What You Must Know About The Internet Better Business Bureau Seal

better-business-bureau seal

The internet has become one of the most active arenas in marketing & advertising. The internet enables companies to reach millions of potential customers at any time of the day at practically any place. However, the fact that business transactions are carried out online allows some unscrupulous people to hide behind their online persona; making the average internet business newbie susceptible to problems regarding information loss (including credit card information), identity theft & overstated product & service offers.

To assist customers identify ‘better’ & legitimate businesses, the internet better business bureau came up with the Code of online business practices. For the consumer, an IBBB seal means that the company whose product or service they are contemplating of buying is trustworthy. Well, if a company is a non-BBB member, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is involved in rather shady activities. Another point to note; a BBB seal is a vote of confidence yet please keep in mind that companies may not be maintaining the standards that they have had when they first applied for membership. There are companies that have lost their accreditation because of numerous customer complaints & poor performance in rating reports.

The internet better business bureau sees to different businesses such as health, fashion, education & tourism. They are implementing the Reliability Seal Program to ensure that companies provide the level of service that they advertise on their website. They are moreover known to arbitrate disputes In order to promote confidence & establish client loyalty to enable smooth business relations. In the field of education, however, the IBBB recommends that the student moreover check into the Council on Higher Education to find out whether an institution is accredited or not.

An internet better business bureau seal implies trustworthiness. If you own an online business, here is how you can apply for an IBBB seal.

First, you must be a member of the local Better Business Bureau. You can do this while you are applying for a BBB Online membership since completing the online application form will serve the same purpose.
Of course, your business must fully meet government requirements. Your company must be based in the US or Canada. It is moreover required that your company has been operating for at least one year, unless it is a division of an existing business. Note that even customers can file complaints against non-members so you have to have a satisfactory complaint handling record with the BBB.

After submission, it will be forwarded to the local BBB office & the information you provided may be verified by a visit to your company’s premises. After that, sign the Participation Agreement. Then, you can pay the fees. It varies depending on the scale of your operation. Find out how much it costs by visiting the BBB website.

Finally, after reviewing & approval of your application, you will be contacted approximately how you can install the BBB seal on your company website.

Before doing online transactions, consumers often look to the internet Better Business Bureau for information & protection. If you are one, you still have to make sure that the use of the BBB seal on a website is authorized. Please check the validity. You can do so by clicking the image, which is supposed to take you to the BBB page confirming that the site is a member. After all, it is very effortless to post an image on a website.
The Internet Better Business Bureau can assist you. But you moreover have to literally assist yourself as well.

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Better Business Bureau – Don’t Fall for the Bbb Internet Scam

better business bureau seal-logoBetter Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was founded in 1912 & now has branches serving consumers throughout all the USA & Canada. The BBB was set up to assist consumers to identify “better businesses”. The BBB offers a means of settling disputes between consumers & businesses quickly through arbitration. The BBB moreover works to improve the relationship between consumers & businesses through consumer education & a system of voluntary self regulation on the part of business owners.

The Scam

You will probably be wondering how an institution famous for consumer protection, like the BBB comes to be involved in an Internet scam. To be clear, the BBB is not a willing participant in a scam, it is a victim of a scam that moreover affects other reputable organizations such as the International Council of Online Professionals (ICOP).

The scam is being perpetrated by unscrupulous webmasters. The way the scam works is simple & the scammers are getting away with it because people either accept what they see at face value & don’t bother to check up or don’t even realize there is a way to check to protect themselves against this scam.

BBB & ICOP Accreditation

In order to be admitted as a member of the BBB or ICOP, business owners must be able to prove that their business complies with strict guidelines & that they are ethical in their business activities. If an online business meets the strict standards & is approved by the BBB or ICOP, the business owner is entitled to display the company’s membership seal on his/her website.

Trusted Seals

Although many consumers are aware of the function of bodies such as the BBB & ICOP & recognize their membership seals as a mark of trust, not all of them realize that they should click on the seal to check that its use on a particular website has been duly authorized. If the seal is being used legitimately, clicking on it will take you to the official website where it will confirm that the website you clicked through from has attained membership.

Scammers are using the seals to trick people into believing they are trustworthy & that their business meets the high standards set by the BBB or ICOP. These webmasters obtain away with this scam because people recognize the seals & take their presence on trust or just do not know that there is a way for them to check the validity of the seal.

Checking Trust Seals

When a BBB or ICOP seal is displayed on a website without the proper authority, you will most often find that the seal on the website does not have a clickable link. Alternatively, clicking on the seal will just take you to an unrelated web page or to a generic page belonging to the organization, where there is no reference to the status of the website where you clicked the seal.

Report Scammers

To protect yourself & to ensure that the satisfactory work done by the BBB & ICOP is not undermined by scammers, make it a habit to always click on their seals when you see them on a website. To make the Internet a safer place, unauthorized users of these seals should be reported to BBB Online or ICOP.

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