Are paid to real mail programs genuine?

Hello friends, I would like to ask you what do you think whether the most of the money making opportunities advertised on web are genuine? I think your answer would be no. I guessed so. There are paid to read mail programs cropping up daily. They promise to pay you cents, dollar or some thousands of dollars. Most of them are free to join. But the catch is if you want to reach payout fast and want to get paid fast you have to upgrade your membership which costs you money. And then if the said read to mail doesn't pay you or is not genuine. It would have burnt a hole in your pocket. I myself had joined a number of such paid to read mail programs but has not yet been paid. And i had been doing for quite some time now. Friends we can all learn from each other's experiences. So feel free and post your opinions on this matter. Thanks.