How do you differentiate between a free sample from a legitimate company that trying to solicit new customers from a data harvester that will lead to lots of spam & never send you any freebie?
Here are a few questions to ask about a site before you give them any of your information.
1) Who runs the site?
If there is no contact information or just a free email address, be suspicious - most places WANT customers to be able to contact them & order things, and real businesses don't conduct transactions things via hotmail.
2) Does the site look shoddy?
Even small companies want to maintain a professional appearance. If a site has spelling mistakes or just an overall amateur appearance, be skeptical - it may have been thrown together that same week using a template & free stock images. Spam sites appear out of nowhere, collect as much data as possible in a short time, then vanish before the authorities catch them. If a site is full of google or popup ads, another warning bell should be ringing. If you were promoting something, would you have advertisements for a competitor on your site?
3) Why are they giving away things for free?
A retailer or wholesaler may give something free as an incentive to get customers to buy more. A manufacturer may give something away for free to promote brand awareness & attract new markets. If a site isn't selling any products, it doesn't produce any products & it isn't an advertiser for a company that makes those products, how would it earn money by spending thousands on merchandise & shipping? Why would you buy 50,000 coffee cups then mail them to people all over the world that you were never going to hear from again?
I ask these three questions whenever I apply for a freebie - A few minutes of critical thinking now & can help avoid a lot of irritation later.
Another good idea is to check the WHOIS data through a reputable . Sites registered through masking services (tinyurl, Domains by Proxy, etc), Keyeni Marketing, obviously fake information or a company address consisting of a post office box & hotmail address are all bad signs.
Here are a couple of spots where data can be checked:
http://www.whois.net
http://www.uwhois.com
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