Getting scammed by these offers is easy. You don’t even enter your credit card number. These clubs have deals with online retailers. The retailers—the ones you trust!—give them your card number. What a sleazy thing to do!

The monthly charge is usually $10 to $20 per month. Some people might not notice. It could be months before they realize what’s going on.

This is underhanded and deceptive. If these offers are worthwhile, why are they done this way? And why are otherwise legitimate sites involved in this? They get paid, that’s why! If you see one of these when you buy something, complain. LOUDLY!

Now, these clubs do give members access to discount offers. I’m not sure what they offer is actually worth paying for. I’ll leave that up to you.

And what they’re doing isn’t illegal. At least, not yet. Congress is looking at it. This video from the Today Show has some details:

When you’re online, here’s a good rule of thumb. If you go looking for something specific—like a free program—fine. Grab it. But if someone tries to give you something unasked, BE CAREFUL. The Internet is the Wild West. You’d think you could trust sites where you shop. You’d be mistaken.