A Welcome to the Wary

(2/22/13) Don't forget to sign up for Google Offers! 555 NX Award!

Free NX 101: The Do's and Don'ts



INTRO:

Okay guys, for those who are new to gaining reliable NX from Nexon's Free Offer page, here is some information that you should know:
-While Nexon is a reliable, upstanding company, the advertising companies are much more shady, and are PI-sharks. (Personal Information).
-To keep yourself SAFE, you should always follow these rule-of-thumbs:

1- NEVER use your primary e-mail account for games/offers.
2- NEVER give out your personal information including:
   A: Your physical address
   B: Your phone number
   C: Any personalizing information in general.
3- NEVER install 'free' software on your primary computer, or any computer that contains sensitive information.

That said, if you are being very careful, you can still complete many offers and avoid horrible plagues of PI-theft, spyware and spam.


Why shouldn't I use my real address?

In a test conducted on a spare e-mail account, I signed up for several survey offers.
I believe I completed ten survey offers, or similar offers requiring an e-mail address.
The account was new and clean, however in TWENTY days:
Inbox: 492 messages
Spam: 739 messages

RESULT: DO NOT GIVE YOUR REAL ADDRESS. EVER. EVER!!
If you've used your real e-mail address for your game account, you can try to do the offers with a different address- however know that Nexon periodically checks your registration information with the info you provide the advertisers. You will not receive points for non-matching information.

Why shouldn't I give out my real information?

This is pretty self explanatory. You will receive spam- but this will come in the form of physical spam mail, which:
1- is annoying to sort through
2- a waste of physical resources and everyone's time.
Even if your phone is on a no-call list, by giving your phone number to advertisers, you are inadvertently providing them with permission to plague you with phone calls. There is no escaping this after it's happened, and it only grows worse in time as they SELL your number to 'affiliated companies'.

What personal information is safe?

This is just a guess, but I would say giving general information such as your name/D.O.B. and zip code is relatively safe. They can get general information on you, but unless they have a complete population consensus, they won't be able to find your physical address and stuff without expending huge amounts of resources. But I'd be wary anyways. I haven't had problems using some general info so far, but who knows what'll happen in the future?