It's true. There is no such thing as a free lunch, which means you're not going to get a free big screen, iPod or video game, no matter what the online ads promise.

On Wednesday the state Attorney General's Office stopped some of these deceptive ads from reaching computer users in Washington state.

Free is a darn good price. So when a pop-up appears on your computer screen offering a cool, high-tech product or a big-bucks gift card for free, you're going to pay attention.

A lot of people in our state did, and it turns out a lot of them got burned in more ways than one.

Assistant Attorney General Paula Selis showed me a pop-up that promises a HDTV worth nearly $1,200 for free.

"This is the pop up that started the ball rolling," she said.

The ad offers a free Samsung TV. It also says membership is free and you will never be required to pay for test products. But Selis found that the TV is not free.

"No, that's not true at all," said Selis.

If you click on the ad, you wind up on a page with a form that asks for your personal information, including shipping details fro the delivery of your TV. That seems OK, but it also asks for your e-mail address and date of birth.

"Once you entered your personal information on their site, you would get an increase in spam because that information was being sold to a third party who, in turn, was going to spam you," Selis said.

Continue to the next page and you find out that you have to buy things. Maybe a tooth whitener or a Spanish language course. Some of the items have hidden costs. Four posters, for example, were priced at $2 each, but the state says there was a $31 shipping charge.

Now you're into this for about $80. That's when you hit the last level - the premium level - where, once again, you have to accept and pay for two of the offers.

"You had to buy a year's worth of Web site hosting that's going to cost you around $1,700. The second one is Roms To Go, it's for kids furniture. Minimum cost is $1,500. Finally, we've got two Euro Rail passes for a total of $1,800," said Selis.

The Attorney General's Office sued the South Carolina company behind the ad, claiming it violated the state's consumer protection action.

On Wednesday the company settled the case by agreeing not to offer its promotions to people in Washington state. It also agreed to refund money to any of the 35,00 people in the state who bought something in order to get the "free" item that wasn't free.

Victims will be contacted by mail and e-mail over the next two months.

More Information:

Promoters of online freebies agree to stop selling in Washington