All of my readers (blogging or not) should read “Beware the Harvester Bots!” on BlogCoach.org. Angie gives you some useful tips for protecting your email address from spam.
Please remember that you always have the option to email me instead of leaving your email address in a comment for any of my posts. Here’s my email address in graphic format (as Angie recommends) – it’s easy to remember:
Selina asked me this question recently: “Do you get a lot of spam mail from entering your address for free samples?” I wanted to share my answer with all of my readers:
I do not get a lot of spam (by email or postal mail) – of course I get some spam (and always have) but it is difficult to say the source of it. I did not notice any increase after I started requesting free samples (I didn’t used to request any before May of 2007).
I try to select free sample offers to share on Freebies 4 Mom that come directly from the company that offers them, or from a well-known retailer (i.e. Walmart). I encourage you to check the Privacy Policy for any company that you are not familiar with to find out how they will use the information you submit. Of course you should never give out any personal information unless you are comfortable doing so.
If you are very conservative about giving out your email or mailing address, I recommend only requesting the Walmart samples. I recommend this as the best single source of free samples and because I really believe that they adhere to their privacy policy.
About using your real birthday – some people use a fake birthday (right year, wrong month or day) because your birthday is usually asked only to verify your age in years (not days). But you have to be aware that some birthday freebies rely on having accurate birthday information (but rarely are you asked to show your drivers license to prove this). Just something to think about – it’s a personal preference. You have to do what you are comfortable with.
I am new to this freebie thing and I love getting all the free stuff. It is actually fun to get the mail again! I feel like little kid waiting for the mailman to come so I can see what I get. I did read something though about not putting your real birthday on the forms. Could you tell me why?
I do the same thing, using a free Yahoo email address for signing up for my free samples, that way if there is any spam linked to it, it doesn’t go to my personal email account. I check that account from time, deal with anything in there (most delete it) and my personal email address isn’t flooded with unwanted email.
With all the “free” email address (gmail, yahoo, hotmail) I would reccomend signing up for one and using that for freebies.As for Walmart’s freebies, I only fill in my name/address and DOB (and that’s always made up) and fill nothing else out (the email, questions, survey, etc) and I have had no problem. My freebies still come!
It sounds like your computer might have issues with Walmart’s website. But do you think that by entering your contact information in the request form that you are receiving additional spam email or mail as a result? I know that Walmart offers the option to participate in a follow-up survey, but I usually check “No”. Just curious if you are still requesting the Walmart samples or not after the problems you’ve had on your computer?
Heather…I believe my computer was plugged up after signing up for walmart free samples from which my husband said was the source. I’ve deleted them as spam to be rid of them, but they do pose a problem every time I link into walmart freebies.