The scam is the recurring billing or the republishing of free information and charging for it.
Say what you want to make yourself feel better. You know the real deal Jon... I know your not an idiot. (just maybe need a morals check)
Time life books, columbia house, BMG and many others started the auto shipment\auto rebill model before the internet was around.
So the real scammers are the fortune 1000 clients who started the model and continue to run it to this day.