What is a "free offer" on the internet and why can it be a scam?
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 holiday. 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 free 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".
Of course, there are many sites on the internet that legitimately offer free products or services and that are not scams. You have to decide if an offer is likely to be a scam or not.
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 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. Responding only indicates you're interested and you could end up with lots more scam offers in the future.
If you believe the website and offer may be genuine, make sure you find out all the terms and conditions involved. Make sure you have reliable internet security software installed and keep it up-to-date. Be very suspicious of an offer that requires you to give over your credit card, bank account or personal details as these are nearly always scams.
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