Competition Scams - Please Post Them Here

xLuckyxAshxWinsx

alice_S wrote: »

First time comping....call from 0203 627 7695 saying i'd won a holiday, google the number and does not have positive reviews! Assume it's just best to go with your gut and swerve!!?

Looks like it was CLC they offer you the free/cheap holiday then give you the hard sell (timeshare) best to avoid

mjm3346

defairmans wrote: »

reportedly and allegedly may be awarding customer and friends.

There are probably 1000's of FB and TW pages allegedly doing that sort of thing but apart from the time people might waste entering the competitions the pages are not scamming money out of people

thetriggerhappypwner

I would like to add my first post here...
"Wynnington Wynners" aka "Chruchcastle Ltd" are at it again!
Saw one of their bogus ads for a wordsearch competition on CBS Reality this morning at around 09:15.

I thought that this company, along with it's director "{Text removed by Forum Team}" were fined £800k by "PhonePayPlus":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19906083.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/opinion/money-opinion/p-s-investigates/they-cash-in-on-trash-533711
https://thechiefexecutive.blogspot.com/2017/06/beware-churchcastle-also-called.html
https://who-called.co.uk/Number/09066350369
I hope that by posting this information here that I am not doing anything wrong.
I am of the view that this is a scam...
First, the "QUIZ SHOW" is obvious, third line down, left to right: "COUNTDOWN".
And the "flower" is also obvious: seventh line down: "ROSE".
The words are niot well hidden, and they seem to be designed to trick people in to phoning in to be charged huge sums on their phone bill.  £7.20 a pop is one of the biggest money scams that I have ever seen!

mjm3346

These competitions now appear to be "genuine" and I have not seen judgments against them for any recent competitions.
They have a real prize, the cost of the call is displayed as required in the advertisement and the cost is within the limits allowed so it would not be a scam on cost grounds - it is up to people if they think it is worth spending the money or not (the total cost is nearly £11).

Moneybot

Just remembered about this thread for posting "scams"


Thought I would use it to post a few links etc on Reward Giant

A few  "competitions" have appeared in the last two days posted by new posters with short URLs

The link to Reward Giant not sure if this link is any better but I'm not signed up with the site

https://rewards-giant.uk/?Flow=09DFF027-E177-90C1-1876-5C9C682F404356221137&

To be able to get any "prizes" you appear to have to go through a lot of hoops

see T&C 

https://contact.nationalconsumerscenter.co.uk//policies/terms

Note the following 

How the Rewards Program Works. To qualify for a Reward, you must: (1) be a U.K. resident, 18 years of age or older; (2) provide accurate registration information (including your name and contact information, i.e., valid residential and email addresses), and (3) COMPLETE THE REQUIRED NUMBER AND LEVELS WHICH REFERS TO A GROUP OF DEALS (“LEVELS”) OF AND DEALS, WHICH USUALLY REQUIRE PAID PARTICIPATION OR PAID SUBSCRIPTION, within a sixty-day period that commences on the date that you complete your first Deal (you will have options in terms of the Deals you select to complete and if one or more Deals that you select require longer than 60 days to earn credit – for example, you must pay for a monthly subscription charge following a trial period - you will have the length of time required to earn credit for the Deal plus an additional 60 days thereafter to complete the requisite number and categories of  Deals). Once you have completed the required number and Levels of Deals to qualify for your Reward, you must promptly complete the Reward claim process, which requires ID verification, to claim and obtain your Reward. Once you start the Reward claim process, you must complete it within thirty (30) days. 

Also

Refer-a-Friend Program.  We may offer, from time, a refer-a-friend program, where a user can earn an e-gift card in a to-be-specified amount for referring a number of friends to our Site.  We will post the program terms which will include a unique link that each participant will provide to the friends they are referring.  We’ll also specify the numbers of friends required to earn the e-gift card and other program terms.


I'm not saying the poster or posters are using referral links to earn gift cards but posting such a link on a competition forum in such a way that it looks like a link to a competition would be a great way to get "friends" to sign up.

