Let me explain. CathysTeethTrick.com is a one-post blog. In it, "Cathy" tells you she got whiter teeth using free samples of two different whitening products. And she helpfully gives you links to them, after mentioning that you'll need to pay a few dollars for shipping.
Go ahead and look at the site. It's safe enough to look at.
It's a great story, and if you drink wine like I do, the whiteness of your teeth is probably of concern to you. Cathy seems like a helpful soul who accidentally discovered an easy, low-cost solution, which she's kind enough to share.
I don't know if there is a real Cathy out there, but it points out that a convincing story which addresses a perceived need -- whiter teeth, in this case -- makes it easy to sell things on line.
BUT THE OFFER IS UNSCRUPULOUS (although probably perfectly legal):
If you sign up for the free samples (with their $6.99 shipping & handling fee), you have also agreed to have them charge your credit card $79 after the 14-day trial, and continue to send additional product each month and charge you $86 for it.
Plus, to cancel your free trial, you need to jump through several hoops (obtain a return authorization, and mail the stuff back), making it less likely you'll succeed in cancelling without charge.
It's all there in the fine print.
There are at least two additional dangers:
- You are giving your credit card information to people who are clearly unscrupulous.
- You have no idea what's in the two products that Cathy recommends. For all you know, they're the same thing in different packages.
I've seen similar URLs (Audrey's White Teeth) making the same offer, so I don't know if there's some affiliate program where people are paid to send traffic to the "free sample" signup pages, or whether it's just a clever operation using multiple sites to see what phrases/imagery drive the most traffic.
It's definitely a trick, though. Don't fall for it.
(Courts have ruled that Google is not liable for bad products sold through AdWords, but I still wish they would do something, since AdWords is one of the ways that these people are getting traffic to their sites. )
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