by Robert Blevins

Created on: September 25, 2009

When a website is actually trying to sell you products under the guise of somehow paying you to do market research surveys, this is called 'sugging'. This dishonest practice is the venue of Vindale Research, and they are not alone. There are scores of competing sites trying the same scam on internet users.

Some of these sites include the Panda and Viva Survey frauds, Adventure Survey, Survey Scout, Survey Team, Project Payday, and Cash Fiesta. This last one is a 'paid-to-surf' site where they offer you pennies an hour to surf the internet after downloading some of their software. These sites load you up with spyware into the bargain, and you seldom make enough to receive a payment, anyway.

One thing that sets Vindale apart from a few of the others is that they also sell your email address and personal information. Some of this information they collect by inserting key questions into their phony 'surveys'. Soon, your inbox begins to fill like a new swimming pool with a dozen firehoses dropped into it. Your email starts taking on a life of its own, with page after page of 'offers' that are nothing more than spam or scam.

Very little is actually 'free' on the internet. One reason is a matter of logistics. Imagine that a company truly wants to give something away free, and that this item costs exactly one dollar. Conceivably, this offer could bankrupt the company in a matter of days, since word gets around fast and there are billions of people on the internet. There is no 'free,' only an angle to be exploited by someone on the other side of your computer screen. Trust no one except your friends, and do not allow your friends to send you dumb attachments or links to spam/scam sites. If they do, wake them up to reality or threaten to squash their incoming mail.

One of the first lines of defense against spam in general is to establish a 'junk' email address. This is why most ISP's offer you multiple email accounts. This advice is also the one heeded the least. Unfortunately, people still tend to use their main email for almost anything on the internet. Nevertheless, it's good to have a junk address if you register with a site that either looks suspicious, or if it is a site you don't plan to visit very much anyway.

Some of the 'mail-washer' programs available for your computer work very well to keep out spam. They have several options, but one important one is this: If you receive a spam, you can move it to your mail washer and that address will be permanently blocked from sending you any further mail. The longer you use the program, the better it works. Within a few months, receiving a spam will be a rarity.

On the internet, if you take the attitude that your personals are nobody's business, and that anything that sounds too good to be true is just a lie and a swindle - you will be correct 99% of the time.

Learn more about this author, Robert Blevins.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.