Have you ever gone to a website, and headline says you get this fantastic software or eBook for FREE that will change your life or make you rich? Of course you have. But, then I scroll immediately to the bottom of the site before reading it, as I want to know how much it costs. And what do I see? A mastercard or visa logo.

WHY? If it's free, then why do they want to charge me?

The reasons are several. It's a very clever (misleading?) marketing gimmick. They want to grab your attention, and to make sure you read the message (ad). Though I'm not alone in scrolling to the end to see the price.

If it's out of my budget, what's the point of reading it? If they are charging $197 or $297 or up, forget it. And watching for the recurring charges, like $30, $50 or $70/mo thereafter. I'm not about to spend that amount of money, and most newbies can't afford it.

When getting started in this business, you have to watch the nickels and dimes. It may be worth it, but that is secondary.

It normally works this way. The ad tells you (hype?) about the product or service. Then repeats its FREE, but there is a $5.95, $6.95 or $7.95 handling charge for the product.

Of course you then need the credit card to pay for that. Then they say first 30 days (more or less) are free, then your credit card will be billed the full amount unless you cancel first.

Kind of like the magazines use. They call it negative options. They give you first issue FREE, then charge you unless you cancel.

If you really want the product, no problem. It's handled for you. But if you don't want it, you have to call or submit an email request to cancel. There is the rub. Sometimes they charge your account anyway, and then after you complain, say you were late, or there was some mix-up, and they will then stop billing.

I had one company send me 10 CDs through the USPS for the normal $7.95 S&H. and would bill me $59.95 per month after 30 days. After listening to the CDs, I decided I didn't want the service, so I called them to cancel. They said no problem, just send the CDs back. Which I did. Sent UPS insured.

Guess what? Yes, $59.95 appeared on my credit card next month. I called again, they said they would credit it. But the $59.95 appeared on the next 3 months statements as well, all the while I'm trying to cancel.

After 5 months, and sending a certified letter returned receipt requested, threatening to report to postal authorities (postal fraud), the attorney general's office and the FTC, they called and finally agreed to cancel all 4 of the charges. Finally, that following month, the 4 charges were deleted. But what a hassle.

Many of these companies I think are hoping you will forget and not cancel. Many people do not check their credit statements each month. That is a mistake. It's important to check every month.

I even check online every 2 weeks. I keep my credit statements in a 3 ring binder, after punching the holes. That ways its easy to check previous months to see if the charges were credited as promised.

These problems do not just occur on the Internet. I was listening to the radio late one evening while traveling in my car. There was a 30 minute info-mercial. They advertised a free sample.

So I called on my cell phone, and they asked for my credit card. It was to pay for the shipping charges of the pills, $7.95. And then they would bill me $50 or so each month after the 30 days.

But that was not in the radio commercial. So again, they advertise FREE, but you still need the credit card. Now once they have the card, they will ship your product every month and charge it. Needless to say, I didn't order.

Now most of these companies are legit, and have a legit product. But it opens the door to scammers who can do the same, and once getting your credit card number, watch out.

That's why it's important to check your credit card statements, at least each month. The credit card companies aren't much help in this either. They don't want to be bothered.

They want you to contact the merchant and work things out. But how do you do that with a scam artist?