Summertide
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- Posted: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:29:41 +0000
CHECK THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR NEW NEWS REGARDING PUNISHMENT FOR USING FALSE INFORMATION AND ABOUT MALWARE AND SAFE MALWARE REMOVAL PROGRAMS!!
Anne Packrat
Official FAQ about the Sponsored Offers Also includes information about reporting bad ones.
Out of curiosity and to prove a point, I have looked into many of these companies and offers and have compiled a list of the first three or four pages of offers. Please feel free to look at these and be sure to research any offer you may be interested in. Be very careful!
Flycell-25 ringtones / text sevices
Gaia cash: 1,378
BBB Rating:
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of NR
Reason for this NR rating include:
* This business has no rating at this time.
According to recent complaints sent to the Better Business Bureau, consumers allege that Flycell, Inc. provides ringtones on their website for free; consumers find out later they are charged a subscription fee, which is not disclosed under the companies’ terms and conditions. Consumers state that they are billed monthly for the service. When consumers realize they're being charged, they call to unsubscribe but are unable to reach anyone. Some consumers have used the text message approach specified on their website to cancel service but have received no response. Consumers are requesting their money back and cancellation of service.
Scam Info: This is more or less a scam.
Jamster- Join and recieve free ringtones
Gaia Cash:1,225
BBB Rating: None - Does not belong to
Scam info: www.jamsterscam.com
Ringtones.net - Join and get ringtones
Gaia Cash: 1,750
BBB Rating: None
Scam info: While I cannot find any specific scam information on this website, please be cautious.
2 Magazines for 2 months for free - get magazines for free
Gaia Cash: 1,750
BBB Rating: No clue, don't know what company is offering this.
Scam info: While this isn't exactly a scam per se', I have no clue who is offering this service. If this requires credit card information, I'd be wary. Sometimes it is almost impossible to cancel these sorts of "Free offers". If it requires a credit card or your home adress, be careful.
Bella Sole Jewelry - Buy Jewelry Get Gaia Cash
Gaia Cash: 3,238
BBB Rating:
Company Rating B-
Our opinion of what this rating means:
A good rating that still implies reputability. The rating may relate to length of time in business, a past problem that’s been corrected, or something else that does not cause problems for consumers. We believe a company with this rating would generally conduct business and respond to any complaints satisfactorily.
Scam info: Bella Sole will enroll you into a program where they will send you jewelry and continue to bill you. I would advise against using this..
Bocajava - buy coffee get gaia cash
Gaia Cash: 2,363
BBB Rating:
Company Rating A
Our opinion of what this rating means:
An extremely high rating. The condition that lowers this grade from A+ is not what we believe to be a significant one.
Scam info: Not a scam, just be sure you are on the real Bocajava site before entering any information. If in doubt, find their phone number and call to confirm that this deal is from them and actually legitimate.
IQ Challenge: - take IQ test get gaia cash
Gaia Cash: 963
BBB Rating: I don't know what company does this.
Scam Info: Most Mobile based things like these are scams that will send you texts and make you rack up a lot of charges. I'd avoid this.
Have you met your match - Mobile crap for gaia cash
Gaia cash: 963
BBB Rating: I don't know what company does this.
Scam Info: This is likely some sort of mobile scam, please be careful!
Slim Seduction - free 21 day trial, requires a valid credit card.
Gaia Cash: 3,150
BBB Raiting:BBB Rating
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F.
Reasons for this rating include:
* BBB concerns with the industry in which this business operates.
* 1084 complaints filed against business
* Failure to respond to 127 complaints filed against business.
* 23 complaints filed against business that were not resolved.
* Overall complaint history with BBB.
* Advertising issue(s) found by BBB.
Click here for an explanation of BBB Ratings
Consumer complaints on file allege problems with GNS' advertising methods, refund, return and delivery policies.
Regarding advertising, consumers state that they are offered a "free trial" of a product and only need to pay a shipping charge. Consumers allege that the following conditions are not made clear to them in the company's advertising: The "free trial" only lasts for a few weeks and then is automatically billed for, (approximately $49.95). In addition to billing after the trial period is over, the consumer is enrolled into a program where they are shipped and billed for a new supply of the product every month. This, "Auto Ship" program can also apply to regular orders outside of the "free trial" offer. See the 'Advertising Review' section of the report for more information.
Regarding refund, return and delivery policies, consumers allege that they can cancel the order very quickly, but are told by the company that the order has already been processed and they must wait until the product is delivered before they can return it for a refund. Consumers also state that they bear the burden of paying to return the unwanted shipment and if they refuse the package, no refund is forthcoming from the company.
Consumers further state that when they are on the, "Auto Ship" monthly delivery program, they receive products prematurely at a two week interval. At the time of this early shipment, consumers are also billed for this subsequent delivery.
Consumers have also complained about not receiving ordered merchandise.
Scam Info: THIS IS A SCAM! More scam info here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/317/RipOff0317985.htm
Netflix - Try Netflix DVD rentals for free get gaia cash.
Gaia Cash: 2,363
BBB Rating:
Company Rating A+
Our opinion of what this rating means:
An exemplary rating. This means that nothing in our files causes us to have any doubt about the company’s reliability.
Scam info: This is not a scam. Just be sure you are using the real netflix site and understand that until you are a paid subscriber you are not going to get gaia cash. If you doubt they are really giving out gaiacash, contact them to verify.
Are you smart than your frinds IQ Challenge - take test, get cash
Gaia Cash: 919
BBB Rating: No clue what company is offering this.
Scam Info: Looks like most other mobile based scams. Be careful!
