Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Furnetic.com...."fur-real?"

     Knowing how to verify websites is very important in today’s society. In order to do so, look for credibility throughout the website in forms of contact information, advertisements or sponsorships, and who created or published the website. Anybody can design and post a website on the Internet. Being aware of phishing or scam websites is very important because they can steal your identity and/or money. After researching a few websites, I stumbled upon a website dealing with customized genetic modifications, www.furnetics.com.
     Furnetics.com offered a handful of services including; Genetic Maintain™, Genetic Select™, Phenotype Renovations™, and Genotype Renovations™.  All of these services seemed generic, not genetic, so I began to investigate the website to determine its credibility.  All of the links  worked, but all were within the website except for the Twitter account (which had only two posts and had not been updated since 2010).  The website's contact section had a sketchy address with only a street number, city, and country.  The only way to contact the company was to input your e-mail address and let them contact you.  There was also a Goggle Map, but it was just a map of a road in Mongolia with no point of where the business was located.
 
     Researching where/who the website came from is also an effective tool in verifying websites as accurate.  The publisher/designer of Furnetics.com is listed SM Unlimited Ltd., which made no sense to me because ltd. stand for limited.  After searching Google with quotation marks, there was no information or evidence that SM Unlimited Ltd. existed.  Another clue that the website was a hoax, was that Furnetics.com referred to a group called the Hephaestus Group as its "research and development arm."  However, the information I found out about the Hephaestus Group was that it was a staff that researched the California health care system, not biological genetics.
     The major indication that it was a fraudulent website was the Q & A section.  The website explained that it would not send or post photos of previous clients to prove its services.  Also, the biggest red flag was that the services were "prepaid in US dollar cash-equivalent instruments" prior to receiving the service.  The services ranged from $100,000 to $7 million.  There were also no names of credible sources, only a list that stated "genetic therapists, biochemical engineers, doctors, and dreamers."     
     Being aware of scam/phishing websites can protect yourself and your money.  Be sure and research a few key components when doing online transactions via credit/debit card and websites that ask for personal information.  Become your own detective and help to reduce the number of identity/money thefts.

2 comments:

  1. Amanda, this was GREAT! It was well-written and expressed your thoughts very clearly. You backed all of your statements with examples and proof. Excellent work!

    Just fix these three minor things, and you'll have 25/25 for this post:

    Delete "Verifying and" in the first sentence. You're already stating it in the next few words. Have it simply read: "Knowing how to verify websites is very important in today’s society."

    In the 3rd paragraph, include the period before the end quotation marks so it reads: "...research and development arm."

    In the 4th paragraph, do the same so it reads: "...engineers, doctors, and dreamers."

    Again, well done!

    ReplyDelete