A fake competition page on Facebook likes to play submarine: show up, organize a fake competition, deactivate yourself again!

This is how the “Family Happiness” page has managed to survive on Facebook since 2018: collect data and quickly deactivate it again before Facebook becomes aware of it or someone reports the page.

There are plenty of excuses as to why the site only ever shows one competition and never presents a winner. In 2018, for example, there was “a misunderstanding in the Familienglück editorial team”, this year the winner simply didn’t come forward:

The fake competition
The fake competition

The point alone - participants must share the post in order to take part in the competition - violates Facebook's guidelines (Promotions section) .

Let’s take a closer look at the competition!

[mk_ad]

Analysis of this competition

Page info
You will often find no address or telephone number in the info on such sites. If the addresses are specified, you can use Google Maps to check whether they even exist and whether, for example, there really is a car dealership there or whether it is a residential area.

In the case of “Family Happiness” there is no information about the organizer:

No information about the organizer
No information about the organizer

Don’t be fooled: There is no “Family Award Berlin 2019”!

Message via Messenger
If you comment under the post, you will be redirected via a link in Messenger to an external page where you should enter your data. These links vary, for example in 2019 you ended up on a fake Primark page, claiming you had won a €200 voucher... wasn't it just about a playhouse?

The fake competition is a data collector trap!

In this case, the site operator only uses the competition to lead participants to a partner program that has absolutely nothing to do with the actual competition.

You can find out more about affiliate programs and what these competitions are for under Why there are fake competitions .

Known method: Dive – emerge

Other fake competition sites also quickly deactivate themselves, sometimes rename themselves, and then reappear with a new competition. Here's a nice example from Messenger:

Flitzer becomes Kruse
Flitzer becomes Kruse

In September 2019, the fake competition was organized by “Autohaus Flitzer”. The page was then deactivated and now surprisingly reappears as “Autohaus Kruse”.

[mk_ad]

Our checklist for dubious competitions on Facebook:

  • Users are forced to “like” and “share”.
  • there is no (credible) imprint
  • no conditions of participation
  • no contact option
  • no correct company available
  • Page has only existed for a very short time
  • No winners will be announced
  • Prizes are provided by sponsors who “do not wish to be named”
  • The prizes are advertised with copied images from the Internet
  • For (apparently) well-known companies, look for the blue verification check mark often present behind the page name in the cover image

So once again it's about trading your private data!

What most people don't realize here is that this is about YOUR DATA. In other words, your data is fed into a database and the respective participant can then access a number of ADVERTISING EMAILS, ADVERTISING CALLS and much more. " be happy "

But not only that!

In most cases, such user data is also sold. Such a data set can then earn the seller a few euros.

… data collector and lead generator

We have often found EXACTLY THIS method, just with other vouchers as a lure. In addition to Proleagion, other lead generators also collect data using the same method - much to the annoyance of the companies used as decoys. So far we have mostly noticed Proleagion, adpublisher, red lemon media GmbH, Lead Spot Media, 7sections GmbH and Planet49.

KEEP AWAY FROM COMPETITIONS like this! Nobody has anything to give away.


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )