# Is this a scam, or legit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam-or-legit/292004 "2005-02-26T13:59:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam-or-legit/292004/1 "2005-02-26T13:59:20Z")
I received this e-mail in my suspect e-mail folder this morning: > [@](#): > > Hi > > I’m the webmaster of a Scotland Vacation website at [http://www.qwscotland.com](http://www.qwscotland.com). > > I’ve collected quality links to other Scotland and related resources on the Internet on my links page. > > I came across your site and feel that it’d perfectly fit in my collection of quality links about Scotland. > > I’ve already placed a link to your web site along with a description at [http://www.qwscotland.com/paisleyexpress](http://www.qwscotland.com/paisleyexpress). > > I’d appreciate if you’d place a link back to my site using the following link and > description at > > [http://www.qwscotland.com/links/addlink.html](http://www.qwscotland.com/links/addlink.html) > > If you’d like the description of your site modified or if you have any other cross-promotion ideas just drop me a line. > > Best regards, > > Kevin > > [http://www.qwscotland.com](http://www.qwscotland.com) > [kevin@qwscotland.com](mailto:kevin@qwscotland.com) > // I checked, and The CJ2A Page is indeed linked. Quite nice of him; but his site isn’t a Jeep site. Why would he link my Jeep page? So that I would link his page and he’d possibly climb another step in search engines? That’s the GQ: Is this a legitimate request for a link exchange, or is it some sort of scam? If it’s a scam, then what’s the catch? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam-or-legit/292004/2 "2005-02-26T14:53:45Z")
Oh, yeah – ‘Kevin’ didn’t request to be added to my authorised senders list. (First-time e-mailers get an autoreply saying that they need to request authorisation to send e-mails.) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam-or-legit/292004/3 "2005-02-26T17:57:10Z")
In looking at his page it appears to be Scottish oriented, but also is loaded with random non-Scottish links that appeal to him. Doesn’t look like a scam. Just webmaster ADD. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam-or-legit/292004/4 "2005-02-26T18:20:33Z")
I noticed your link is sandwiched between a comprehesive Christian resource site and one providing music samples from a particular album. I imagine there are many thousands on the internet interested in vacationing in Scotland, or a Chrisitian site or your site or that musical group, but there is almost no one who has three of those interests on the same day. If you have a stats program that shows where your site’s visitors come from, let us know when you get your first hit. Some of us may be out of town the next six months, but I doubt anyone will miss the blessed event. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam-or-legit/292004/5 "2005-02-26T21:02:26Z")
Webmasters get email like this all the time. Some of it is genuine and legit, but most are just spam sent out by rotten link-farm websites trying to increase their google status by getting others to link to them. They _always_ start by massaging your ego by telling how great they think your site is, but strangely say little about it in any way that might indicate they’ve even looked at it. QWScotland presently doesn’t amount to anything than a big list that’s obviously been compiled through a mediocre matching algorithm. (A link to a [Country Music website](http://members.aol.com/blueyedtom/lyrics.html) in the [Paisley Section](http://www.qwscotland.com/paisleyexpress/) because it mentions someone called Brad Paisley (who?)). I would be amazed if the emails weren’t similarly spammed out automatically. Sorry to break it to you, **Johnny L.A.** , but no actual real person from QWScotland has either visited your website or linked to it. It’s just another cruddy link-farm to add to all the others infesting the internet and search engines. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam-or-legit/292004/6 "2005-02-27T01:14:15Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Webmasters get email like this all the time. Some of it is genuine and legit, but most are just spam sent out by rotten link-farm websites trying to increase their google status by getting others to link to them. They _always_ start by massaging your ego by telling how great they think your site is, but strangely say little about it in any way that might indicate they’ve even looked at it. I agreed with FutileGesture. I run a half-dozen commercial sites and get tons of these solicitations. They are obviously auto-generated, they all came from sites that are just lists of links, and most of them are only tangently related to the subject matter of my sites. I’d be willing to bet that people are buying some sort of “make money on the internet” kit that helps them do this. They’re setting up what are essentially bogus sites to generate search engine traffic and sell ads. Besides, I ignore all requests for links. It seems to me like an antiquated practice for which there is no possible benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-scam-or-legit/292004/7 "2005-02-27T09:02:24Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Sorry to break it to you, **Johnny L.A.** … No need to be sorry. I was just checking. > [@anson2995](#): > > Besides, I ignore all requests for links. It seems to me like an antiquated practice for which there is no possible benefit. People who like Jeeps like my page. If they link to me, and they have a Jeep page, then I’ll link back to them. The benefit to me is that someone might come to my page and buy a book. The benifit to the other webmaster is that his page gets more exposure. The benefit to the readers of my page is that they have another site they can go to. Anyway, I suspected that the e-mail was some sort of scam. (Again, that’s why I asked.) His e-mail has been reported as spam.