Are you a small business owner with a merchant services account for accepting credit card payments? Then here's an important message for you about HOAX MESSAGES.

Online scam artists are sending fake “MasterCard Security Alert” e-mail messages to merchants. These emails ask the merchant to conduct payment card test transactions and then send the transaction data to an e-mail address not affiliated with MasterCard.
 
Criminals gain merchant transaction information this way. Then they make fraudulent purchases and refunds using stolen payment card information.  
Like almost all companies, MasterCard does NOT contact merchants directly to request payment card transaction information or to conduct test transactions.

MasterCard is obviously not the only company affected by such scammers, so be aware that other credit card companies can also be targeted.

Have you received an unsolicited call, e-mail, text, or social media request from anyone claiming to be a MasterCard Security Representative? DO NOT RESPOND! Do send their information to datasecurity@mastercard.com.

When in doubt you can also simply call your credit card company for verification.

Another warning about another online hoax brought to you by Kahl Consultants.

If you're not from Marin County, you should know that Terra Linda is a sleepy little community in North San Rafael. That's right here in the heart of Marin County, just north of San Francisco.
In the heart of Terra Linda is a favorite local Mexican Restaurant named Panchitos Mexican Restaurant. Since the late Seventies it is a destination for the neighborhood to get good Mexican food with friendly, fast service.
They cover all the typical California Mexican comfort food favorites. Personally I go for the chile rellenos. Can't wait to try out their popular take out and catering menus.

This is the perfect place for families, kids and also for local companies that want to have Mexican food catered.

Dinner favorites such as enchiladas, chile rellenos, taco, burritos and tostadas as well newer house specialties including carne azada, tilapia fish tacos and shrimp diablo keep the families coming back.

Go Panchitos!

Bay Area theater lovers!

Come watch "The Lion in Winter" showing in scenic Sonoma at the Russian River Hall through April 29, 2012.

The New York Times described this brilliant play as "A work of intelligence, astringent wit, and much theatrical skill." Curtain Call Theatre at the Russian River has a distinguished cast performing this ambitious stage production under Artistic Director Michael Tabib.

The traditional Gala performance is on April 28. All other performances are:

• Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM
• Sunday matinees at 2PM
• Fridays are "Pay What You Can"
• All other performances are $15 General admission and $12 Seniors over 60 and Students with ID
• Still the lowest priced live theater experience in Sonoma County

Reserve your seats now for The Lion in Winter!

See James Goldman's theatrical masterpiece at:

Russian River Hall
20347 Highway 116
Monte Rio, CA

For details and Reservations call 707-849-4873 or visit www.russianriverhall.com

Here is another scam that reminds us not to blindly give out our private information over the phone.

Most of us take summons for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.

The caller claims to be a jury DUTY coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the Scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity was just stolen.

The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois , and Colorado , AZ and more. This (swindle) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system.

The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Remember folks, DON'T PANIC and BE PREPARED!

Source:

This scam has been verified by the FBI. And here is the Snopes report.

Kahl Consultants is offering Search Engine Optimization (SEO) packages for ONLY $495. That is a one time fee!

This package consists of dozens of steps performed by our professional team to improve your site traffic including:

• link building,
• code tweaking
• keyword optimization
• blogging
• online marketing advice

While we can't promise that you'll be at the top of Google we are confident that this package will help improve your ranking in the Search Engine Results!

If you're interested please contact us or watch the video and learn more details.

Look at what we achieved for one of our clients:

At Kahl Consultants we do a lot of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tasks for our customers.

As many of you know your website ranking in the search engines depends on many factors including how many backlinks there are to your website. This is how search engines define your Site Popularity.

Here is one simple way to GET MORE BACKLINKS!

Recall that backlinks are links TO your website FROM other sites. Only backlinks will increase your website popularity. You don't want to add links to your website!

So how do we improve the popularity of a website in order to increase the rank in the search engine results?

One way to get backlinks is to leave COMMENTS on other blogs. Then you simply include your website link in your comment. When your comments is approved you will have a free backlink!

This video showing you a trick to find blogs where you can leave comments with a backlink.

Use this trick to find appropriate blog sites for you to leave comments on.
This backlinks article also has more similar tips.

And remember, leave a useful comment and include some of your key words in your comment.

Good luck and let us know if you have questions.

So you want to go green with your nonprofit or small business? And you'd like a nice award or certificate to prove to everyone that you are indeed going green?

