Beware of Reunion.Com And Other Website Joining Offers

In today's world most of us have learned that the word free, doesn't mean free. It means "we'll let you think you are getting something valuable for free, we'll take something from you that is more valuable than you know (your personal information), we will give you nothing for free." They will take your hand and lead you down the primrose path, until they get your money or you decide to click and run. Even if you run, it is already too late, they have your information, you are enrolled in whatever it is and unenrolling is not going to be easy.

Despite our best efforts to block spam by using spam blockers and filters, it still finds ways to penetrate our defenses. The most common reason for this is the fact that we have signed up somewhere for something we legitimately wanted to join or purchase and, despite the fact that the privacy statement says they will not share our information, somehow it has "leaked out."

These unscrupulous marketers already know that we do business online and they know the source of their information, which tells them about us as a person. We are now their targets. They will devise some twist of English words to trick us into a sense of safety or create a sense of need. They will find the chink in our armor and their insidiously deceptive "gimmick" will seep inside where it will become a ferret intent on finding the right nerve to pinch to cause our finger to click.

After years of endless spams, scams and slams, we know better. But, if the verbiage is right, the offer looks good and it strikes the right chord, we take a chance. It is part of human nature to want to believe, trust and be rewarded. Advertisers know this and have used our human desires as an inroad to our pockets for years. However, the Internet and email has made it possible for us to be touched more frequently and by more people (many of whom have no sense of ethics).

One of these slipping through the filter items recently arrived in my mailbox with a heart pulling feed line: "Someone is looking for you, find out who." The temptation was entirely too great. Somehow my brain bypassed logic and went straight for the potential reward of a connection with someone long lost from my life.

The first click landed me on a page asking me to register. I was reluctant (a small piece of my brain must have been working). So, I clicked on help to see what was going on at the website without registering. I found that help is not available to unregistered visitors. Nice block Larry. Ok, desire switched off the caution light and I registered. Hopes were dashed as I clicked the submit button, thinking I was on my way to finding out who was looking for me. Hey, did they say they would tell me that for FREE? Nah. I was free to give them my personal information; everything else was available with a PAID subscription. Argh, I fell for it! No, I didn't take a paid subscription, because they ticked me off with the bait and switch. I reproached myself for being such a sentimental sap and set about trying to find out how to unregister. Easier said than done. You must call a long distance number where you may or may not successfully unregister.

I now get regular emails from dear Larry's Reunion.com trying to further bait me into that paid subscription by telling me someone has searched for me. They even go so far as to tell me that the person searching for me is 27 years old and lives in San Francisco. Sorry, Larry, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

Websites work to establish registered users, because it cranks up their page view numbers and makes them look like they are gaining popularity. This information can then be used to tout their "members" numbers or their page views for potential advertisers. It can also change their standing within search engines.

Beware of the email from Reunion.com about those people who are searching for you. This email from Reunion.com, a Sad Larry, Inc. company, is just trying to collect your information for free, then bait you into a purchase. Reunion.com will not give you any information about who is looking for you unless you pay to subscribe and you can't even get help, unless you create an account. Know that once they have your information, getting free of them means you have to make a long distance call and hope you get someone on the phone. You are hooked.