They say that they will send you free stuff for $1.97. The trouble is that you have to give them your credit card number to pay that $1.97. Just like it happened to me with a very well advertised product, failure to cancel will cost you. Click here and here for some stories. One guy was charged $39.90 a month because he didn't cancel. I can just see this also being used as a conduit for smaller payments that a lot of customers won't bother to fight. They might not notice the charges on their accounts, or they might just cancel and not bother to ask for their money back. A site owner can just say "whoops" and promise to be good from now on, no more scamming. Always read that fine print.
Here is a good site to both complain about scams and read about scams: www.scam.com
What they are trying to sell you, at a premium price, is a bit of know-how that you can find by doing research on Google. For free, a person can start a website or a blog on Google and many other places and place Google's Adsense ads. If a potential customer or seeker of information clicks on those advertisements, the owner of the blog or website makes a few cents. You have to follow the rules, which Google thoughtfully provides, and if you attempt to go around them, you're going to eventually lose money, so don't try it.
From some of the sites that I have read, it seems like the best way to make money is to write small sites with useful information and attach some ads to them, from Google or Amazon or other places. The customer picks up a satisfying bit of information then moves on. You are also free to advertise your own book, T-shirt, or other item from Lulu or Cafepress.
Always read the fine print. You should never have to give anyone money to become part of an advertising program. Google and Amazon are free. I haven't tried anyone else's program yet. You can always search on the name of the advertiser and find forums where people talk about them and how well or badly they have been treated.
