Everyone wants an iPad and because they are expensive, there are all sorts of scams that promise “free iPads” or the possibility of getting your own iPad for pennies on the dollar because people want to own an iPad and not have to pay full price so much, that it can leave them gullible to even some of the most obvious scams. These unscrupulous programs are meant to capture your money and/or your identity. It is important to learn how to protect yourself from these.
There actually are a few legitimate Free iPad opportunities out there, but these promotionals are few and far between. The best way to tell the difference is that Apple restricts companies from using the word FREE prominently in their marketing. If you see “Free iPad” posted in bold letters, then you can believe it is a scam and should avoid it.
On the other hand, if there is a contest or some other sort of giveaway and it is sponsored by a well known company, then it might be okay, but you will not get any random emails about this unless you are signed up for the companies newsletter. It’s best to check out the website of the company by typing the company’s name into your browser without clicking on any links that might take you to a fake site. Or, even call the company on a phone number you know is for the actual company to ask before you release any of your information.
Besides scams offering “Free iPads”, another popular scam is to ask you to test a product in order to get a free iPad. This testing might be for apps or surveys or some other activity, and you can rest assured, these are not legitimate. Save yourself from losing money and your identity by ignoring these types of emails and ads.
Some people mistakenly believe they will get to get an iPad at a drastically reduced price through a penny auction. There are some penny auction sites that will list an iPad for below $25.00 and that seems too good to be true, because it is. What happens is that you are charged to bid for the iPad and you are charged for each bid. In essence, you might actually pay a very low cost of the iPad, yet you will have paid much more for all the bids you paid for.