Just a few days ago we reported on another fake competition on Facebook from a page called “Camping Friends”. One user described to us what she faced after taking part.
This is how she writes to us:
„Yes, I confess, I also fell into the trap and took part in the competition, even though I knew that it neither formally corresponded to the Facebook rules nor was DSGV compliant. BUT: if you actually click on the link that is sent to you in Messenger when you complete your participation, you will see conditions of participation, data protection declarations and all that hoopla. Here I found the email address info@naturvel.com, revoked my participation and requested that my data be deleted. I also received immediate feedback that this is being done - which I hope will be the case. „
The site asks you to send the word “camping” via messenger. This is followed by an automatic response: You should click on a specific link in order to participate. This page then looks like this:

You can see: a pretty difficult question and answer game awaits you. By the way, it doesn't matter what you click on as an answer, you always "win" a... er... ALDI voucher?

You see correctly: no more word from the camper, so now there are vouchers.
Of course, you have to enter all kinds of data, which is what our reader did.
We counted: If you take part in that competition, you end up on the advertising mailing lists of 39 companies . That's quite humane; in other competitions there can up to 120 companies . So the mailbox is already happy.
What's even worse, however, is that you also have to provide your cell phone number, which can then lead to a flood of text messages, as our reader showed us who received a message from a "Petra":

In the end there was and is nothing to be gained. Data is collected and passed on, the user can look forward to a lot of spam , but not to any profit .
We hope that our reader was able to stem the flood of spam before it began with her revocation.
Why is/was there this competition?
Of course there is a financial interest behind these sites. There are various ways in which you can profit from successful fake competitions. Everything is possible, from harmless page sales to nasty subscription traps. So far, we have seen a lot of fake competitions that these types of competitions are always very similar. In the first stage, they seduce with their simple participation. You should share and like a high-quality potential win. Anyone can do it, it's not a hurdle. This attracts people.
Possibility of “side sales” / “like farming”
With the help of these attracting events the site is then “bred”. The site operator is working to increase fan numbers. At a certain point, this site will be for sale. Fans just end up wondering what content they'll see after the sale and why they ever liked that page.
“Affiliate” option
Once the number of participants reaches a certain point, the description of the competition will be changed. The conditions of participation are supplemented and a link is usually included that you should visit. There are some affiliate programs waiting there through which the “organizer” collects commissions. In the harmless case, these are partner programs that provide the participant with a lot of advertising; in the extreme case, there is a WAP billing subscription trap hidden behind the link for visitors via smartphone (from which the organizer also collects commissions, of course). Every now and then you can find these sophisticated Facebook pages for sale on eBay.
No matter what else happens: the advertised profit doesn't exist! Therefore, remember: there is no one giving away this house, this mobile home, this Audi, 100,000 iPhones or 50,000 PS4s. No, they don't exist, these chivalrous benefactors of the Internet. They are more like tricksters who entice their users to eat out of their hands like click animals.
So what – a click like that doesn’t cost anything!
Yes, that's right. A click on tempting competition sites usually doesn't cost you anything (as long as it's not a subscription trap behind it). If you define “it costs nothing” purely in terms of material values, then it will probably be that way.
But something can cost more than just money, because what it costs you here is priceless: it costs you your dignity - it costs you your credibility.
It costs you your name when you take part in sleazy competitions that you know deep down are rubbish, but your desire is so great that you end up clicking.
It is your inner compulsion to which you succumb and all people can see your defeat - they can all see that you have given in to the hollow temptation. And it would be easy for us to publicly pillory you here. Everyone would see your avatar and your name, because you have immortalized yourself there and shown that you have dedicated yourself to the site.
You tell everyone your financial situation, you tell us your life plans, you even tell us your favorite color. And for what? For a small, measly hope of winning something without making a big investment, for a bit of excitement “on the Internet”? For your trust in some unknown people behind the scenes who don't actually want to give you anything?
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