groupon500.com was registered in Feb 20, 2012. The home page for the domain claims to offer a free $500 voucher for Groupon or LivingSocial, another popular daily-deal site.
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| groupon500.com |
Users must fill out a form with their information, including a phone number:
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| users must share their information |
To get the $500 voucher, the user must complete one offer: buy Disney Books, try a tooth whitening, etc. And with one more offer completed, they can even get a free iPod Touch!
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| One or more offer must be completed |
The site earns money by getting users into "free" trial offers where users are charged without realizing most of the time.
The saddest part of all - this is perfectly legal.
groupon500.com was published by RETAILBRANDPRIZE.COM. Search for this name in Google and you will find no shortage of people complaining about various scams.
The Privacy information, Terms and Conditions and small print are clear on what is occurring, although must users will of course ignore them. The vendor uses personal information "to provide your contact information to our marketing partners", "By Participating, You Expressly "Opt In" to "Receive Information And Grant Us Permission To Share Your Information", "Completion of reward offers most often requires a purchase or filing a credit application and being accepted for a financial product such as a credit card or consumer loan. ", etc.
If it is too good to be true, it's probably... a scam!
