Beware of Scammers!!!

This is something that I should have written about prior to now, but it honestly didn't even cross my mind. "Free" offers displayed on the internet often turn out to be scams. They might offer you free access to an otherwise restricted site, free shares, free downloads, free trials of certain products or even a free vacation. They can appear as annoying pop-ups while you are on the net or as ads at the tops or margins of websites. Sometimes entire websites could be set up to advertise a "free" offer.

Usually, the offers either require you to provide credit card, bank account or other personal details, or they require you to pay an upfront fee to claim your ‘free’ prize or product. DO NOT DO THIS , it more than likely will turn out to be a scam and will not be free for you and may cost you quite a bit of money in the long run.

Of course, there are many sites on the internet that legitimately offer free products or services and that are not scams. I post links to these legit offers, but once you sign up for the offer that I have posted please do not click on any other offers that they may be offering. These are usually advertisers or sponsers and these will not be free. A legit free offer will not require you to give out your credit card number, bank account number, social security number or to pay a fee upfront. The warning signs below can help you decide if an offer is likely to be a scam or not.

You follow an internet ad or pop-up window that is advertising a free product or service. Especially after completeling a free offer that I have posted, never ever follow those links.

When you try to find out more about a free offer, you are directed to a different website with more advertising.

The website offering the "free" product does not appear to load up correctly or not all its links work.

The website offering the "free" product may require you to register your credit card or bank account details.

To claim the free product or service, you are asked to pay some sort of fee or charge or you have "terms and conditions" you are required to meet before you will receive the product.

The website warns you that you will have to turn off your pop up blocker or you spyware blocker...at this point turn around and run.

There might not be any legal information (copyright statements and terms of use, privacy policies etc) contained on the page.

How to protect yourself from scam offers:

Remember the old adage...if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

NEVER send money, or give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust.

Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is genuine.

Never send your personal, credit card or online account details through an email.

Read all the terms and conditions of any offer very carefully: claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs

My husband was almost duped into one of these scams last night, until I found out what he was doing and told him what it was. I had him google the company name and he found alot of complaints on the company. He hadn't completed the "offer" but they have already started selling his email addy, he woke up to a full inbox this morning. Just be very careful.

All of the offers that I post are legit, I will not post them until I sign up for them myself. Just remember....do not sign up for any "extras" that a company may offer after you sign up for the freebie. It's rare that you will come across these with the freebies that I recommend, but I have had one so far. I will try to catch it and point it out. For example....the lightbulbs that I posted, there is an offer for a Brita Pitcher after you sign up for the lightbulbs (and they are free) but please do not sign up for the Brita Pitcher. The requirements to get the pitcher are to sign up for a total of 6 more "offers", that will cost you money. You also have to refer two people that will also have to fullfill the requirements to even get your pitcher. So not only do you have to do it, two other people also have to. Please always take the time to read the find print at the bottom and the terms and conditions.

If you are looking at a freebie I have not recommended then always be sceptical of free offers and ask yourself: what’s the catch? Remember that you don’t get something for nothing. It’s better never to click on internet ads which promise you something that looks too good to be true.

It can be difficult to determine if a free offer is worthwhile or not. A good method is to ask other internet users you trust for information, and I would be more than happy to help any of you with this. Also you can search for information about the product on trustworthy internet sites, eg; google it.

If a free offer does look reasonable (for example, the offer is being made by a well known company) be sure that you know what the offer is actually for, if there are any costs involved and what conditions are attached. For example, do you have to sign up for a subscription service where only the first order is free? As I previously stated, you should never have to pay money upfront for a legit free offer. I never have, and I never will.

If the free offer involves an up-front payment or has other strings attached (e.g. to claim a free vacation), do not do it! If you are asked to register your credit card or bank account details, for example, to gain entry to a "free" website, ask yourself why this should be necessary if the offer was really free. If you do enter these details, there is a very real chance that these details will be used to steal money from you, to run up debts in your name or to sign up up for a subscription service that may be very costly. The golden rule is that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Last but not least, if you come across an advertisement on the internet that offers something for free, be very careful. If the offer looks to good to be true, or asks you to provide credit card or banking details, do NOT respond. Do not click on the ad, that's a good way to have spyware installed on your computer or for you to get phished. Do not make contact with anyone listed in the ad, do not call the telephone number listed and do not send any money, credit card details or other personal details to the scammers.

I hope this helps, as I said any offer I post is legit, so please continue to enjoy the freebies and coupons. We've just hit a little bump in the road, but hopefully this will help everyone be able to request freebies with a little peace of mind.