Celebrity Squares - play and win
Gaia Cash: 438
BBB Rating: No clue what company is offering this.
Scam info: This may or may not be a scam, be cautious when playing things on your mobile.
3 Credit Scores
Gaia Cash: 2,100
BBB Rating: No idea what company runs these.
Scam info: There is a government website that will allow you to get three REAL credit reports from the three credit reporting agencies per year. That is the only real legit one.
Someone has a crush on you - mobile crap for gaia cash
Gaia Cash: 919
BBB Rating: No idea what company runs this.
Scam Info: Looks like a typical mobile scam, be careful!
Whopper or Big Mac? - vote and get money + gaia cash
Gaia Cash: 394
BBB Rating: No idea what company has the survery going.
Scam Info: Surveys are not always scams. HOWEVER, this is requesting personal information that needs to be verified. I would personally skip this, mainly because your personal information could very easily be stolen or sold to another party. Be careful!
Video Professor - Free crap + GC
Gaia Cash: 7,350
BBB Rating: BBB Rating
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of C+.
Reasons for this rating include:
* 604 complaints filed against business
* Advertising issue(s) found by BBB.
Click here for an explanation of BBB Ratings
Prior to filing a complaint with the BBB, the Denver/Boulder BBB suggests contacting Anne Deeb, Video Professor's Customer Relations contact, at 1-800-500-1183, or emailing to bbbresolutions@videoprofessor.com. Video Professor is committed to addressing issues within two (2) business days.
This company offers educational CDs on computer software training. They use television infomercials two-minute spot advertising and the internet to promote their products.
On television, the company offers a promotion for a free computer learning cd. Consumers taking advantage of the free cd are offered upsells. If accepted, they require the consumer to return products to avoid being billed. If consumers do not return the products, they will continue to receive additional products and be billed for those products.
If you call the company from one of their television ads, and decline their upsells, you will only receive the free cd lesson they offer on tv and nothing else will be shipped.
If you call the company from one of their television ads, and agree to one of their upsells, carefully review the terms of the offer, as it usually binds you to return any products that you do not want. Simply throwing away or ignoring any upsell product does not relieve you of the requirement to pay.
If you want to return any of the lessons, call 1-800-525-7763 before the end of your review period and you will be given a Return Authorization Number and billing will be stopped. A Return Authorization Number MUST appear on the outside of any returned CD-Rom.
Scam Info: My husband works in the IT field and claims that they scam businesses into paying for free software all of the time. Based off of personal experiences, please be cautious.
Creditreport.com - report + gaiacash
Gaia Cash: 2,363
BBB Rating: No rating.
Scam info: As stated before, there is only one place to get a legtimate credit report. This is not it.
$500 Wal-mart gift card + GC
Gaia Cash: 394
BBB Rating: No clue what company is actually offering this.
Scam info: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I have no proof that this is a scam, but it sure as heck sounds and looks like one. Please be careful, as they ask for verifiable personal information.
Gamefly - Unlimited Rentals for $8.95 + GC
Gaia Cash: 2,625
BBB Rating:
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of C
Reasons for this C rating include:
* BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating
* BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business
Scam Info: I know people who have used gamefly without any problems whatsoever. This seems to be a legit deal. Please make sure you are on the actual gamefly page and that they are actually offering this deal before going forward with setting up an account and giving them any info. Be careful just in case!
Which Restraunt Satisifies South of the Border Appetite - survey + GC
Gaia Cash: 394
BBB Rating: I don't know what company operates this.
Scam Info: This HAS awarded Gaia Cash, but it also asks for real personal information. This information can be sold or given away to 3rd parties. Please be sure to read the fine print on this to see what they do with your personal information, even if this seems legit, please be careful.
Vote on your favorite talk show - vote + win 50,000 + GC
Gaia Cash: 394
BBB Rating: I don't know what company operates this.
Scam Info: This is mobile based, be very careful because it doesn't say free. This may be a mobile scam.
Want the all-net Iphone 3gs? - Free Iphone + GC offer
Gaia Cash: 219
BBB Rating: No idea what company is offering this.
Scam Info: f it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Please be careful.
Acai Fuel Extreme: Free trial + GC + 6.95 s&h
Gaia Cash: 3,150
BBB Rating: No idea what company offers this.
Scam Info: Many many fad diet and health companies are scams. Take a look further up about Global Nutrition and their Seductively Slim scam. Be careful!
Direct Tv - 21 premium chanels FREE for 3 months + Gaia Cash
Gaia Cash: 21,875
BBB Rating:
Company Rating C-
Our opinion of what this rating means:
Acceptable rating. We know of no reason not to do business with this company. If the level of this rating relates to anything specific that we know might be of concern to consumers, it is stated in this report. Read our full report to determine if you have questions or concerns.
Scam Info: As far in as I can tell, this does not appear to be a scam. If you are interested in this offer, contact Direct Tv directly and inquire about it. Be sure you are using their real website and contact information, and make sure they really are offering the Gaia Cash.
Seattle Coffee: 5 for 5 + Gaia Cash
Gaia Cash: 2,975
BBB Rating: Based on BBB files, Seattle Coffee Gear has a BBB Rating of B+.
Reasons for this rating include:
* Length of time business has been operating.
Scam Info: Does not appear to be a scam, just make sure you are on the actual seattle coffee website and call them to make sure they are actually participating in this offer.
Free 100$ Starbucks Gift Card: Sign up + GC
BBB Rating
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F
Click here for an explanation of BBB Ratings.
* Reasons for this rating include:BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating
* Failure to respond to complaints filed against business
* BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business
The company's size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgment on the validity of complaints filed.
