Free* Lunch!
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but there are some things that come quite close. One of these is a double scam. Various companies (mostly banks, e.g. Citibank) try to scam their customers into signing up for various programs (e.g. PrivacyGuard), by sending out checks for small amounts (e.g. $2.50, $4.00, etc.). By cashing one of these checks, the customer signs up for the program, which comes with a free trial period, usually 30 days or more.
In response to this scam, I cash the checks, and put a little note in my calendar to cancel at a point in time after the check will have cashed, but before the trial period ends.
So while I do have to go to the effort of endorsing the check, cashing it, and then making one phone call to cancel, I do end up getting enough cash for an inexpensive ... Free Lunch!