Competition scams to watch out for
Unfortunately, scams seem to be part and parcel of comping these days, and there are many ways that scammers try to take advantage of those of us that enjoy entering prize promotions.
Experienced compers are getting good at spotting the difference between fake and genuine messages, but new compers are definitely at risk from scams. I’ll be keeping this blog post up to date with the latest scams affecting compers. Please do share it with new compers!
Churchcastle Wordsearch
Have you received this letter in the post? Churchcastle publish competition advertisements in national newspapers, usually with a big cash prize to be won.
When you’ve entered and they have your details, they’ll send you letters like the one above, encouraging you to enter more of their competitions. They target older people who can complete the wordsearch easily, but can’t read the small print. If you have older family members – ask if you can check their phone bill, as they are easily tempted by these scammers!
For this particular promotion, the entry method is to call an automated phone line at a cost of £5.40 plus your network access charge. They will try and get you to stay on the line for a second call, at an extra cost of £7.20. The prizes are genuine, but nobody should feel they have to spend a whopping £12.60 to enter two competitions! The closing date is stated as 25th June 2021 (this gives urgency to the letter and encourages people to phone immediately) – but in the small print the closing date isn’t until 31 August 2021. It’s likely that there will be further marketing sent out for this same prize, with people encouraged to enter again without realising it’s the same competition.
If you’ve received a letter from Churchcastle or Wynnington I suggest you contact optout@wynnington.co.uk and ask them to remove your details from their database.
Check out my blog post on how to win cash prizes in FREE online competitions too – you don’t need to make expensive phone calls or send premium rate texts to be successful!
Currys PC World text message
A congratulatory text message using your first name is a common way scammers try to get your attention. It usually has grammar or spelling errors. Clicking the link will take you to a website where you’re presented with a list of winners – one of which is you, of course! There’s usually a time limit on clicking to claim, and you’ll be asked to pay a fee to get your ‘prize’. This particular scam went to mynewphone365.com and asked for card details.
You’ll see this was a scam I personally received – I don’t actually get many scam texts, but I know the scammers have my details from a long time ago as my address is listed as Nottingham. All it takes is an entry into one dodgy prize draw, and your personal details can be sold on to many scammers and used to send you spam for years.
SurveyQuick – win a Samsung Galaxy S20
Watch out for SurveyQuick adverts claiming ‘you have 1 unread message’ – clicking on it will take you to an online scratchcard type game where you ‘win’ a Samsung Galaxy S20. You’re then asked to pay £2 for shipping. Never make any payments to receive a prize!
Amazon survey – win a MacBook
Watch out for WinMyPrize247 adverts online, while you’re entering competitions on other websites – the screenshot below was taken by one of my readers after she clicked on a link advertising an ‘Amazon survey to win a MacBook Pro‘ on the Virgin Radio competitions page.
The survey advert links to a page where you can enter to win a MacBook Pro for just £1. TrustPilot reviews of the Win My Prize 247 website tell us that once you’ve paid the £1, you’re then charged a monthly subscription fee of £49.95 to remain a member of the site, and many have been scammed. Be warned!
If you believe an advert is leading to a scam website, there should be a small button you can click to report it to the ad network (in the case of Virgin Radio, this is Google – but here on SuperLucky, it’s Mediavine). These adverts are NOT related to the websites they appear on, and could appear anywhere online.
Royal Mail text message scam
If you enter competitions, you can expect plenty of unexpected parcels in the post. You might have received a ‘Your parcel is waiting for delivery’ text message claiming to be from Royal Mail, asking you to pay a delivery fee at the fake website https://royalmail-settlement.com. The real Royal Mail website is www.royalmail.com. If you do need to pay for underpaid Royal Mail postage, you’ll get a card through your door with instructions on where to collect your item, and how to pay. The Guardian have reported on victims who have lost thousands of pounds after falling for this scam, and the similar DHL one.
Read more: How to spot a scam text message
Fake Console & gadget giveaways on Twitter
Twitter scammers are setting up accounts to run tech giveaways – and unfortunately when one is reported and shut down, another seems to pop up. The scammers set up a simple fake RT prize draw, then message multiple entrants congratulating them on winning. In the DM they ask for shipping fees to be paid via PayPal before the prize can be dispatched. You should never have to pay money to receive a prize! NEVER give card details or make PayPal or BACS payments. to a promoter. When entering a competition, look for a closing date and proper T&Cs – and check that the promoter has a working website link in their Twitter/Instagram bio, or on their Facebook About page.
