This is a follow-up post about the Social Networking site Quechup. Please do not sign into this service.
It will take all of your email addresses and send invites to all your friends whether you think you are doing so or not.
(Some people report there is a way around this, but be forewarned and tell your friends to be careful.)
Many, many people are getting tricked into spamming their friends.
It's very reminiscent of the email worms that spread through the Internet in years past. Yes, it's that bad. I've received these false invites as have others. Robert Scoble posts a warning too. Lora has her cautionary tale also.
The reason I'm posting this again is because it's important to educate as many people as we can about sites that are out that will mine your data and use it for whatever they want. Evidently, Quechup isn't the only one that's employing a technique like this. The are so eager to grow their service or who knows sell your contact list, that they'll take advantage of people's trust. This is not a good sign. I understand from other posts that technically the agreement you sign allows them to do what they are doing. This reminds us how we all need to be a little more careful accepting agreements before really understanding them.
My guess is that we're going to see the end of invites--or a decrease in them. I know I won't trust them. It also reminds us that we should all be careful with the information we hand out. Is all the information being posted on Facebook really a good idea? It comes down to a matter of trust. Facebook has mine right now, but at least for now, others won't.
Anyway, once more I just want to remind people to be careful. It's time to educate all your friends and family. Be careful.


Incremental Blogger