Sometime’s I’ll be so bored surfing the internet (after checking the updates on the Straight Dope mind you) I find myself playing with those mini-game banners. You’ve seen them. Punch out Osama and win a PS3. I was wondering, do those things ever work? I know you have to agree to a few offers but is it worth it? Those things are always seen as jokes but has anyone ever tried it? Maybe it’s the opportunity for a bum like me to make it in the world.
Well, I won’t go so far as to say they’re all scams, ripoffs or empty comeons. However, my general experience is that the old maxim, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” goes double on the Internet.
I was really bored one night, and somebody was offering a “Free” computer gaming system which looked really nice. So I decided to see what it would cost me.
First I had to take a “survey,” which basically asked "Would you like to try [product/service] for [discounted price]?
After about 10 pages of clicking “No” fifty times (did I mention I was bored, and persistent?), I get to the “end” where they tell me “On this page you must sign up for at least 3 products.” and lists about 20 different products. So I just click next, pretending I did it (after all they won’t be able to tell until afterwards) and I get the same page except this time I have to sign up for 6 products. So I pretend to and click next, and THIS time I have to sign up for 9 products. So all together you’d have to sign up for 18 of the 20 products, which ranged anywhere from “free” to “goddamned expensive.”
Then I click on the next, and they tell me “Congratulations! You now qualify for a free prize!” and give me a list of things to choose from. Except the computer system they advertised wasn’t included.
So to answer your question: no, probably not.