I got this crazy spam email yesterday...
When i clicked on the body of the message, my browser jumped thru several URL redirects before landing at ProductTestPanel.com:
http://hamacev.bigoar.net/imac/...
http://actualdeals.com/c/...
http://login.tracking101.com/ad/...
http://jp1.sb01.com/ad/...
http://producttestpanel.com/apmac/...
This is always a red flag, no? (I've truncated the URLs because my email address was encoded in them). The resulting page asked me for my basic information: name, address, phone number, etc. When I read the agreement (which is in a fucking teeny tiny edit box with no scrollbar so you might miss it entirely), I discovered that people who fall for this are basically signing up to receive tons of "offers", and if you "participate" in a certain number of offers within a limited time period, you may (or may not) get an iMac.
Below I highlight some of the more interesting sections of the Terms and Conditions that shed light on the true nature of this scam/spam. I copied the entire agreement, and can make it available to anyone who wants it. Note that, among other interesting things, I couldn't find a specific reference to an iMac as the incentive...
CONSUMER RESEARCH CORPORATION FREE GIFT INCENTIVE PARTICIPATION TERMS AND RESTRICTIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY.
These terms and membership policy describe the participation requirements for the ProductTestPanel.com membership incentive program and its general membership policies, including the Consumer Research Corporation's privacy policy...
...CRC guarantees that all approved members of ProductTestPanel.com will receive at least 3 products to review during their first 90 days of membership...
What are these "offers"? We'll get to that. First, look at the overly loose "privacy" policies.
THE CRC PRIVACY POLICY
...We use all of this information in the following ways:
1. to provide you with personalized marketing information...
2. to send you targeted advertising...
3. to contact you for feedback and surveys...
4. to send you general and administrative information...
5. to provide your contact information to CRC marketing partners to allow them to send you special offers...
Agents...[we use them]
Right to Sell/License Data...[we can]
And then we get to the meat of it!
Specific Terms and Conditions for the ProductTestPanel.com (PTP) Membership Incentive Promotions: ... To receive the free membership incentive gift you must complete all of the steps outlined herein. Prospective members must... acquire two advertiser action points from each of PTP's three Offer Groups for a total of six advertiser action points. Action points are earned when a PTP user fully completes an advertiser offer after accessing the offer by clicking on a link provided on the PTP website or from the PTP member area. ... Please understand that this means completing two offers from the Top Offers group, two offers from the Prime Offers group, and two offers from the Premium Offers group. The Prime Offers group and Premium Offers group may be accessed from the PTP member area. ... complete and return an Incentive Redemption form after accumulating the required action points.
In cases of a financial offer such as a credit card, the card must be activated by making a purchase, balance transfer or cash advance in order for the offer to be considered "completed", and the user must remain a card holder for at least 60 days. For paid retail offers you must accept the item/service and pay in full... You should read the terms of each offer as provided by the advertiser for an explanation of these terms where they exist.
So, it sounds like you have to sign up for credit cards ("offers") and hold them for 60 days. I bet those offers are only valid if you transfer balances, or some such... And other products you have to pay for yourself?
You have up to ninety days from the original date of your membership registration to complete the membership incentive program and redeem your incentive gift. Your gift eligibility is secured as soon as you complete two offers from each of the three offer groups and submit your Redemption Request Form. Once you meet the offer completion requirements, we will phone you to request that you verify your shipping address. Once we have received your verification, your gift will be sent within thirty days. Gift redemptions are limited to one gift per household. If you have registered for multiple membership incentive gift promotions, you will be given your choice of gift items upon the submission of your Redemption Request Form.
Please note that it may take up to eight weeks for our marketing partners to report to us that you have completed their offer. Please be patient while our marketing partners report back to us. You may check your redemption status at anytime by through our member interface area at http://www.ProductTestPanel.com/status.php Simply log in using the same email address with which you registered.
So, hold several credit cards for 60 days and buy a bunch of other stuff, all within 90 days. Wait up to eight weeks to verify you successfully participated in the offers, and another 30 days before they ship your "incentive gift"... Wonder how many people actually make it thru this gauntlet? And I wonder what the phone call is for?
Product Comparison Tests. CRC periodically conducts product comparison tests using members of the ProductTestPanel.com website. PTP members who wish to participate in any of these comparison tests may apply to do so through the member interface area at http://www.ProductTestPanel.com/status.php. CRC will select members for comparison tests based on criteria specific to each test. Selected members will be notified via email explaining how they will receive the product/products to be tested. Products will be delivered with a survey that must be completed and returned by the test participant. Failure to return the survey within the time specified will result in the tester becoming permanently ineligible to participate in future product tests of any type. Participation in comparison tests is free and is open to all ProductTestPanel.com members.
Not sure what the Product Comparison Tests are about. One last condition of interest:
Links. CRC Web Sites, as well as the electronic messages sent as part of CRC service, may contain links to other sites or services. CRC is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such third party sites. If you have a question about the privacy policy of those other sites, please contact them directly.
Ah, so that's what all those redirects are for... others can skim the cookie data and store it for themselves.
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