Just my 2 cents worth. Those bastards you talked about are out there waiting for you.
It took me about an hour to get into buying the claim and 4 months getting out of and getting my money back from the claim. Usually once the flim flam men get your money they are gone. Luckily I had used a credit card and after 27 pages of documentation and 3 months of waiting, the credit company did a charge back against this guys account. That didn't of course pay for my 4 trips to county offices and 3 trips to the BLM office in Sacramento or all the paperwork and fees for the non existent claim.
So, if you're still interested, Steve and Chris have some great advice when it comes to claims. As for myself I'll join a club that has some viable claims.