cheaters buy facebook likes

Okay, these competition cheaters are not to be confused with cougars. Competition cheaters are the small number of people who cheat when entering competitions.

Companies, agencies and promoters have a responsibility to ensure as level a playing field as possible for entrants, to ensure fairness for the entrants and to prevent brand damage.

More and more companies are utilising Facebook as a competitions mechanism, however they appear to be naive as to how these are easily rorted.
Most Facebook competitions are decided on who obtains the most ‘votes’.
Here are some ways the competition cheaters fix the odds in their favour. Hopefully promoters may take notice and stamp these practices out. One easy way would be to not run Facebook ‘Like’ competitions.

There are many websites set up for exchanging votes and are dedicated to people who have no relationship to each other, with participants joining from all over the world. They join with the sole purpose to exchange votes or Likes in competitions.

Some entrants are using ‘freelancer’ type websites to pay others to vote for their entries, like the example image above.

Where promoters state one entry per person and are tracking IP addresses (a unique number allocated to each internet connected device), entrants sometimes use various proxy servers and/or Virtual Private Networks (VPN), which allocate a different IP address to circumvent IP tracking.

Facebook entrants have been known to create multiple Facebook profiles to enable more votes to be allocated to their Facebook entry, where the highest number of Likes is the winner.

Referral competitions, where an entrant receives additional entries for each referred friend, are similar in that entrants can create as many new free email accounts as they wish, and they basically refer themselves, thereby obtaining multiple entries.

Barcode competitions are simply a waste of time as far as product purchase proof is concerned, as entrants can simply obtain a barcode after the competition closes if they are drawn as a winner.

One of the oldest tricks still being used is where a product purchase is required to enter a competition and a receipt is required to claim the prize. Cheating entrants enter without the receipt, then if the promoter asks for the receipt (they don’t always ask), the entrant is part of a receipt sharing group and obtains it. The other slant on the competition winner requiring a receipt is where the winner has bought the goods, however has no interest in the product, and returns the product with the receipt after the competition closes.

lottos.com.au has had a ‘no cheat’ policy standing prior to when most other websites even existed and has always encouraged our members to tell promoters to ask for receipts (where purchase is a condition of entry), at time of entry, not after announcing a winner, as shown in this post, from June 2004: http://www.lottos.com.au/competitions/viewthreadlite.php?tid=24284

lottos.com.au does have more competition winners, more often, through the encouragement of honest comping practices!

first competitions website to 100 000 members

The first competitions website to reach 100 000 members has just been achieved, with online competitions website www.lottos.com.au announcing the milestone.

Launched in 2000, lottos.com.au founder Andrew Lindner has seen seen the growth and transition of competitions into the Internet space, commenting, “Promotions are a $5 billion a year industry in Australia. When lottos launched, most competitions were entered via paper entry forms, however the vast majority of competitions are now entered online.”

lottos.com.au provides details of over 1700 competitions with a total prize pool running in the millions of dollars. According to Lindner, “Competitions are massively popular in Australia. In the past 12 months, over 75% of Australian consumers have purchased a product because of a promotional offer and we list all the competitions that we’re aware of. An individual may find perhaps five by themselves, but as an online community our members find and list thousands each year.”

“Our income stream is not derived from promoting a small number of competitions. We do not have a website cluttered with advertising nor do we email advertising material on a daily basis. Being subscription based, our editorial focus is to not push individual campaigns from promoters ahead of other competitions. The $6 million in competition prize winnings last year by our members proves it’s a successful model for our members.”

Lindner added; “We have the expertise. