Motivational Keynote Speech

After a financial conference speech I gave this afternoon on controlling social media data exposure, an executive asked me how long I’d been giving motivational keynote speeches.

My jaw dropped at the reference… “Motivational keynote speeches?”, I asked. “I’ve never really thought of myself as a motivational speaker. I’m more of a content speaker who focuses your organization on playing information offense… using and protecting information to your profitable advantage.” Yeah, I know, sounds like an elevator speech. It was.

The executive then explained his remarks in a very thoughtful way. He said that his organization had stopped hiring traditional “fluffy motivational speakers” when the economy went south, and now only hires content-rich speakers who motivate the audience to take action in a very specific area of need. If he and the rest of the audience came out of the speech ready to take action and clear on what steps to take next, then they referred the speech as motivational. “Every speaker we hire had better be motivational,” he said, “but that’s a given. We bring in a keynoter for their content, and they’d better bring their inspirational A-game as part of the package.”

Avoid Super Bowl Scam

With any big sporting event comes the opportunity for thieves to take advantage of desperate fans. This rings true with the upcoming Super Bowl match between the Packers and the Steelers (appropriately named, but incorrectly spelled for this post on theft). Whether you watch the game for the fun commercials or to root for your new favorite team (sorry, Broncos), we can all agree that Super Bowl Sunday is almost a national holiday. With any holiday comes predators looking to take advantage of distracted and unsuspecting fans.

Here are a few Super Bowl themed scams that you should be aware of:

Fake Tickets. According to the NFL, in recent years, between 100 and 250 football fans have shown up to Super Bowl games with bogus tickets. Before booking a hotel room and hopping on a plane to Dallas make sure that you have legitimate tickets to the big game.

Michelle Reinen, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection says, “Actual Super Bowl tickets are printed on thick, heavy paper with bar-codes, holograms and raised ink. In addition, the NFL says the tickets include heat sensitive logos that disappear with the touch of a thumb.”

Secrets of a Former Credit Card Thief

We’ve all heard the standard tips about preventing identity theft and credit card fraud. But what would a real identity thief tell you if he had the chance? A recent interview with creditcards.com talks to a thief one on one and reveals the secrets behind credit card theft.

Dan DeFelippi, who is 29 years old,  was convicted of credit card fraud and ID theft in 2004. He tells consumers that: You can never be too careful.

DeFelippi, Learned at an early age how to create fake Id’s and he said it went down hill from there. He mostly made fake credit cards with real credit card information he bought online. He would then make fake Id’s to go with them and purchase big ticket items at Best Buy or Circuit City. He would turn around and sell them on Ebay for cash. DeFelippi says committing credit card fraud is still “ridiculously easy to do,” he says. “Anyone with a computer and $100 could start making money tomorrow.”

CreditCards.com: How did you get started?

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