referred customer in their offer.

I think that the way Sperian Energy is making their offer, that they are only time waster or they are even not sure what they like. The information given in the email could be written in their posting at LinkedIn too. In such a case they would make some better impressions to their future partners. I expected to get more information then only marketing blah blah on my request.

The first impression a company makes is important for a business relationship. Sperian Energy made the impression of a time waster for me. Call centers have something better to do than to beg for more information.

I think too, that the same way they handle the call centers they are handling their customers, which does not lead them to a good reputation. Sperian Energy need to get more than a very good call center. They need to replace at least their marketing manager and the responsible staff, which has sent me such an email.

Gmail - LinkedIn - Sperian Energy is looking to add Call Centers.pdf (220.8KB)

 

Scammer: Rohit Malhotra - Accent Technologies with missing geography knowledge

Recently I got questions about an Italian Telecom inbound process. I have been surprised about this, because the questioners are coming from an area of the world where the country Italy and the language Italian is only as available in the world known.

My first question has been if their center has Italian speaking agents. Their answer surprised me more because they said no it is an English speaking campaign. English speaking in Italy? That could only be a mistake or a SCAM. I have taken a look into the campaign description found at http://accenttechnologies.yolasite.com/resources/Italian_Process.pdf (attached to this article too) and there has been really written at the first page “Italian Telcom Customer care – www.telecomitalia.com – Language Used: English”!!!

Accent TechnologiesAs an Austrian citizen I know Italy very well, because it is a neighbor country. If you are in the Tourist areas, then you have a higher chance to speak with someone by using the German language then by using English. There is even one area in Italy, which is called South Tirol. It has been belonged before the world war to Austria. There you even find more people, which are speaking German. With English you have only a chance in the big and expensive hotels.

Additional is written at the pdf document and at the homepage from Accent Technologies that a price war has happened in 2013. The first price war has happened before the European Union got founded, because the Telecom business has been in Europe a monopoly of the government before. The membership to the European Union reduced dramatically the prices for the telephone minutes. The next price war has started with the upcoming of the Voice over IP services. For this even this information is wrong, because the costs of the phone minutes and contracts have reduced to a level where you nearly get paid for making a phone call instead of paying for the minutes you speak.

If we take a closer look to the offer from Accent Technologies, then we find the following SCAM facts:

  • Accent Technologies is hiding themselves in the anonymity of the internet
  • Accent Technologies even does not have an own homepage. They are using the free hosting service from Yola. It seems that they even not have enough money for registering an own domain.
  • Accent Technologies is spamming the same campaign at LinkedIn for example in the group “BPO/KPO Networking” twice a day with more than 10 of entries (same content) under the username Rohit Malhotra.
  • Rohit Malhotra cannot show his face in his profile.

Italian Process.pdf (650.1KB)

Rohit Malhotra - LinkedIn.pdf (7.2MB)

 

Skype: Locate your Chat Partner

A Skype resolver is a program used to find out the IP address of any Skype user.

If someone likes to make business with you or is causing you trouble, you might want to know their IP address. A Skype resolver can help you find out the IP address of the person. It works only as long as the user is logged in at Skype.

First step is to go to the user’s profile. Copy their profile name.

Then you paste the Skype User ID into the Skype resolver.

Recommended Skype Resolver are:

http://skypegrab.net/resolver.php

https://www.hanzresolver.com/skype2

After you have gotten the IP address of your chat partner you can verify his location by using an IP location finder service.

Remember: There are even possibilities to hide the IP address by using proxy services,
Someone, which likes to hide himself in the anonymity of the Internet, has a reason for it. Don't make business with such people. The risk to get scammed is in this case 100%.
Don't make business with someone, where the IP location is not matching the location in his profile!

 

How it works:

Skype calls are peer to peer. As much as possible is done without the need for a centralized server through different types of nodes (clients). There are three types of nodes in the Skype network.

Supernodes

Regular nodes

Login server

Any client within the network can become a supernode. Supernodes have a cache of IP-addresses to all other supernodes. If you are behind NAT supernodes will help you UDP hole punch. UDP hole punching is using a third party to connect to another client circumventing the issue of connection directly to someone behind NAT.

Thus, you are connecting directly to the client when issuing a friend request or getting the cached IP of the username.

Sample Screenshot of http://skypegrab.net/resolver.php:

Input Mask of SkypeGrab.net

  1. Enter the Skype User ID into the field Username
  2. Enter the correct captcha
  3. Press resolve
    If you have a slow network connection then it can be that you need to repeat the above steps.
  4. You can get the location of your chat partner if you click at the link GeoIP: click here

Output of SkypeGrab.net

 

A list of proved scammer can get found in the menu entry Scammer Exposed.

