Google offered three options: $50 cash money, a $100 credit to Google’s online store, or a free battery replacement…

Bharath wanted me to know that I was eligible for the money and it would soon be in my hands… once I performed a small, almost trivial task: giving some company I had never heard of my name, address, phone number, Social Security number, date of birth, and bank account details…

To get the cash, I had to create an account with something called “Payoneer.” This is apparently a reputable payments company, but I had never heard of it, and much about its operations is unclear…

And though Google promised “no transaction fees,” Payoneer appears to charge an “annual account fee” of $29.95… but only to accounts that receive less than $2,000 through Payoneer in any consecutive 12-month period.