Number of complaints processed by the BBB
since the firm's BBB file was opened in December 2008: 2
in the last 12 months: 2
Complaints Concerned:
Advertising Issues (1 complaints)
1 Company did not respond
Contract Disputes (1 complaints)
1 Company did not respond
Scam Info: Be cautious when giving personal information to any website. Read the fine print to see what they do with your information. Also, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! This sounds way too good to be true, please be careful!
Discover Card / Financial Services - Sign up get GC
Gaia Cash: 7,438 across the board
BBB Rating
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of B+.
Reasons for this rating include:
* Government action(s) against business.
Customer Complaint History
When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.
BBB processed a total of 1102 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 1102 complaints closed in 36 months, 427 were closed in the last year.
These complaints concerned :
30 regarding Issue Not Defined
56 regarding Advertising Issues
9 - Advertised terms not honored
3 - Advertisement did not disclose all conditions required to take advantage of an offer
1 - Advertisement misrepresented a product
4 - Advertisement misrepresented a service
3 - Bait & switch advertisement
3 - False or unsubstantiated claims in advertisement
33 - None of the Above - Advertising Complaint Issue
626 regarding Billing or Collection Issues
135 - Failure to correct billing errors
7 - Failure to provide itemized billing as requested
34 - Failure to substantiate charges
63 - Improper collection practices
354 - None of the Above - Credit, Billing or Collection Complaint Issue
3 - Unauthorized bank debits
30 - Unauthorized credit card charges
49 regarding Contract Issues
5 - Failure to honor a contract or agreement
2 - Invalid or false contract
41 - None of the Above - Contract Complaint Issue
1 - Work performed outside the terms of the contract or agreement
135 regarding Customer Service Issues
29 - Failure to provide promised assistance or support for products or services
19 - Failure to respond to phone calls or written requests for assistance or support
25 - Inappropriate behavior by customer service personnel
62 - None of the Above - Customer Service Complaint Issue
10 regarding Delivery Issues
1 - Delivery of unordered products
2 - Delivery of unordered services
2 - Non-delivery of products
5 - None of the Above - Delivery Complaint Issue
2 regarding Guarantee or Warranty Issues
2 - None of the Above - Guarantee or Warranty Complaint Issue
7 regarding Product Issues
7 - None of the Above - Product Quality Complaint Issue
66 regarding Refund or Exchange Issues
3 - Failure to honor promised refunds, exchanges, or credit
15 - Failure to honor refund, exchange or credit policies
48 - None of the Above - Refund or Exchange Complaint Issue
81 regarding Sales Practice Issues
43 - None of the Above - Sales Complaint Issue
3 - Sales presentation did not disclose complete pricing information
3 - Sales presentation did not disclose key conditions of the offer
1 - Sales presentation misrepresented the product
6 - Sales presentation misrepresented the service
1 - Sales presentation not consistent with the written agreement
16 - Sales presentation used dishonest sales practices
8 - Sales presentation used high pressure methods
40 regarding Service Issues
1 - Delayed completion of service
9 - Improper or inferior service
21 - None of the Above - Service Complaint Issue
9 - Unauthorized service
Scam Info: While signing up for a Discover Card in and of itself is not a scam, be cautious for several reasons. First and foremost, call Discover and ensure they are genuinely offering this deal. Secondly, if you do this online, be absolutely positive you are on the correct website. Third, please please make sure they give you a resonable interest rate and that they are fair to you. Credit cards can have outrageous interest rates or penalities if you apply for them online and not through your bank. Exercise common sense here.
Dupe The Loop
If there was any evidence that Gaia has sold it's soul to a desire for free cash for itself at the expense of it's members, this is it. The Gee Boi Turbo, nerfing the Fishtanks, and now openly condoning active SCAM OFFERS, trying to bribe it's loyal memberbase with insane amounts of Gaia Cash. All for the paltry sum of giving away your credit card information, your home address, your phone number, your car insurance, the deed to your home, and your soul. Oh, and your wallet photo of little Margaret too.
I wonder if you decided to check any of the download-required offers for viruses? Well I had a gander. Here's a list-off for you of what I've found so far:
ShopAtHome Toolbar
Worth: 175 Gaia Cash
Contained: ShopAtHome Toolbar, Troj_dmsetup.d
Yes, that was a Trojan. Already had my scanners up and running before I opened it.
Next up...
Webfetti Toolbar
Worth: 219 Gaia Cash
Contained: Webfetti Toolbar, Waledac
A SPAMBOT, ladies and gents. Merry Christmas to you too Gaia.
CursorMania
Worth: 158 Gaia Cash
Contained: CursorMania, Trojan.Win32.Agent2.dtb, Trojan.Win32.Agent.azsy
Two for the price of one. Enjoy.
I still haven't checked the other downloads, but let's play by example now, shall we?
Shame on you Gaia. Lovely job of protecting your memberbase.
Update:
Did some more digging, found these:
Free Dingbat Smileys
Worth: 228 Gaia Cash
Contained: Backdoor.Win32.Agent.abgg
Another b*****d child of Conficker.
Mobile: IQ Quiz
Worth: 919 Gaia Cash
Contained: Email-Worm.Win32.Merond.a
This virus was meant for computers, and it's in a mobile phone offer. It's known for frying computers - don't let it on your phone.
I wonder if you decided to check any of the download-required offers for viruses? Well I had a gander. Here's a list-off for you of what I've found so far:
ShopAtHome Toolbar
Worth: 175 Gaia Cash
Contained: ShopAtHome Toolbar, Troj_dmsetup.d
Yes, that was a Trojan. Already had my scanners up and running before I opened it.