Offers from trusted and validated brokers can get found in the menu entry Fair Campaign Offers.

 

Bios vulnerabilities: Researchers see millions of computers at risk

Bios Chip"How Many Would You Like To BIOSes million Infect?" Is the dramatic title that security researchers Xeno Kopvah and Corey Kallenberg have chosen for her recent lecture. The speech is so threatened by millions of computers.

At a conference in Vancouver the two security researchers have warned of gaps in the BIOS of many computers. The manufacturers concerned are already working on updates - but it is anticipated that the little will bring.

"Because people do not update their bios, there are vulnerabilities that have been known in recent years, still," citing the "Wired" Xeno Kopvah. On the website of the researchers is, the probability is high that the majority of systems that are currently used, is at risk of at least one vulnerability.

Until now it was already assumed that intelligence Bios exploit vulnerabilities to attack. In the In-house order catalog of the department ANT, there are malicious programs that also nest in the bios. They work even further if the hard disk is deleted and a new operating system will be kept up.

Kopvahs and Kalle's discovery now shows that not only secret services with a billion $ budget is able to spy on computer thanks Bios vulnerabilities.

The two have developed a malicious program called Light Eater, with which the firmware can be manipulated on computers from Gigabyte, Acer, MSI, HP and Asus - at least in theory. The researchers have so far only as examples carried out some attacks; their software is used for testing purposes.

If the BIOS have certain weaknesses then Light Eater allows entering the System Management Mode of computers. If once it has infiltrated the code on the flash memory, then the code of the BIOS can override according their wishes. Computers from different manufacturers are under threat, because companies often use similar code elements.

The researchers describe two ways to exploit the BIOS vulnerabilities, including an attack remotely, is sent to the attack code, for example by phishing e-mail. Uncomplicated is the procedure for a physical access to the device.

Kopvah and Kallenberg declared loudly "Wired", that they sometimes manipulated a BIOS in two minutes for their purposes. In one test, it has the team apparently also managed to capture data from a computer that is running Tails - that is those Linux distribution, the whistleblower Edward Snowden recommends for secure communication.

The researchers have notified the affected manufacturers, who are already working on updates. However, the crucial question will be: “How many users actually will install these updates at the end”.

 

Apple kicks anti-virus apps from the app store

The reason given for sacking from the App Store called the producers is that users may believe that there are viruses on iOS.

Apple has removed over the past few days, several anti-virus apps from the App Store. Among them was VirusBarrier for iOS by the manufacturer Intego. The app was located since 2011 in the App Store.

Once the app has been removed, Jeff Erwin, the CEO from Intego, has asked Apple for their reasons. According to Apple, the description of his app was misleading, since users might think there would be viruses on iOS. After he had changed the description of the app to make it clear that the app scans emails and downloads, Erwin has taken the case to the executive suite of Apple - without success.

Apple has not only thrown VirusBarrier, several apps and also the corresponding category from the App Store. Some apps are still online, such as Avira Mobile Security, Lookout Antivirus & Security and McAfee Security. These apps are free, VirusBarrier cost $ 0.99. What criteria exactly Apple classifies an antivirus app misleading, is not known.

Apple has been always arrogant. Arrogance comes sooner or later to a fall off.

Apple with Worm 

Thank god, we don't need that crap on iOS or on Macs. Plain and simple, you don't need antivirus on Apple platforms. Period. I've used Macs since 1990 and not once have I ever conceived of the notion of installing antivirus on my Macs.

You are doing yourself and all Mac users here a disservice by saying stuff like this. It is widely known in the industry, especially with companies like Sophos and Kaspersky, that there are definitely Mac viruses in the wild that can infect Mac computers that do not have antivirus installed.

Just because you have a Mac does NOT mean you are immune to viruses. It is a very dangerous misconception that you are 100% protected because you use a Mac.

Mac Virus & Malware Threats: http://www.kaspersky.com/internet-security-center/threats/mac

Mac Virus Lets Hackers Control Thousands Of Computers, Through Reddit: http://www.ibtimes.com/mac-virus-lets-hackers-control-thousands-computers-through-reddit-1699227

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/mac-virus/

Apple Vows To Fight Flashback Virus, Mac Users Receive Wake-Up Call: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/apple-flashback-virus_n_1417886.html

Apple Stops Boasting That Macs Are Virus Free: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/mac-virus-apple_n_1625110.html

Security Firm: Microsoft Ahead Of Apple: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/microsoft-security-apple_n_1456073.html

Surprising Number Of Macs Infected With Malware: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/24/mac-malware_n_1448561.html

Be safe out there, everyone. Don't believe the hype that you're protected just because you use Mac. With Apple's growing marketshare comes the greater possibility that Macs will be targeted. Especially when its a common belief among Mac users that they're invincible.