We are all conditioned from childhood. Our parents and teachers impart not only their wisdom and experience but their beliefs into our fertile young minds. Generally this is for our good and safety.

“Do not play near the road”, “Don’t eat brightly coloured berries unless you are sure what they are” and other such wise advice have helped keep us safe and well. But not all their advice has necessarily been so good for us in later life.

How many overweight adults owe their rotund figures in part to being told they should always clear their plates before leaving the table? Equally when ever you see something advertised as free does you mind go back o the old cliché, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”?

Offer something for nothing and there is a fair chance that the offer will be rejected out of hand. This has been proved more than once when someone has tried to give money away in the street.

Somehow we are all conditioned to believe that there must be a catch. Nobody gives anything away or nothing, there has to be an ulterior motive.

And guess what?

There usually is.

But that is no reason to ignore the offer and refuse the free incentive. Free samples are a common promotion technique for some companies. We gratefully accept a small packet of washing powder when it drops through the door but treat free offers on the Internet with great suspicion.

A case in point is the “Grab a Grand” promotion run by Virtual World the lottery syndicate company. It is a simple free opportunity for any one, anywhere in the world to win £1000 tax free. It costs nothing to enter and there is no obligation.

The game is based on the UK National lottery and all you are required to do is pick any 5 numbers from 49. If those 5 numbers are drawn in the next UK National Lottery you will win £1,000 it is as simple as that. There are 2 lotteries a week, one on Wednesday and one on Saturday. You can enter every lottery if you wish, twice a week.

So where is the catch? Why is the company doing this?

OK. They are not doing this totally out of generosity; they will send you a few e-mails telling you about their business and lottery syndicates. But surely this is a small price to pay for 2 free chances to win £1000 each week. And besides you might find the details about their lottery syndicates interesting.