Washington, DC - A “free” trial offer may be tempting, but it could be a scam out to get your money.

The Federal Trade Commission wants consumers to be aware of affiliate marketing in online advertising. Affiliate marketing is a good way to promote a product or service, but only if the ad is truthful. Some marketers may use misleading information to get people to click on their ads.

An FTC blog post, What’s affiliate marketing? Should I care? describes how affiliate marketing works and how to avoid scams, which is summarized in an infographic, How Affiliate Marketing Works.