Don’t want to fork over actual cash or start a shady “free” trial in order to get sweet, sweet virtual currency for your favorite game on Facebook or MySpace? Well, you could always take a health care survey that pays you to tell your representatives in Congress how opposed you are to health care reform. Mmm, smell that astroturf!

Business Insider discovered this handy in-game money-making opportunity.

Instead of asking the gamers to try a product the way Netflix would, “Get Health Reform Right” requires gamers to take a survey, which, upon completion, automatically sends the following email to their Congressional Rep:

“I am concerned a new government plan could cause me to lose the employer coverage I have today. More government bureaucracy will only create more problems, not solve the ones we have.“

Not so bad if you already happen to be opposed to a public health insurance option, except for the part where they survey is paying people to write to their Congresscritters. It’s not illegal, but is it ethical? Should it be?

The group paying gamers to take the survey is Get Health Reform Right, a coalition of organizations in the insurance industry. The CEO of the “offer” network that this survey purportedly, Gambit, claimed in a statement to Business Insider that they do not deal in hot-button political issues, and that such a survey offer would have been removed from the network had it slipped through.

Health Insurers Caught Paying Facebook Gamers Virtual Currency To Oppose Reform Bill [Business Insider] (Thanks, Helen!)

RELATED:
Social Network Games: Fake Mobsters, Real Racket
Mafia Wars CEO Brags About Scamming Users From Day One

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.