I also note that one of the new posters is now trolling my posts on other threads ...

Ms_Dee

Moneybot said:

Just remembered about this thread for posting "scams"

Thought I would use it to post a few links etc on Reward Giant

A few  "competitions" have appeared in the last two days posted by new posters with short URLs

[Plus More]

Rewards Giant flags up as a phishing website.

6 Reviews on Trust Pilot, all 1 star (lowest you can rate) and implying it is a scam.

It says the business is RewardsFlow, LLC, which when searched brings up so many scam warnings.

RewardsFlow, LLC doesn't appear on the Gov website as a registered business either.

It looks like they've had various gift card scam websites, under lots of different names, one being Rewards Giant.

Ms_Dee

***Always be wary and cautious on what competitions you enter***

latestcompetitions.com is not confirmed to be a scam website but I have my concerns and no reviews on Trust Pilot and nothing coming up when I search it as a website.

My Concerns:

I'm rather wary of this site, it requires your email and phone number but that says 0% complete, so not sure what else you may need to fill in.
Their business name in their terms and conditions says it is Foxton Media Limited who also own Latest Free Stuff, which is a registered business, but it doesn't mean they own it, anyone could have wrote the terms and conditions.
The site is mainly just a page including bad grammar 'Win a air fryer' and 'a Amazon' both should be an not a.
One competitions says 'Love2Shop Vouchers that can be used as 1'000's of stores across the UK.' 1'000? and I don't understand why they have used the time zone as Coordinated Universal Time instead of the usual UK time which we are currently on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

happytrump12

Ms_Dee said:

***Always be wary and cautious on what competitions you enter***

latestcompetitions.com is not confirmed to be a scam website but I have my concerns and no reviews on Trust Pilot and nothing coming up when I search it as a website.

My Concerns:

I'm rather wary of this site, it requires your email and phone number but that says 0% complete, so not sure what else you may need to fill in.
Their business name in their terms and conditions says it is Foxton Media Limited who also own Latest Free Stuff, which is a registered business, but it doesn't mean they own it, anyone could have wrote the terms and conditions.
The site is mainly just a page including bad grammar 'Win a air fryer' and 'a Amazon' both should be an not a.
One competitions says 'Love2Shop Vouchers that can be used as 1'000's of stores across the UK.' 1'000? and I don't understand why they have used the time zone as Coordinated Universal Time instead of the usual UK time which we are currently on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Yes avoid this one. They are posting CPA marketing links and have no idea what they are doing

pate-ci0

Heads up about a DamsonHomes comp (which doesn't end until December). Just received a DM purporting to come from Damson Homes saying I've won. However, Twitter account turns out to be DamsonH0mes not DamsonHomes. Wanted me to Register and send screenshot or else prize would be forfeit so not going to touch that with a bargepole. Some of DM is as below:
"

Damson Homes sent you a Direct Message.

Congratulations, you have been selected as the contest winner in the "GIVEAWAY️" Win £500 for Christmas Time for another Damson competition with this one paying out in time to hit the shops this Christmas Follow the steps below to receive your prize! - REGISTER HERE" ....

EnglishWelshie

Another scam comp posted here by happytrump12 leads to a phishing link newsmartphoneoffer. Have reported the user as it is not the first time this user has posted spam links and was pmed a not very nice pm from them. The spam link is hidden behind the link posted.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6403017/e-21-11-win-an-england-world-cup-shirt

Googling newsmartphoneoffer leads to info saying Newsmartphoneoffer pop-ups are a survey scam that uses social engineering methods to trick unsuspecting victims into completing online surveys. Scammers promise a reward for completing a small survey. This scam is used to steal valuable personal and financial information from victims.

In most cases, users are redirected to Newsmartphoneoffer.com and similar scams when they surf the internet. The reason for this may be an accidental click on a misleading link, push notifications and the presence of adware on the computer. Luckily my malwarebytes kicked in but just hope no-one gets caught out.