In my time online, I've seen online scams come and go. The pitch is the same; they promise something they don't deliver.

I'm not ashamed to say I've "fallen" for a few of them. I generally weigh what it costs me, and if it doesn't cost me anything substantial, I usually give it a try. Still, I can't say I'm happy with undelivered promises.

One of the things that's lured me in were the blog exchange program. While I have had no problem with one, which is why I still link it on my sidebar, they don't bring in revenue as expected. That's because, while Google pitched AdSense on these sites like the latest, greatest thing, once you actually started earning MONEY off of the link, Google sends letters accusing you of cheating. When you were doing nothing more than what the site actually ENCOURAGED you to do.

But the other site, the one that's NOT on my sidebar, is the one that really got me. I can't use their actual name because of the threat of a suit when I mentioned that I would expose them because they didn't pay as promised. Let's just call it "Smog Sicker". Anyway, I was heavily involved with Smog Sicker, even won a few of their weekly surfing competitions. Then when my accumulated money got enough for me to request payment, things got ugly. They weren't going to pay, and when I tried to get them to pay up, that's when the emails got ugly.

Of the online pay per surf type of things, Smog Sicker is one of only two companies that actually scammed me. With the others, either I could never make the points to get a payout, or in the rare case that I did, they actually sent a check as promised. The other one that actually scammed me, though, by accusing me of cheating once I was able to get a payout, is still in business. And if you check forums, what they did to me is their usual way of doing business. But they've been able to keep enough people strung along to stay in business, at least.

I am proud to say Smog Sicker is no more, or so it seems. Good riddance to bad rubbish is the only eulogy I'm going to give.