WHEN AN INSTANT WIN ISN'T A WIN AT ALL

Ever get a pop up while browsing the world wide web that declares “Congratulations, you are our 999999th visitor and you have won” ?

It happens all of the time – and quite often it is easy to spot this scam, but sometimes they pop up while you are on a popular site, with a reputable company claiming you have won the prize – in this case it can be hard to tell – and with the temptation of a new iPad, or Laptop – some will find themselves tempted to provide their personal information, just in case.

It happened just the other day to my brother.  He didn’t want to use the internet search engine that was on the computer – so he searched “Google” so he could use his favorite search engine.  What he didn’t notice is that he had made a typo – instead of searching Google, he typed in Goggle, with 2 g’s instead of 2 o’s. Well he was asked to complete a survey and in exchange for completing that survey, he would be rewarded with either a laptop, iPad or digital camera.  So he completed the survey.

After completing the survey, he excitedly called me into his office.

My Brother: I just won an iPad, Laptop, or Camera!

Me: No you didn’t.

My Brother: Yes I did! Look it’s from Google – I was selected to complete a survey, and now I get to pick my prize.

Me: No! It’s a scam! Do NOT fill out any of your personal information!

He already had.  They wanted his cell phone number to contact him for his prize.  I was highly skeptical, but since he was so excited, I just sat down and watched as he tried to pick his prize.  It was then that I noticed the typo.  I pointed out that this was not Google – it was Goggle.  His dreams of winning a free I pad were crushed.  We continued on to read all of the fine print.  We noticed that they wanted your cell phone number to send you text messages, and you would be billed $5 for each message, it would be added right to your bill.  He quickly unsubscribed from the service, so thankfully no harm was done, but who knows how many text messages he would have received before he got the bill?

My brother is a bright man, he runs a successful company, he reads contracts all of the time.  I was really surprised when I learned that he was duped into believing he had won from a scam like this.  The truth is, scams like this have come a long way from the neon flashing banners that say you have won.  They are much more polished looking, and can pop up on any page – so be aware!

A few simple steps to remember:

-Did you enter a contest? If not, then you didn’t win.
-Are you being asked for personal information?  You will never, ever need to provide anyone with sensitive information such as: banking, credit cards, cell phone numbers – they will simply need your address to ship you your prize, and possibly a phone number – but it will not have to be a cell phone number.
-Are you being asked to solve a mathematical question? Here in Nigeria or anywhere else, nobody will declare you a winner before you answer a simple math question.  You will be declared a “potential winner” until you solve the question.
Even the most skeptical people can fall into these traps.  A person could easily rationalize that a large company couldn’t be involved in a scam, or that it is simply their lucky day. Remember, if it is too good to be true, then it is too good to be true!