The Geostring Scam

Recently I came across a site called "Geostring". It says that if you register for a FREE account, you will get paid $10! Then, you can earn even more money by signing up more people underneath you (yeah, the traditional pyramid set-up).

Sound too good to be true? Yeah, that's what I thought too...but, I was going to sign up and test it out, so I could tell you if it was good or not.
Notice I said I WAS going to test it out...until I read their privacy policy. You want to know why this money-making scheme is free? Because they're collecting all of your information, and that of the people you sucker into this, and SELLING IT.
I couldn't understand why they wanted my mailing address, phone number and email address...seemed like a lot, considering all they were going to do was EMAIL me a newsletter once a week with some sponsor ads. Hmmmmmmm...so I decided to read their Privacy Policy to see what they were doing with this information.
Here is the text from Geostring's Privacy Policy, telling you how they use your personal information:

BY NAVIGATING TO OUR WEBSITE ON OR AFTER THE DATE THAT THIS POLICY WAS LAST UPDATED, YOU CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF YOUR SESSION DATA AS DESCRIBED IN THIS POLICY. BY REGISTERING AS A MEMBER, SIGNING A WRITTEN AGREEMENT WITH US AS A MANAGED ADVERTISER OR SUBMITTING TO US EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS ON OR AFTER THE DATE OF THIS POLICY, YOU CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, SESSION DATA AND ACCOUNT DATA AS DESCRIBED IN THIS POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE YOUR INFORMATION USED AS DESCRIBED IN THIS POLICY, YOU MUST DISCONTINUE USE OF OUR WEBSITE AND OUR SERVICES IMMEDIATELY.

Unfortunately, too many people don't read the Privacy Policies on programs such as these, so they get taken in. Personally, I don't appreciate getting tons and tons of junk mail, and the thought that someone is selling my information really makes me mad!

If you don't want your full name, mailing address, phone number and email address sold, DO NOT sign up for the Geostring scam.