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area the Bay Area Green Business Program is not that hard for businesses to join, since many of the requirements are multiple choice (as in "meet 3 of the following 5 requirements").

Kahl Consultants did not have to make changes at all, we managed to meet the requirements without any additional expenses or efforts (aside from filling out a questionnaire and going through an on-site audit). However we had already invested in green items such as energy efficiency, solar power, water conservation, recycling, and so on.

In Marin County, CA, there is an additional level of green certification called the Marin County Sustainable Partners Program. Kahl Consultants was one of the first companies to receive the Sustainable Partner award, and it was considerably more difficult to achieve certification than for the Bay Area Green Business Program.

Another popular green certification is GREEN AMERICA's Green Business Seal of Approval, which Kahl Consultants received in 2010.You can learn more about the green aspects of Kahl Consultants in our Green Business section.

Are you interested in going green with your company or nonprofit? The key to going green is to start right away with the "low hanging fruit" (the easy steps) and then commit to doing regular improvements - across the board - over time.

Do online scammers never sleep? There is a whole new wave of online SCAMS related to BUSINESS NETWORKING.

Have you received a SPAM from someone like the "National Association for Professional Networking" asking you to sign up for a business networking opportunity? Please be careful that you don't fall for these PHISHING attempts.

There are many similar emails and organizations offering business networking opportunities. Be careful if you get an and unsolicited email with a networking offer or similar offer for "special businesspeople like you".

Some of these spams come from real businesses with very shady practices, others come from complete and utter scammers. There is even a category for such spam - VANITY SPAM or Flattery Spam.

What are these scammers up to? First they mine your personal information online (quite easy nowadays). Then they ask for more additional personal information, for example in the guise of a "verify your profile" or "sign up for more information" request. They ask for phone numbers, company name, type of business, title... If you do answer you become a victim! You might as mail in a photocopy of your credit card with a sample of your handwriting.

Scammers change their names, websites and email addresses regularly. Here are just some sites and names to look out for:

Executive Who's Who 

National Association for Professional Networking

National Academic Networking Association

Distinguished Professionals Online

Learn more here:

http://www.spamdiary.com/category/vanity-spam/

Wikipedia Who's Who scam

Kahl Consultants client Marble Bridge Funding Group is your source to immediate cash to grow your business.

Since 1997, Marble Bridge has provided more than $500 million of funding to hundreds of companies. They provide ready cash through financing your accounts receivable and purchase orders.

For companies looking to grow, Marble Bridge is your bridge to success. As a direct lender they provide flexible, quick, reliable, custom funding solutions, and superior customer service.

Marble Bridge Funding Group is a progressive commercial finance company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Find out how Marble Bridge can help you:

• Expand your business
• Purchase additional inventory
• Acquire larger customers
• Get cash in 24-48 hours rather than waiting 30, 60 or even 90 days
• Simply make the payroll

Since 1997 this privately held company has been financing growing businesses – from start-ups to companies with $100 million in sales – via a range of innovative programs:

• * Account Receivable Financing
• * Purchase Order Financing
• * Receivables Management
• * Other Related Financial Services

Marble Bridge also maintain a visible presence in the community, assisting government and private institutions that serve small businesses.

Contact Marble Bridge at:

Marble Bridge Funding Group, Inc.
1700 North Broadway, Suite 401
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone (925) 977- 8210
Fax (925) 977- 8212
http://www.marblebridge.com

As a small business owner my years of networking at chamber mixers and other networking events has taught me some valuable lessons about networking.

I must admit that many of these are simply common sense, but it helps to keep them in mind.

Business network starts with showing up. After that every additional effort you put in will pay off.

Here are my Top Ten Business Networking Best Practices:

1. Try various kinds of networking events
2. Choose the events that are most suitable for you and your busienss
3. Dress for the occasion (don't overdress, and definitely do not underdress
4. Watch you manners and be polite
   
5. Ask questions and LISTEN
   
6. Karma works! Help others and you will receive (this is also known as "GIVERS GAIN")
   
7. Be prepared! This includes (a) practicing your 30 second elevator pitch before the meeting and (b) bringing enough business cards and flyers to hand out.
   
8. No hard selling!
9. Have a good time and smile
   
10. Follow up promptly
    

Do you have any additional networking tips for small business entrepreneurs? I'd love to hear your comments!

Here are links to a few recommended Marin County, CA networking opportunities:

San Rafael Chamber

BNI Power Lunch

Green Drinks