Next up...
Webfetti Toolbar
Worth: 219 Gaia Cash
Contained: Webfetti Toolbar, Waledac
A SPAMBOT, ladies and gents. Merry Christmas to you too Gaia.
CursorMania
Worth: 158 Gaia Cash
Contained: CursorMania, Trojan.Win32.Agent2.dtb, Trojan.Win32.Agent.azsy
Two for the price of one. Enjoy.
I still haven't checked the other downloads, but let's play by example now, shall we?
Shame on you Gaia. Lovely job of protecting your memberbase.
Update:
Did some more digging, found these:
Free Dingbat Smileys
Worth: 228 Gaia Cash
Contained: Backdoor.Win32.Agent.abgg
Another b*****d child of Conficker.
Mobile: IQ Quiz
Worth: 919 Gaia Cash
Contained: Email-Worm.Win32.Merond.a
This virus was meant for computers, and it's in a mobile phone offer. It's known for frying computers - don't let it on your phone.
Anne Packrat
More information:
If you sign up for those offers that ask for surveys, or offer gift cards or money you are agreeing to let the company or site sell your personal information to whomever it wants. That includes your name, home address, e-mail and phone number. So expect to see a big increase in spam, junk mail, and telemarketing calls.
To quote the privacy policy of two of these sites:
From the National-survey.info and Customer-survey-site.info (note bolding is mine) policies:
If you sign up for those offers that ask for surveys, or offer gift cards or money you are agreeing to let the company or site sell your personal information to whomever it wants. That includes your name, home address, e-mail and phone number. So expect to see a big increase in spam, junk mail, and telemarketing calls.
To quote the privacy policy of two of these sites:
From the National-survey.info and Customer-survey-site.info (note bolding is mine) policies:
Quote:
National-Survey-Board.info may also use personal information for any marketing and survey purpose on behalf of itself and its affiliates and subsidiaries. National-Survey-Board.info may disclose personal information to third party agents and independent contractors that help us conduct our marketing and survey efforts. Further, National-Survey-Board.info may disclose personal information to other companies in connection with marketing efforts including but not limited to direct marketing, which may have no relationship to National-Survey-Board.info. Finally, if National-Survey-Board.info or any of its assets are acquired by or merged with another entity, member information will be one of the transferred assets.
Summertide
Concerning the Disney offer. Contact Disney directly via telephone or e-mail and ask them to confirm if it is a legitimate deal. There are SOME deals like this that ARE legit, but be careful and contact them for more information first!
This bears repeating:
Anne Packrat
Keep in mind many of these offers also enroll you in a monthly program so you will be charged to your credit card (or cell phone bill if it's a mobile offer) every month. They deliberately make these offers hard to cancel, and they often have hard to understand Customer Service people from India or another country who are trained to make it as difficult as possible for you to cancel.
So essentially many of these offers can ruin your credit too if you're not careful about them. I know for sure that's how those Free Credit Report things work (I got taken in by one a few years ago and I'm still trying to rebuild my credit!) and Video Professor can cost you upwards of 70 to 189 dollars per month for your supposedly free lessons!
So essentially many of these offers can ruin your credit too if you're not careful about them. I know for sure that's how those Free Credit Report things work (I got taken in by one a few years ago and I'm still trying to rebuild my credit!) and Video Professor can cost you upwards of 70 to 189 dollars per month for your supposedly free lessons!
More about the Wal-mart Gift Card Promo sent to me via PM:
Acuzio Bladester
The 500$ walmart gift card will do as follows. (if not a scam)
You will get a voucher that you fill out and mail back, then you receive 16 coupons that you mail back AGAIN with receipts totaling 100$ from wal-mart and receive a 25$ card each month once per month.
Just figured I would help the cause and shy more people away from this retardation they are trying. This is from personal experience with the same thing just to note.
You will get a voucher that you fill out and mail back, then you receive 16 coupons that you mail back AGAIN with receipts totaling 100$ from wal-mart and receive a 25$ card each month once per month.
Just figured I would help the cause and shy more people away from this retardation they are trying. This is from personal experience with the same thing just to note.
More on the gamefly one:
Crepu-Jewel
The game fly one is a scam! It's not the real site, just a info phiser. Don't use that one..
Great Info:
Fujiko Kurokawa
Here's something I'd like to share with you guys: there is a Firefox addon called "Web of Trust" it's an addon that judges the trustworthiness of sites based on user ratings. The ratings of each site fall into 4 categories: Trustworthiness, Vendor Reliability, Privacy, and Child Safety. Sites like Amazon.com and Gaia will rank high, and give you free access throughout the site. Any site that ranks low or has an unknown status will bring up a warning over the site and tell you what's up.
Nearly all of these s**t offers have malware and other crap.
Nearly all of these s**t offers have malware and other crap.
Summertide
To everyone who has shown support and thanked me for this thread, thank you! I started this thread solely because it angers me greatly that Gaia would put their members at such risk. Nobody deserves to be preyed upon by malicious advertisers, not even if they are not tech savvy or up to date on internet safety. Just because a person may be ignorant of scams doesn't mean they deserve to be preyed upon. That sort of mentality is sick and angers me just as much as those that prey on people's ignorance regarding internet safety.
It is important to me that we educated as many people as we can about the dangers of handing out personal information, credit card information, and even downloading things from non-trustworthy sources. People need to know that these things can and often do have serious consequences. So to everyone here showing support, I salute you.
You are fighting the awesome fight.
