We have all been suckered into clicking on the really amazing ‘free’ offers that pop up online. From a year’s worth of diapers to free computers, it is out there. Who would not want a free year of something or other? I know that I would. In fact, the very first time I saw the diaper scam, I jumped right in and went all through the rigamarole of clicking what seemed like 5 million offers. Page after page of more junk kept popping up.

I kind of figured after the first page I had made a mistake.

So, what do you do when you see a free sample that seems to good to be true? Skip it. Seriously, most of these pages just want your email so they can spam you to death. All the spam filters in the world are not going to catch every single one of the mails you will receive.

Lately some of the freebie scammers have gotten smarter. They do not offer the big deals all the time. You may see a full size bottle of shampoo, a compact disc, or something similar. Not too ostentatious. There are also the ‘poll free offers where you choose your favorite star, singer, or even beverage. Steer clear of any of those! If you are redirected to a large colorful page that asks for your email only, close it!

When searching for free sample offers, stay with websites where the webmaster has either typed a good description or has stated they have used the links themselves. Taking the time to write a good description means that the webmaster has done a bit of research and checked out the free offer themselves most of the time. (Not always, but this is a good sign)

I rarely go for offers that need shipping and handling paid. You can find some offers that are worth it. Before paying for shipping check out the retail value of the product. If an item retails for much more than the shipping and handling fee, it is usually worth the charge, but only if this is something you know you will use.

Have you found something free that really rocked your world? Have horror stories of spam? Share!

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 9:49 pm and is filed under Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.