Fake competition: empty Primark? None!

This time Primark is increasingly in the sights of competition data collectors on Facebook.

Note: We have checked the following Facebook competition from a legal perspective. Since this does not meet the criteria of the Facebook competition guidelines, it was classified as negative.  

There are always competitions on Facebook for various high-priced products or unusually exclusive vouchers. But unfortunately in most cases there is no real prize - at least not for the competition participant...

This is what the fake page looks like:

Screenshot of the current fake competition:

The imprint leaves nothing to be desired... namely for a transparent competition organizer:

In addition, the site has only existed for a few days:

Since some Facebook users are still unaware that there are no real prizes in such competitions, we would like to explain it again.

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The fake competition on Facebook!

Take a real or fictional occasion and tell the user that there is something great to be won on the occasion of these great events.

The criteria for participation are quickly listed:

• Leave a Comment
• split
• like
• send personal message

Sometimes a closing date for participation is added, but the competitions are usually deleted by the operator before this date.

To ensure that there are no actual winners, the site owner should be contacted via a personal message.
If the fake is successful, a new competition with a different prize will be created within a very short time. It doesn't matter whether you were able to win a car and then a dream house... The main thing is that users interact or follow a link that actually has completely different purposes.

“But if I play along, it won’t hurt anyone!”

True. Only yourself by showing your entire circle of friends and acquaintances on Facebook how gullible you are . You also show this to the creator of the page, who will be very interested in luring you with further competitions in the future in order to get more data from you. Because data brings money. And pages with a lot of likes and shares sell well.

“How am I supposed to know when a competition is real?”

We have a very simple checklist for this. If several (or even all) of the points on this list apply, you should stay away!

• Either a well-known brand or a well-known company is represented - or an imaginary name is used.
• Users are forced to like and share, which is the case here.
• There is no (credible) imprint.
• There are no conditions of participation.
• There is no contact option.
• There is no correct company (imprint).
• The site has only existed for a short time, which is also the case here.
• No winners will be announced.
• The prizes are provided by sponsors who “do not wish to be named”.
• The prizes are advertised with copied images from the Internet.
• For well-known companies, pay attention to the blue verification check mark that is often present behind the page name in the cover photo!

Do you have friends who take part in competitions like this?

Then please point out that this is a fake competition. But also explain to them why there is nothing to be gained from this and similar sites. And be emphatic, because if these people have their friends list open on their profile, you, as friends of that gullible person, are also interesting to the creators of such fake competitions.

What else can happen:

Note: Why is/was there this competition? Of course there is a financial interest behind these sites. There are various ways you can profit from successful fake competitions. Everything from harmless page sales to nasty subscription traps is included.

We have seen many fake competitions so far 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.

“Side sales”/“Like farming” option

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 harmless cases, these are affiliate 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 of course also collects commission). Every now and then you can find these sophisticated Facebook pages for sale on eBay.

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No matter what else happens: the advertised profit doesn't exist!