Yes, What You Write on the Web Can Hurt You

It sounds like something on a talk show or in a Ripley's Believe it or Not article. However, the case of Kent Haluska and Marina Solo has a lesson that all real estate professionals can learn from.

Recently, Kent Haluska, a Realtor from Wisconsin, was convicted of criminal defamation and sentenced to 18 months probation, a 1 year ban on practicing as a Realtor and ordered to pay a $1838 fine.

Authorities have alleged that Haluska had targeted another Realtor, Marina Solo, with comments on ActiveRain.com such as "Russians don't shave their legs or armpits. Therefore, M.S. is very hairy."

While obviously a laugh-a-minute for Mr. Haluska, Ms. Solo was not as impressed with his wit. Neither was the law, as police managed to track Haluska via his IP address and arrested him in his home on May 20, 2008.

Haluska was also accused of using the identities of other agents to post his comments about Ms. Solo and sending letters to her clients, claiming that by employing her as their Realtor, they were funding Russian terrorism.

Aside from the fact that this illustrates that Haluska has some issues that definitely need to be addressed ASAP, this also makes a powerful statement about what we Realtors blog about and how we treat others.

The Internet, while it physically separates people from each other when they are engaged in communication, does not separate one from the law. Threats and insults on the Internet are starting to carry as much weight as those that are hand written or spray painted or shouted across a crowded room.

What Haluska was accused of doing is not something that most Realtors are going to have the time and inclination to do. However, we can all take note of how we address those people whom we personally dislike or professionally disagree with. It takes only a moment to reread one's post and only a few minutes to walk away from it and come back to peruse it, looking for things that not only expose one to ridicule, can also expose one to legal action.

The Internet gives many people a false sense of security. However, unless one is an Internet whiz and has the power to leap firewalls in a single bound, there always is a trail that is left. Make sure that it's a trail that you want to have leading back to your keyboard.

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4 Computer Crimes That Could Destroy Your Online Marketing Business

Identity Theft:
This is the most notorious crime that could bring a load of problems on an Internet marketer's head. Identity theft occurs when customers' personal information, which includes their addresses, passport information, banking details, credit card information are leaked on to the Internet. This leakage could happen as a result of some hackers prying into a legitimate online shopping site and stealing these pieces of information. Millions of dollars are lost yearly due to this crime. This malaise has affected many online shoppers

Illegal Downloading:
Whether you are offering services or selling certain products online, sometime an illegitimate user using very powerful software can download your products without the due payment. Users who shouldn't have had an access to them have regularly downloaded thousands of music files, movies, e-books and other products. Online marketers are hugely affected by this crime, which is increasing at alarming rate around the world.

Scams:
Scams are hard to detect nowadays, because most scammers pretend they are doing a right business and lure customers to buy goods and services on their sites, but which they would never deliver. Even some scammers have filtered into well-known shopping sites and deceive gullible buyers from parting with their money but shy away from delivering the products they had purchased. There have been tales of woes on auction and trading sites recently about scams.

Creation and Distribution Of Viruses:
The rate at which viruses are being created and distributed is high nowadays. Some viruses are quite destructive that they could destroy your computers or incapacitate other software installed on your computers. Annoying spy ware could make your pc slow. If care is not taken, you could lose some vital documents in your computer if attacked by some virulent viruses.