My brother-in-law never wanted a home security system, information about “no-cost” government grants, or other products pitched in telemarketing phone calls and a barrage of e-mail spam.

Hank just wanted the $1,000 Wal-Mart gift card he was promised for filling out an online survey. He never received the card—in fact, Wal-Mart has no involvement and warns about such scams. But when my wife and I spent a few August days at the family vacation home, a rustic cabin in the Pennsylvania mountains, we learned what her brother was getting: plenty of hassles.

The cabin’s phone number is listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, but that didn’t stop telemarketers claiming to be from ADT Security Services from calling at least twice every hour on our first day there to offer a free home security system—even after we asked them to stop. Two years ago, ADT paid a $2 million settlement to the Federal Trade Commission for violating the Do Not Call law.

Nor did it stop solicitors from Grant Research Guide from making at least five phone calls in the same day, offering a free CD tutorial on obtaining grants related to the federal stimulus program.

“For only a $2 fee for postage and handling,” claimed the perky telemarketer in one call, “you’ll learn how to get free government money to use as you please.” She failed to mention the monthly $50 membership fee levied on others who provided a credit card number for the initial costs, and then got snagged in a “negative option” ruse in which they faced continued charges unless they canceled the order within a certain period. When I mentioned that such promises of government grants are usually a ploy to obtain credit card information for possible identity theft, the telemarketer abruptly hung up.

There were other phone calls that day, but we stopped answering. That night, when Hank arrived, we learned of their apparent origin: A few weeks earlier, he took the bait of an enticing banner ad for a free Wal-Mart gift card, providing his phone number, e-mail and home address as the first step in completing a “survey.”

“Since then,” he said, “I’ve been getting over 100 spam e-mails a week and the phone doesn’t stop ringing.”

The Wal-Mart gift card was promised by a Canada-based company, BigBrandPromotions, which said on its website that it had no affiliation with the retailer. It offers similar gift card promotions, and non-affiliation caveats, for other well-known companies, sometimes under the name BrandGivewayCentre. In the small print is the catch: “Depending on my survey answers, I expressly request a phone call and/or e-mail from this list of Marketing Partners.”

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