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Beware of RebatesHQ, a company that processes mail-in rebates for many manufacturers of electronics and computer products. When you submit a rebate request to them, they offer the option of giving them your e-mail address in order to allow you to track your rebate online. They then sell/give this information to third parties, who send you promotional e-mail (read SPAM) and claim it to be opt-in.
How do I know that RebatesHQ are the ones responsible for handing out my e-mail address? I use a service called SpamMotel which lets you create an unlimited number of virtual e-mail addresses which all forward to your real e-mail account. Each time I give an e-mail address out to a company or web site I don't know for sure I can trust, I create a unique SpamMotel alias just for that company. When mail is sent to that alias and forwarded to my real e-mail account, a note is attached to it telling me which alias it was sent to and reminding me who I gave that alias to. Thus, when a particular alias begins receiving mail from someone other than the company I gave it to, I know that company has sold or given out my information.
I used one of these unique SpamMotel aliases when I submitted a rebate request to RebatesHQ a few months ago. As always, I gave this alias to them and only them. Today, I received a promotional e-mail from TigerDirect, addressed to the SpamMotel alias that was created for and given to RebatesHQ.
Fortunately, another advantage to SpamMotel is that if a particular alias begins to receive spam, all you have to do is delete that alias, and no more spam. No one ever gets your real e-mail address, so you never have to change addresses to get out from under bucket-loads of spam. The alias I created for RebatesHQ is being deleted as I write this.
So, if you ever find yourself submitting a rebate request to RebatesHQ (you can tell by the URL that is given at the bottom of the rebate form), don't give them your e-mail address. Or at least use a SpamMotel alias or other temporary address, if you want to use the online tracking system. Safer yet, always use one of these types of addresses any time you have to give an e-mail address to someone you don't absolutely know you can trust. And if someone does sell or give away the address you gave them, tell people!
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