Now, a few more things I want to touch on:
Diet + Free Trials:
Goji Berry, Colon Cleanse, Slim Seduction, Nutra Life, Global Nutrition, ect. Almost all of these companies offer free fad diet or health / nutrition based products. The BBB gives most companies selling these products extremely low ratings. Usually this has to do with the industry itself, as most things within it are scams in their own right. Selling products with ridiculous claims that don't tend to work, more or less.
The issue with these companies is that they tend to offer 14 day free trial type deals, and most of the time it is incredibly hard or impossible to cancel. Sometimes even before your 14 days are up. Sometimes people never receive product. (Like in the case of Nutra Life and Global Nutrition) It should also be noted that just because a company claims it's product is safe, it may not necessarily be. Please be cautious about what you order AND put in your body. Your life is way more important than some Gaia Cash.
Mobile Scams:
While not all mobile services are scams, many of them are. Some do not consider it a scam for these companies to charge you obscene prices for their services (most of which are touted as being free!), even if you are trying to unsubscribe. Just be cautious what you sign up for. I've heard horror stories about outrageous charges.
Anything that requires a download:
FIRST AND FOREMOST. IF YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED ANYTHING RUN A THOROUGH VIRUS SCAN AND MAKE NOTE OF WHAT YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED AND FROM WHERE.
If you have not. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DOWNLOAD ANYTHING THAT PROMISES GC. DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANYTHING THAT IS FROM AN UNTRUSTWORTHY SOURCE! THIS IS HOW YOU GET VIRUSES AND MALWARE!
Reputable Companies that offer GC:
If a there is an offer from a seemingly reputable company, please be absolutely positive that you are on their website before you put in ANY personal information. If the offer is through a third party, call the main company and ask them about it. (Almost all of the offers I've seen for reputable companies so far seem to be through third parties) I would be cautious even with these solely because third parties are basically getting you to sign up for services through them for a promotion, which means you are likely going to be paying a slightly high price, because there is a middleman involved.
It is important to me that we educated as many people as we can about the dangers of handing out personal information, credit card information, and even downloading things from non-trustworthy sources. People need to know that these things can and often do have serious consequences. So to everyone here showing support, I salute you.
You are fighting the awesome fight.
Now, a few more things I want to touch on:
Diet + Free Trials:
Goji Berry, Colon Cleanse, Slim Seduction, Nutra Life, Global Nutrition, ect. Almost all of these companies offer free fad diet or health / nutrition based products. The BBB gives most companies selling these products extremely low ratings. Usually this has to do with the industry itself, as most things within it are scams in their own right. Selling products with ridiculous claims that don't tend to work, more or less.
The issue with these companies is that they tend to offer 14 day free trial type deals, and most of the time it is incredibly hard or impossible to cancel. Sometimes even before your 14 days are up. Sometimes people never receive product. (Like in the case of Nutra Life and Global Nutrition) It should also be noted that just because a company claims it's product is safe, it may not necessarily be. Please be cautious about what you order AND put in your body. Your life is way more important than some Gaia Cash.
Mobile Scams:
While not all mobile services are scams, many of them are. Some do not consider it a scam for these companies to charge you obscene prices for their services (most of which are touted as being free!), even if you are trying to unsubscribe. Just be cautious what you sign up for. I've heard horror stories about outrageous charges.
Anything that requires a download:
FIRST AND FOREMOST. IF YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED ANYTHING RUN A THOROUGH VIRUS SCAN AND MAKE NOTE OF WHAT YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED AND FROM WHERE.
If you have not. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DOWNLOAD ANYTHING THAT PROMISES GC. DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANYTHING THAT IS FROM AN UNTRUSTWORTHY SOURCE! THIS IS HOW YOU GET VIRUSES AND MALWARE!
Reputable Companies that offer GC:
If a there is an offer from a seemingly reputable company, please be absolutely positive that you are on their website before you put in ANY personal information. If the offer is through a third party, call the main company and ask them about it. (Almost all of the offers I've seen for reputable companies so far seem to be through third parties) I would be cautious even with these solely because third parties are basically getting you to sign up for services through them for a promotion, which means you are likely going to be paying a slightly high price, because there is a middleman involved.
About Getgambit:
Kira Sunfire
One additional comment. Although you have researched many of the individual companies BBB ratings, it might be helpful to note that Gambit (getgambit.com), which is the overhead company promoting most, if not all, of these advertisements, has a Better Business Bureau rating of F.
A quote from the getgambit.com blog:
A quote from the getgambit.com blog:
Quote:
It’s true that instead of paying with money, a lot of “free” offers will require the user to pay with their time, their personal information, or both. Common free offers include poll-submits (e.g. “Home Depot or Lowes?” or “Who makes the best pizza?”), which require submission of a poll answer, the user’s e-mail address, mailing address and telephone number (which, because no one ever reads the Terms of Service or Privacy Policy statements, users consent to have shared with third-parties upon submitting).
An Update on one of the offers:
YuYuChan777
Quote:
Which Restraunt Satisifies South of the Border Appetite - survey + GC
Gaia Cash: 394
BBB Rating: I don't know what company operates this.
Scam Info: This HAS awarded Gaia Cash, but it also asks for real personal information. This information can be sold or given away to 3rd parties. Please be sure to read the fine print on this to see what they do with your personal information, even if this seems legit, please be careful.
Gaia Cash: 394
BBB Rating: I don't know what company operates this.
Scam Info: This HAS awarded Gaia Cash, but it also asks for real personal information. This information can be sold or given away to 3rd parties. Please be sure to read the fine print on this to see what they do with your personal information, even if this seems legit, please be careful.
