CleverMoms Coupons and Deals Forums: Lists of Sites to Avoid!

Since this is a pretty active forum, I thought it might be useful to compile a list of sites that offer fake freebies.

Sometimes the freebie just doesn't come for whatever reason. But a lot of times, they're phishing sites, address harvesting sites, or just flat-out scammers. Hopefully, if enough people find this list useful, it can become a sticky for members to check first before posting, thus cutting down on the number of illegitimate deals we see pop up over & over & over (freebeermug.com comes to mind...).

I'll start with what I've been able to find elsewhere so far...

Please do not post or sign up for freebies from the following sites.

The freebies will never come.

1twofree.com
aj-tuning.com/gift.html
angelaledcke.com
angelaslittlecreations.piczo.com
bannershack-n-more.piczo.com
boafnetwork.com
bobbleheadies.com
brandarama.com
buydehydratedwater.com/free.htm
Candlesunlimited.com
Candlesunlimited2005
candy-lovers.com
celebdish.net
cleanyourscreen.com
clearancecrazy.com
click-see-save.com
cool-free-samples.com
cubebix.com - free compressed t-shirt
dailyhousetips.com
digilake.com
feiyacosmetics.com/exclusive2.htm
flaverco.com
fleecho.com
flutterBugs.piczo.com
foreverlitesandgifts.com
freebeachball.com
free-beauty-samples.com
freebeermug.com
free-boxers.com
free-lingerie.com
free-lipstick.com
freeperfumesamples.com
freestressballs.com
free-thongs.com
freewebs.com/babyretreat
freewebs.com/bloominbarnyard
freewebs.com/ourforevergifts
goofygiggles.com
haydeechocolatier.com
heavenly-recipes.com
helpudiet.com
Hermitandfriends.com
hotexas.com
holidaysathome.com
holiday-giveaways.com
householdsavingsclub.com
IMIBN.com
kcweb.com
keyeni.com
littlethings.myphotoalbum.com
lootpig.com
lose-weight-online.com
lost-survivors.com
lowcarbtina.com
mailfinity.net
metelle.com/lipbalm.php
mirthfulchildren.com
NameSecure.com
ohshot.com
Oohlalacafe
Ourforevergifts.com
petrix.com/shirt/items.htm
pixustudio.com
qualityhealth.com
shop/angelaledcke.com
simplicityshop.biz
splendiddelites.com/Free_sample.htm (Crownies)
squeezeyourstress.com/
stock23.com
sunusb.com
sutterscreek.com (aka Blue Bayou, LLC)
Unlimitedgiftshop
usbforfree.com
weirdfragrances.com
winperfume.com
yourproductsamples.com

Some tipoffs are how recent the site is, the fact that it isn't affiliated with the manufacturer, that it adds weird disclaimers that basically absolve them of sending you anything, among other things. To further confirm my suspicions, I do a network 'whois' search. You will see others do this too, they use an online tool that allows them to research the domain. Here are a few I use, the first I have had/used the longest.

Domain Dossier

http://centralops.net/co/DomainDossier.aspx?dom_whois=1&net_whois=1&dom_dns=1

ARIN Whois

http://ws.arin.net/whois

All Nettools Smart Whois

http://www.all-nettools.com/toolbox/smart-whois.php

With any of the above, enter the IP address of the offer in the dialogue box, and click submit. You get a complete history of the domain, who created it, when it was created, the server hosting it. Anything new with 1 year or less licenses is most likely a fraud, intended to harvest for spam, or phish for information.

There are a lot of bogus offers being put up on the intrawebs lately, obviously intended to sucker in the clueless with a freebie. Chances are, if it's not the manufacturer, or a reputable company authorized by the manufacturer (Like WalMart, StartSampling, etc.), it's a fake offer.

Edited by happy0349 (06/26/09 10:03 PM)