Avoid Free Trial Scams

I've been reading about people losing a lot of money because they signed up for free trials of Acai Berry.  They called to cancel their 'subscription', since the free trial automatically signed you up for a subscription (a fairly hefty fee for your monthly supply of Acai Berry).  So people signed up for these free trials figuring what did they have to lose?  In some cases they didn't even have to pay shipping on the initial free offer. 

But... when they went to call to cancel their subscription they were on hold and on hold and on hold....  and they would try another day and often they would pass the date where they could cancel at no charge and still they would have no way to cancel.  Complaints of scams and fraud abounded and it made me take extra care in signing up for any free trial offers.  I do three things.

1) Check out how to cancel before signing up.  If there is a number to cancel, try calling it and seeing if you can get a live person.  Or, better yet, if it's an online offer, then is there a way to cancel online, like this free offer for anti-aging cream (note cancel free trial link at bottom of page) - in fact how easy they make it to cancel their free trial makes me think the product must actually work! (imagine that), so that people continue to buy it.

2) If you are at all uneasy, but you'd still like to try the product, consider getting a prepaid refillable credit card.  Here is the one I got - Silver Prepaid MasterCard card .  I put $20 into the account from my Paypal account and then I sign up for a trial offer and if I want to continue to purchase the product, then I can add more money and if not, there is a limit to my losses.  I also can give it to my teenager for a purchase and again... there is a limit to what I can lose, should he lose the card. 

3) My final advice with free trials... which is to prompt your own memory.  Even legitimate free trial offers usually have points where they automatically charge you.  If you are a bit forgetful, write the date you need to cancel by on your calendar or post it on your fridge (or on the product if you use it daily) to remind you to cancel on time!!!

Free trials can be great.  Use these tips and you'll be safe from online free trial scams!

Comments

[sumit]

Those things like, "wire transfer", "advance fee" or Canadian postage are all red flags. Everyone should be familiar with about this, because inexperienced, young people get taken every day, believing it was real. I hope every parent sees this article, checks out what to watch for at Rip-off Repot and teaches their elderly family and young children how to be mindful of Lottery Scam.A big problem for even a innocent.

[Resveratrol_NOT]

Fight Back against "Free Trial" Scams!!
The BEST way to fight this scam is to be PROACTIVE!! Here is the scenario:

If you have a PayPal account (or any other type of account like PayPal) look for their product/service called a "SINGLE USE SECURE CREDIT CARD" (you may have to download and install the PayPal plug-in for your browser).

If they have one (as PayPal does) when ordering the free trial USE THIS SECURE SINGLE USE CREDIT CARD!!! It will not be attached or be identified to your bank/charge card accounts and will prevent unauthorized charges to your account!!! * (see below) Don't forget to save your receipt for the transaction.... Read More

You will be able to obtain the free trial, and not have to cancel the account as the Credit Card will be dead *. (see below) Or in my case, fail to cancel the subscription BEFORE the 19 day trial period for a 30 day trial of the product! * (see below) Which is how they "get you", assuming that they will bill you for the next round of product(s) BEFORE you see the credit card/bank statement!!!

* NOTICE: PayPal SECURE SINGLE USE CREDIT CARDS can be processed by a merchant more than one time!!! I found this out the hard way.

It seems that a "single use" card can be "hit" up to FOUR times by the same merchant for things like multiple ship orders, or SUBSCRIPTIONS!!!

Since the free trial is considered a subscription, the merchant was able to "hit" the card again 19 days after the first charge of 99 cents (for the free trial offer).

THE WAY AROUND THIS is to log on to your PayPal account and CLOSE the SECURE SINGLE USE CREDIT CARD as soon as it has been charged the first time for the 99 cents!!! (On PayPal, just click on the menu item on the right side of the page that says "PayPal Plugin", then there will be new menus on the left side that will enable you to view secure cards and close any open ones) Since the card was a "single use" card, you have done nothing illegal or wrong by closing this card. You have not violated any terms of agreements or any other convoluted "fine print" that the scammer has made you agree to in the free trial offer.

I assume other companies may have similar types of secure credit cards, just check out if they can be processed more than once by a merchant.Then see how to close them as soon as the first charge for the free trial comes in.

Good Luck, and if we do this right, we can put these scammers out of business, because they won't be able to exist selling their product for 99 cents and wasting time trying to collect from a dead credit cards.

Pass this info around, the more who know how to defeat these opportunistic bastards, the better!!!

[Supplemental Income Advocate]

Before joining any money making schemes do research on the company and try to check on how long the company has been in the business.

Do not fall prey on these work at home scams. Keep an eye out for these signs, and if you detect one, report it to the proper authorities right away. You not only need to protect yourself, you need to protect others as well.