Instagram and Facebook profile cloning scam
If you’ve commented on any Instagram or Facebook competitions recently, you’re likely to be targeted by scammers. They set up fake accounts pretending to be the competition promoter then message entrants with a link. When you visit the link, you may be asked to give personal and card details to pay for the delivery cost of your prize. If your small fee payment is successful, the scammers will go on to deduct a larger amount from your card. The clue to these scammers is that they follow you on Instagram first, most have a private profile, and they usually have one character different in their name to the genuine account. In addition, their English is usually terrible, with poor spelling and grammar.
To report the accounts on Instagram, tap the three dots on the right of their profile page, then Report from the menu and select It’s inappropriate. Select Report account then It’s posting content that shouldn’t be on Instagram, and Scam or Fraud.
Read more: Facebook & Instagram profile cloning scam
Report scams to Action Fraud
If you’ve been the victim of a scammer and it’s cost you money, report the scam to the police through Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or report a scam anonymously on the Action Fraud website.
For more information on scams affecting compers, please see these blog posts:
- Facebook & Instagram profile cloning scam
- How to spot a scam text message
- How to spot an Instagram scam
- How to spot a scam email
- How to identify a scam Facebook promotion
If you’ve spotted a current scam targeting compers, please let me know via my contact page, so I can add the details to this post!
The winning word is relaxing.
Hi di just reading your paragraph about Churchcastle Wordsearch- is the prize fund legit but they take ALOT of money via calls or is the whole competition a lie?
Yes, the prizes ARE awarded, as you can imagine they spend money on the prizes and advertising but make much more than this in the phone call revenue!
Hello Di, im a new comper, on many online competitions they ask for your home address and some ask for your date of birth (even for non alcoholic related comps), some ask for both. How comfortable are you in giving out such sensitive information?? Do you give out a false date of birth? Im interested in your thoughts,
kind Regards
john
Hi John
So sorry – I didn’t spot this comment back in March! I have no issues giving out home address as it’s something that can easily be found on the internet anyway. I only enter on websites and social media of brands I know and trust so if I wasn’t sure about a company, I wouldn’t pass my details on to them. I’ve not given out a false DOB although I know some compers do this! I’ve had to show my ID to claim several prizes (usually involving alcohol or football tickets!)
RVs & Campers sent Today at 3:59 PM
Hey Hazel,
First off thanks for entering our competition! We would just like to say a massive thanks and a HUGE congratulations! We drew 100 names this morning and your name was pulled out of the hat!
In order for us to confirm your name and email we require everyone to click CONTINUE below and visit our website.
All 100 entrants have until 9am tomorrow morning (Sunday) to enter. Just wondered if anybody else has received this message and if its a scam. Thank you in advance
The deadline given definitely suggests SCAM to me! Could you forward it to me Hazel, at di@superlucky.me – thanks.
I received this from 5star competitions
Good Morning Maxine!
We are just letting you know that today we pulled 100 names out of a hat and your name was one of the successful ones!
We require everyone who has entered to signup to our website so we can contact you should you win. Signup is free and will take less than 30 seconds!
The draw will be made at 8pm tonight live on our Facebook page so anyone who hasn’t signed up by 7pm will be forfeited from the draw.
Please click CONTINUE below to get your entry in!
Thanks and Good Luck
5 Star are a ‘pay to enter’ raffle type website. Not a scam as such, but I would avoid!
This is full of useful information – thank you, Di.
I’ve been reporting scams for a long time, and have realised that Facebook are stupid, and will do nothing about those ‘you win’ posts. They don’t recognise the slight difference between the real and fake companies.
I report them all, and phishing emails to : report@phishing.gov.uk.
I also report the many scam emails by forwarding it to the company. eg spoof@paypal.com, spoof@lidl.com, and many others.
Sometimes it’s possible to find the sender by reading the raw email. One has the user name of astra followed by a number, which I cut and pasted to the gov. address
I hope this is useful in addition to what you’ve shared with us.
Much love from, Sylvia. xx
Thanks for the info Sylvia!
Very helpful information. Thank you.
Twice today I have reported accounts to Facebook that are fake accounts pretending to be official pages and replies from Facebook is the accounts are not against their. Two competitions within minutes of each other were taken down by companies because of fake accounts being set up. Sadly It’s going to stop companies wanting to do competitions if it doesn’t get sorted out soon.
I agree that Facebook are useless when I first report so I reply and ask’ ‘are you sure? please check every detail?’ Well they might do but they don’t reply again.
I report the lot to report@phishing.gov.uk – they at least reply ” thank you for reporting a suspicious email’. ‘we have a lot to check’
I block the poster on Fb. The list is quite long.