Not true, I went through the survey myself to verify. It's not legit at all. At the end of the survey they require you buying something by giving out you credit card number/unformation. Often times asking for more money then you would be receiving of Gaia Cash.
News from Pirula:
[quote="pirula"][quote="Dupe The Loop"]
I do have to ask, how did this idea get past Gaia's decision makers in the first place? The viruses aside, anyone could have seen coming the way this would polarize members against the idea and give them impression of Gaia "selling-out", even if that wasn't the idea. I realize Gaia needs cash, but these advertisements certainly couldn't have been worth the returns from the way it's angered the memberbase and endangered those who might not have expected viruses.[/quote]
We knew it would be polarizing, almost anything new that involves Gaia Cash is. However, users have been asking for a long time for other ways to get gaia cash, and on balance giving users more options is a good thing. A big factor was that we looked at a list of similar sites to gaia and realized that almost all of them have this type of program for their users. We actually learned from other sites how to do a bunch of things right; including reminding users to be cautious and read the fine print, removing the worst of the endless surveys before we launched, and being ready to respond quickly to any issues. That is the background of the decision; only time will tell if this turns out to be valuable to some users and others can ignore it (which I think will be the case) or if it becomes a sustained problem where the downside is not worth the money.[/quote]
I do have to ask, how did this idea get past Gaia's decision makers in the first place? The viruses aside, anyone could have seen coming the way this would polarize members against the idea and give them impression of Gaia "selling-out", even if that wasn't the idea. I realize Gaia needs cash, but these advertisements certainly couldn't have been worth the returns from the way it's angered the memberbase and endangered those who might not have expected viruses.[/quote]
We knew it would be polarizing, almost anything new that involves Gaia Cash is. However, users have been asking for a long time for other ways to get gaia cash, and on balance giving users more options is a good thing. A big factor was that we looked at a list of similar sites to gaia and realized that almost all of them have this type of program for their users. We actually learned from other sites how to do a bunch of things right; including reminding users to be cautious and read the fine print, removing the worst of the endless surveys before we launched, and being ready to respond quickly to any issues. That is the background of the decision; only time will tell if this turns out to be valuable to some users and others can ignore it (which I think will be the case) or if it becomes a sustained problem where the downside is not worth the money.[/quote]
PIRULA ON POSSIBLE PUNISHMENT FOR FALSE INFO:
Kira Sunfire
I just thought I'd add a few warnings from Gaia, since everyone seems to be putting in a ton of false information to get the so-called free Cash.
From pirula (Developer) in the 6/15 AtA:
From the GC Offer FAQ:
I have no idea how strictly Gaia would follow these guidelines, since there would have to be a mass banning, but if they really are going to get stuck with a huge bill for mass numbers of false information, then they might start taking action. It's just another thing to think about before filling out surveys or other forms. If the site seems too shady to input real info, it's probably not worth risking your computer, your wallet, or your Gaia account.
From pirula (Developer) in the 6/15 AtA:
Quote:
I know, it totally seems too good to be true for some of these, but those companies pay Gaia in real cash and we basically pass it along to you in the form of Gaia Cash. I think the offers will change their value over time, some going up and some going down based on how successful they actually are for the sponsor company (you have to pay DirectTV more than $300 to get your $200 in gaia cash, which is a big price tag unless you wanted to get DirectTV anyway). If people lie, it will cost us money so we will have to account for that too.
From the GC Offer FAQ:
Quote:
If we find out you are attempting to fraud your account will be banned.
I have no idea how strictly Gaia would follow these guidelines, since there would have to be a mass banning, but if they really are going to get stuck with a huge bill for mass numbers of false information, then they might start taking action. It's just another thing to think about before filling out surveys or other forms. If the site seems too shady to input real info, it's probably not worth risking your computer, your wallet, or your Gaia account.
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SAFE MALWARE REMOVAL PROGRAMS:
meatballhead15
Thank you so much for compiling this post. If you have not done so, I might have started similiar. Though it would not have occured to me to check with the BBB (A+ to the OP for THAT!), I am an IT professional who has dealt with (literally) hundreds of cases of spyware /adware/ malware.
If you believe your computer to be infected, there are two well-known, free, and reputable programs that you can use in conjunction to rid yourself of these pests:
arrow Spybot Search and Destroy, hosted by http://www.safer-networking.org . This was one of the first programs to find the nasties, and it gives a good description of what it does (to your registry, or to your system)
arrow Ad-Aware AE, by http://www.lavasoft.com . When working for IT at my university, sometimes I would come across threats that have not yet been added to their definitions. I would participate in their forums and do a bunch of back-door things in safe mode to rid problems manually, but they got included in future updates.
There are loads of "Fake" spyware removers that you need to watch out for, "SpySheriff" among DOZENS of others with similiar names. They flash and tell you that you are infected and redirect your browser to a site where you must PURCHASE THEIR product to 'clean out' the malware that they put there in the first place.
If you believe your computer to be infected, there are two well-known, free, and reputable programs that you can use in conjunction to rid yourself of these pests:
arrow Spybot Search and Destroy, hosted by http://www.safer-networking.org . This was one of the first programs to find the nasties, and it gives a good description of what it does (to your registry, or to your system)
arrow Ad-Aware AE, by http://www.lavasoft.com . When working for IT at my university, sometimes I would come across threats that have not yet been added to their definitions. I would participate in their forums and do a bunch of back-door things in safe mode to rid problems manually, but they got included in future updates.
There are loads of "Fake" spyware removers that you need to watch out for, "SpySheriff" among DOZENS of others with similiar names. They flash and tell you that you are infected and redirect your browser to a site where you must PURCHASE THEIR product to 'clean out' the malware that they put there in the first place.
