Excuse Me While I Scream: I Insult Them, Now They Want to Pay Me to Join the Dark Side?

The warning bell sounds in my brain, but being sleepy and caffeine-deprived, I ignore it. I hone in, instead, on words like "I wanted to know if by any chance you would be interested in doing an unbiased review of our site," and "free sample or payment." I like writing, I like eating - payment sounds good. I don't expect much (and I don't write for $0.02/word), but I figure it's worth a look.

The site deals with subject matter I can't address knowledgably and therefore can't review ethically beyond talking about the site's basic design appeal and usability. I don't think that's the kind of review they're looking for, so I decline. I leave the door open for future possibilities, and I'm gratified to receive a prompt, personal reply.

The first cup of coffee is starting to hit my brain when I realize that the sign-up page for "SEOBLOGREVIEWS," the company that approached me, is all there is. There's no way to tell who's on the receiving end. "Who are you?" I write back to "Z R" at zr200875@yahoo.com (the guy who claims to be Webmaster of the site I'd be reviewing, but who also answers for SEOBLOGREVIEWS). "Where are you based? What's your privacy policy? Do all offers come through you, or directly from advertisers?" The answer I received was vague:

Hello Holly,

We are a US based company, all the offers come directly from the company, it can be different employees contacting you, but from SEOBLOGREVIEWS only.

Wishes

And there were those warning bells, again. I searched and found someone who claims to have been paid $10 each for two posts, via PayPal. He can't say for which posts, claiming it's against SEOBLOGREVIEW's terms of service (which I have yet to read or find). My brain on full-blown suspicious mode, I wonder if he's working for this company. I decide to do a Whois search. Anyone who knows me knows that the fastest way to get on my bad side is to lie or to be sneaky. So when I see that SEOBLOGREVIEWS.COM is registered to one Giotto De Filippi, of Milano, Italy, I go back to that "We are a US based company," and now I'm more than a little irritated.

What part of Sploggers and Scrapers Can Kiss My Grits did these folks not understand?