Gas Crisis Fuels Dubious Online Offers

Want to cut your fuel costs by 60 percent, use water as fuel, receive a free $1000 gas card, or lock down the price of gas to $2.49 a gallon? You can find these offers on the Web–but experts say most are bogus, designed to collect personal information, to get you to sign up for services you may not want, or to sell you pricey gizmos that won’t save you a dime in fuel costs.

With gas prices headed toward $5 a gallon, many people are understandably looking for ways to cut costs at the pump–and some sites can help you hunt down the lowest gas price in your neighborhood. But the Web (not to mention your inbox) is also brimming with dubious offers for free gas and schemes to save at the pump. Experts say that in most cases, you should steer clear.


“It comes down to your mother’s advice,” says John Paul, spokesperson for the Automobile Association of America, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

But the Better Business Bureau reports that, as gas prices have gone up, so have complaints about sites–some of them heavily promoted in search-engine ads–that promise free gas but deliver only headaches and unwanted e-mail.

PC World