On why surveys that require personal information are inherently bad:
Summertide
I just want to take a moment to drop by and talk about why some of us feel very strongly about the surveys specifically. It isn't that we are concerned about surveys giving us viruses or malware, or anything like that. The concern lies in how much personal information you have to give these companies. Personal information is actually a very dangerous thing to give out, and not because someone is going to come to your house and break your kneecaps or anything silly like that.
Your name, home address, phone number, and e-mail address can and often will be sold by companies that run surveys. This is bad for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, you have no control over who they are selling your information to. This can cause you to end up on telemarketing lists, junk mail lists, and spam lists for email. Not only this, your information could be sold to malicious sources that will use the information in attempt to steal your identity. I've seen reports of someone here on Gaia already getting phone calls from an unknown source attempting to scam them out of their credit card information.
Now, maybe getting calls from telemarketers doesn't bother you, and perhaps you used an alternate email address. Alright. Let me touch on receiving actual junk mail. Physical junk mail is inherently bad because it can actually aid identity thieves. Make sure to shred all junk mail, especially credit card offers. Do not toss any junk mail concerning personal info in the trash, physically destroy it!
Another source your personal info can be sold to are people involved in pyramid schemes. This has actually happened to me personally, and frankly, I am still unsure of what company sold off my personal mailing address. I do not like receiving mail from strangers that are trying to get me involved in illegal scams to make money. It is inappropriate and illegal, and frankly a violation of my personal privacy. Nobody should receive bullshit like that in the mail.
Most people do not understand how negatively impacting and dangerous it can be to give companies their personal information. It seriously can be very very bad and difficult to reverse once your information is out there. I know that someone having your phone number, name, and mailing address may not seem like a big deal, but please be aware that those are the first things identity thieves need.
Also, under no circumstances should you EVER give your social security number to ANY untrusted source. I know most of you are smart enough to know better than that, but some of you are also young and may not know when it is inappropriate to give it out. Exercise caution about all of your personal information and who you give it to, and you should be gold.
Your name, home address, phone number, and e-mail address can and often will be sold by companies that run surveys. This is bad for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, you have no control over who they are selling your information to. This can cause you to end up on telemarketing lists, junk mail lists, and spam lists for email. Not only this, your information could be sold to malicious sources that will use the information in attempt to steal your identity. I've seen reports of someone here on Gaia already getting phone calls from an unknown source attempting to scam them out of their credit card information.
Now, maybe getting calls from telemarketers doesn't bother you, and perhaps you used an alternate email address. Alright. Let me touch on receiving actual junk mail. Physical junk mail is inherently bad because it can actually aid identity thieves. Make sure to shred all junk mail, especially credit card offers. Do not toss any junk mail concerning personal info in the trash, physically destroy it!
Another source your personal info can be sold to are people involved in pyramid schemes. This has actually happened to me personally, and frankly, I am still unsure of what company sold off my personal mailing address. I do not like receiving mail from strangers that are trying to get me involved in illegal scams to make money. It is inappropriate and illegal, and frankly a violation of my personal privacy. Nobody should receive bullshit like that in the mail.
Most people do not understand how negatively impacting and dangerous it can be to give companies their personal information. It seriously can be very very bad and difficult to reverse once your information is out there. I know that someone having your phone number, name, and mailing address may not seem like a big deal, but please be aware that those are the first things identity thieves need.
Also, under no circumstances should you EVER give your social security number to ANY untrusted source. I know most of you are smart enough to know better than that, but some of you are also young and may not know when it is inappropriate to give it out. Exercise caution about all of your personal information and who you give it to, and you should be gold.
How not to get charged if you have signed up for mobile offers: THIS DOES NOT WORK. DO NOT DO MOBILE OFFERS IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE CHARGED.
Enix Leroux
I would like to clear up some things about some of the Mobile Offers.
I RECOMMEND ONLY doing the IQ tests, Match Maker Ones (Is it Love, Love Calculator, etc), the Jokes One, and the Enter to get tickets to somewhere.
What will happen is this:
1) You either answer IQ questions or enter your name, crush name, and your signs.
2) They will ask for your Cell Number, along that you agree to their ToS.
3) You will receive a PIN text, that contains a 4-digit pin. WRITE DOWN THE PIN. YOU WILL NEED THIS WHEN YOU FILE A COMPLAINT! I RECOMMEND WRITING DOWN WHICH PIN GOES TO WHAT OFFER. I ALSO RECOMMEND SAVING THE URL OF THE OFFER. This is also where you are AUTOMATICALLY put on their service list.
4) Once you enter the PIN on your computer, leave that site and continue on Gaia. THIS IS THE FINAL STEPS OF THE OFFER.
5) You will receive your IQ Score, If it's meant to be, or whatever.
6) YOU NEED TO DO THIS TO NOT GET CHARGED! Once you have written down the PIN along with entering the PIN on the site, you need to text EXACTLY: STOP [caps and all] to the PIN text. THIS WILL MAKE YOU NOT GET CHARGED $9.99 A MONTH! You will soon receive a text saying "You're no longer subscribed to this service. You will not be charged and texted."
I would like to add, I did several of these offers on Monday, the 15th. My cell bill came in on the 17th, and it was the same amount I owe every single month to Verizon Wireless. I also HAVE NOT been spammed with texts from them. I haven't even received any viruses on my phone, either.
When you file a complaint, you should wait for the Admin. They will ask for the PIN. When you get this message from them, type in the PIN you received from the offer you're complaining about. This will get you your GC. And if you don't get it, then complain to Gaia, or contact getgambit.com by phone.
