Hey there, I was wondering if you see a jump in unsolicited spam-type emails and calls once you start responding to these offers and freebies? -Lisa
Great question, Lisa! And I think it’s one that a lot of people have.
Here are some of my thoughts:
1. Set Up a Separate Free Email Account
First off, you will get emails from companies that you sign up for offers and deals with. The main reason they are usually offering a freebie or coupon is so they’ll get your email address.
To prevent your main inbox from becoming overrun with offers and company emails, set up a separate email account to use for freebies and coupons. This is simple to do and will save you from dealing with a lot of spam or unwanted email in your main account.
2. Don’t Sign Up for Shady Freebies
If it sounds too good to be true, it often is. I try my best to vet deals before posting them, but occasionally something will slip past me.
Always check a site out if something looks off. Is it hosted on the main company’s site? Does the Facebook Page have a lot of entries and likes (there are a lot of scam Facebook Pages)? Is the offer mentioned on the company’s website or Facebook Page?
Some tell-tale signs of possible scams are:
- Blatant typos on a page
- A high-value freebie that’s hosted on a non-company site
- A bunch of hoops you have to jump through to get the freebie
- A site offering a free product that doesn’t tell you where you can actually buy the product (no shopping cart on the site and no links to where you can purchase it)
- A freebie advertised for a product that doesn’t seem to be available anywhere.
These aren’t always scams, but these are things I look for when deciding whether something is legit or not.
If you’re not 100% sure that an offer is legit, don’t sign up for it.
3. Don’t Give Out Your Phone Number
Unless you’re comfortable with it, don’t give out your phone number. Spam emails are not fun, but sales calls and texts are even much more disruptive in my opinion. Just skip offers that require a phone number and save yourself the headache!
Do the rest of you have advice to add for Lisa? I’d love to hear!
maggie says
you can get email aliases at http://www.sneakemail.com. you can provide each company that you deal with a unique alias that sneakemail will forward to your real email. If someone is selling my address, I know exactly who it is. I’ve been using this site for at least 13 years. it’s great. and you will know if someone sells your email. if you need to get rid of one, it’s easy. they used to be free but now they charge $2 a month.
Sometimes I’ve seen a company’s email addresses get hacked and then I start getting phishing emails. So, I just go into Sneakemail.com and delete that address and I get rid of the spam/phishing at the root.
Crystal says
GREAT suggestion!
Debbie says
Sometimes I wonder if some of these are a way to just get your info. Some of those free samples never arrive. And no explanation as to why. I don’t buy anything from those companies then, so in the long run, they lose my business.
Diane says
I received a ton of spam e-mails after I started signing up for freebies. Thankfully I do have a separate e-mail account for this. I do put my landline phone number on entries, but I rarely get any spammy phone calls. I would never give out my cell phone number.
Kelli says
I’ve noticed that for most freebies, there is a line at the bottom with a check box that says something along the lines of “I agree to receive communication or special offers from…” I just make sure I uncheck that box. I find you usually don’t have to agree to get email from them to get the freebie. Sometimes you do, and if that happens, I unsubscribe to their email once I start receiving it. But usually you can opt out of further communication from legitimate freebies. Just watch for that statement, which is usually right above the submit button.
Crystal says
Great tip — thanks!
Kristin says
I would say NEVER give out your phone number. I did once on a coupon site, so they could text me a coupon, and they ended up starting to charge me $9.99/ mo. Thankfully. I noticed it on just the second month. My carrier was able to block that number and reversed the charges.
Jessie says
Since starting to sign up for freebies, I have noticed a jump I’m the amount of junk mail I get too. Not a huge amount, but I know it’s from signing up for a freebie because I always use my dog’s name when signing up for them. So if I get a piece of mail (other than the freebie of course!) or an email that is addressed to my dog, I know it’s junk mail and I just trash it! 🙂
Crystal says
That would also be a great way to track what’s actually coming as a result of freebies, too.
Mary H says
I used my cats name, only once, to sign up for a fabric store coupon mailer and was intrigued when someone who was clearly a telemarketer called to speak to her. The first and second times I politely told them she was unavailable…the third time I offered to take a message. He was reluctant but I explained it was the only way he was going to be able to talk to her. Imagine my surprise when the call was to offer her a preapproved credit card! And imagine his reaction when I told him she was a cat 🙂
Bethany Bergen says
Yes, I wish I would have made a separate email- SO MUCH JUNK MAIL 🙁
Adriana says
Re phone number: You can easily set up a Google Voice number and use that instead.
Crystal says
Great suggestion!
Evaa says
One of my friend had given a phone number to one of the freebee website. After six months or so she found out she was charged by the company 5.99 per month on the phone bill. She only figued it out because the rate was increased from 5.99 to 6.99 and then 9.99. There are very trickey & clever companies out there who does plays trick with you and get money out of your pocket and you will not even notice about that.
ruth says
I give my real phone # to companies all the time, and never have had a problem. Not once.
Sherry says
Also, if a phone number is required for the entry form, I just put in all 9’s, or, my area code and then all 9’s.
Joy says
I have a “fake” Facebook account. Well, it’s not really fake because I only use FB for freebies and coupons, and to interact with certain bloggers’ FB pages. I actually use my middle name for the account.
ruth says
I also have a fake FB account but it’s because when I “Like” a company I don’t want to sell out my FB Friends personal information. So when I “Like” a company on FB and the popup says “I want access to your friends list” I happily click “OK” because that FB account has no friends so I have ‘protected’ my friends personal info. We have had our identity stolen twice so protecting it is important to us.
Stacey says
What a great idea!
Jen Isenberg says
I created a random email account simply for this purpose. This way it won’t junk up my personal email and I can still get my freebies. 🙂