Someone I personally know said the owner was monitoring their account and openly admitted it and then had the nerve to ask for keywords directly from the affiliate. Needless to say, both raised enough red flags to steer clear from.
Hi there, I'm the founder of iSpionage.
You definetely mixed up a good intention with a bad one.
This is what we asked for when you signed up with us:
3 of your seed keywords, and 3 of your competitors URLs.
The reason we ask: we want to HELP you find more keywords in your niche. Our research specialist will expand your "main" keywords and populate the data FOR you. So in essence, we help you do your keyword research if you allow us to.
We have no intention to compete with you and take away your lunch, that's not our business. We're a software service company.
I spent hours of my personal time doing the keyword research for many of our clients, just to make sure they get the highest data quality. We're hoping that by helping you out, you'll reciprocate the favor, and appreciate the extra mile we do.
I hope this clears out why we ask for your seed keywords.
-Leon