Email Petitions, Surveys, Opinion Polls - Real or Collection Points

This morning I received around 6 on line requests for my opinion, survey completion, petition signature etc., all of which were asking for my name and/or contact information.  Are these email requests real or just ways to collect peoples contact information. 

It is a mixed bag, but for the most part, I question the validity of these types of messages and fully believe that for the most part they are nothing more than hidden information collection points.  These bogus petitions tug at your heart or try to fire you up over some particular issue to encourage you to forward to your inner circle.

The down sides to a reply or forward of these things is that;

You are tricked into thinking that you are somehow making a difference.

By adding your name you have placed yourself on a list that you have no idea who is collecting the list.

By forwarding the message you are giving some unknown party or company not only your email information but everyone you have forwarded the message to and if they reply or forward they add more peoples information and so on.

Additionally, some of these messages contain spy bots, viruses, tracking cookies etc. that continue to track your internet usage or worst case corrupt and destroy your data and computer system. 

There are legitimate petitions and on line opinion poll taking functions, but the best thing to do is check out any request send to you in order to protect not only your privacy but the privacy of those in your inner circle too.

Below are some internet resources to help you decide if something you have received is valid;

  FactCheck.org  http://www.factcheck.org/
  Snopes.com  http://www.snopes.com/
  Urban Legends  http://urbanlegends.about.com/

For Federal Legislative Issues:

  Thomas Library of Congress http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php
   US Congress Activity Tracking http://www.govtrack.us/
  Contact your representatives directly.


For New Mexico Legislative Issues:

  Bill Finder, NM Legislature: http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/billfinder.aspx

  Bill Locator 2011: http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/_locatorcom.aspx?year=11

Hope the internet allows you to find valid and valuable information as well as opportunity to continue to meet and form new friendships.  Be smart and Be Safe :)