By Bob Speyer, President – Web Success Team

Today I got a disturbing call from Bank of America’s Fraud Department concerning a payment to “Web Success” that their customer “didn’t” make. During our discussion, I realized the payment was made to Web Success NOT to Web Success Team. Hence the problem.

Speak Honestly and React Quickly

Obviously there was identity theft of their customer’s credit card and some entity used part of our name for fraudulent purposes. When I asked the bank representative how they got our telephone number, she replied, “I Googled your company.” Well at least our SEO efforts are effective as we are ranked #1 on the search engines. The amount was small ($79) but significant, as crooks often use small amounts to keep under the radar.

I am glad the banks are checking fraudulent charges to try to contain or catch the perpetrators. But as a legitimate company who has a reputation to protect, it is paramount for us to be on top of any incident, no matter how seemingly small. Because these things can take on a life of their own, protecting your reputation, no matter how fraudulent the claims, is critical. We have spent years building a significant online presence and efforts as an honest, customer oriented company. We will not tolerate our hard earned reputation or name of being tarnished (or even a part of it, as web success is one of our keywords).

The Best Defense Is an Offense!

Be advised that people can post anything negative on the Internet, with impunity. So what can you do to manage your reputation? You should attack it head on and minimize the incident. I spent time talking to the bank representative until she was satisfied. We are then writing this blog to further document what happened. If ones online reputation has been besmirched then more aggressive tactics need to be implemented.

However, it can take 2-3 months to eliminate the unwarranted bad press. If you or your company needs reputation management, the Web Success Team has a program designed to help you monitor, combat and prevent negative posts on search engines. Identity theft or negative press can happen to anyone, and usually does. Contact the Team today to find out how we can help you repair the damage and protect your reputation and your bottom line.

Please Stay Tuned…

The Web Success Team will be blogging a series of other web related issues that can directly effect your business and your ability to do business online.