You should only be charged with Incoming and Sent texts if you do NOT have unlimited texts. If you do have Unlimited, then you shouldn't be charged. If you are, then you can either sue the company that owns that offer site for your money back. YOU CAN DO THIS. Because it's going against their ToS. Amazing what the law can do.
I RECOMMEND ONLY doing the IQ tests, Match Maker Ones (Is it Love, Love Calculator, etc), the Jokes One, and the Enter to get tickets to somewhere.
What will happen is this:
1) You either answer IQ questions or enter your name, crush name, and your signs.
2) They will ask for your Cell Number, along that you agree to their ToS.
3) You will receive a PIN text, that contains a 4-digit pin. WRITE DOWN THE PIN. YOU WILL NEED THIS WHEN YOU FILE A COMPLAINT! I RECOMMEND WRITING DOWN WHICH PIN GOES TO WHAT OFFER. I ALSO RECOMMEND SAVING THE URL OF THE OFFER. This is also where you are AUTOMATICALLY put on their service list.
4) Once you enter the PIN on your computer, leave that site and continue on Gaia. THIS IS THE FINAL STEPS OF THE OFFER.
5) You will receive your IQ Score, If it's meant to be, or whatever.
6) YOU NEED TO DO THIS TO NOT GET CHARGED! Once you have written down the PIN along with entering the PIN on the site, you need to text EXACTLY: STOP [caps and all] to the PIN text. THIS WILL MAKE YOU NOT GET CHARGED $9.99 A MONTH! You will soon receive a text saying "You're no longer subscribed to this service. You will not be charged and texted."
I would like to add, I did several of these offers on Monday, the 15th. My cell bill came in on the 17th, and it was the same amount I owe every single month to Verizon Wireless. I also HAVE NOT been spammed with texts from them. I haven't even received any viruses on my phone, either.
When you file a complaint, you should wait for the Admin. They will ask for the PIN. When you get this message from them, type in the PIN you received from the offer you're complaining about. This will get you your GC. And if you don't get it, then complain to Gaia, or contact getgambit.com by phone.
You should only be charged with Incoming and Sent texts if you do NOT have unlimited texts. If you do have Unlimited, then you shouldn't be charged. If you are, then you can either sue the company that owns that offer site for your money back. YOU CAN DO THIS. Because it's going against their ToS. Amazing what the law can do.
Giania
I would strongly encourage further research on Seattle Coffee and Teahiti. These are related companies. I recently did the Teahiti offer and am in the process of filing a chargeback with my bank.
The deal said I was to get a trial amount for shipping cost (which was true, though the contents of the trial package seems to reflect a different offer of theirs rather than the one on which I signed up for) - then a MONTH after the initial trial signup, a subscription would initiate unless you called to cancel. The subscription was to be bimonthly, though I noticed later in the terms it could be more or less frequent [paraphrasing] based on some arbitrary vague something or other.
They began charging me once a week about a week after I had filled out the form for the trial. I had to cancel my debit card to get it to stop as I happen to work during their alleged customer service hours and wasn't able to reach them. They do have after hours voicemail for customer service issues, and I had left a message which was never responded to. They have no email contact, no on site contact form, and no online account management. You either have to call between 10-6 EST or send them a letter. Their refund policy states they do "store credit only" which is ridiculous if you don't like the product you've been given, or, like me was given/charged for something way above and beyond expectations.
They had also claimed - after signing up through teahiti.com - that I would see billing entries from Seattle Coffee Direct. This was NOT the case. I was billed from Tea Hiti and another tea company called Tea Source Express. Oh, and the packages I got? They were labeled from Tea Francias.
Searching up "teahiti" after the charges got ridiculous, the first result in google is teahiti.com and nearly every other result is SCAM related.
I have reported this to Gaia staff, but that's no guarantee they're out of the system.
BAD GUYS:
Tea Hiti
Seattle Coffee Direct
Tea Source Express
tea francias
I've had good luck in the past with things like this, through companies like Stash and Gevalia, so I didn't think anything of signing up for this. sad My sincere advice is DON'T DO IT.
The deal said I was to get a trial amount for shipping cost (which was true, though the contents of the trial package seems to reflect a different offer of theirs rather than the one on which I signed up for) - then a MONTH after the initial trial signup, a subscription would initiate unless you called to cancel. The subscription was to be bimonthly, though I noticed later in the terms it could be more or less frequent [paraphrasing] based on some arbitrary vague something or other.
They began charging me once a week about a week after I had filled out the form for the trial. I had to cancel my debit card to get it to stop as I happen to work during their alleged customer service hours and wasn't able to reach them. They do have after hours voicemail for customer service issues, and I had left a message which was never responded to. They have no email contact, no on site contact form, and no online account management. You either have to call between 10-6 EST or send them a letter. Their refund policy states they do "store credit only" which is ridiculous if you don't like the product you've been given, or, like me was given/charged for something way above and beyond expectations.
They had also claimed - after signing up through teahiti.com - that I would see billing entries from Seattle Coffee Direct. This was NOT the case. I was billed from Tea Hiti and another tea company called Tea Source Express. Oh, and the packages I got? They were labeled from Tea Francias.
Searching up "teahiti" after the charges got ridiculous, the first result in google is teahiti.com and nearly every other result is SCAM related.
I have reported this to Gaia staff, but that's no guarantee they're out of the system.
BAD GUYS:
Tea Hiti
Seattle Coffee Direct
Tea Source Express
tea francias
I've had good luck in the past with things like this, through companies like Stash and Gevalia, so I didn't think anything of signing up for this. sad My sincere advice is DON'T DO IT.
