Caveat Emptor for the 21st Century

We’ve all grown up watching out for con artists and their ilk, who have been around since civilization started, and probably even before that. To one extent or another the buyer has always had to beware of what’s out there in the marketplace. And these days that has spread to the innocuous little screen we all spend time staring at most days…our comfy little home computers.

I suppose it was inevitable that I’d manage to get suckered in at some point…and it almost happened the other day. Yes, folks, I’m talking about:


It seemed like a simple little program to put some ads on my blog site…even had a trusted name, Google, very prominent in the promotion. So I filled out the little form, clicked it, and gave my credit card number to pay for “shipping”. What could go wrong? Right?

Well…

Here’s the thing. After ordering the “kit”, I decided to read the fine print, and went to the bottom of the page…where I found the line:
“This page has no connection to Google, which does not endorse this product.”

Hmmm. Wasn’t that the Google logo on the page? Well, no. It looked like it, but there were, well, differences. Subtle, but noticeable on second look.

After I clicked the fine print button, though, things got a little clearer, and a lot scarier:

I had, the rules assured me, committed to pay monthly fees of 24, 29 and 78 dollars respectively for three separate services never mentioned in the ad…unless I took action to cancel the agreement, in very specific and convoluted ways, within strict deadlines, etc. etc.
It reminded me of something I’d read quite a bit about:

Strictly speaking, this may not have been phishing in the classic sense, conducted via email. But the phisherman ended up with quite a catch…my credit card number, and a commitment that took the better part of my Monday to undo.

So…Just a word of warning folks…READ THE FINE PRINT FIRST. Before you send for the kit or anything else.

And don’t believe everything you read.

Case in point:

(Although I do know some people who believe that.)

Blog at ya later,
-Geezerguy