There are some legitimate "free" offers on the web, although by the time you jump through the hoops to qualify for them it would be cheaper to just buy the "prize" they offer.
Robert McMillan of IDG News reports on PCWorld that there's a free offer appearing on Facebook that's a lot easier, but the prize goes to the conmen, not to you. All you have to do is become a fan and get a free gift card. The scam has covered the gamut, from Ikea furniture to iTunes, and has offered as much as $1000 gift cards. One fan page gathered 70,000 fans before being taken down.
In another article by McMillan, Facebook Spokesman Simon Axten says that right now these pages are leading to marketing websites that generate money through advertising. But traditionally this kind of scam is associated with identity theft, and it is probably only a matter of time before the information gathering gets more personal and identity theft becomes the goal.
Remember, anybody can put up a page on Facebook and claim to be anyone else. And always remember that old adage, "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.'
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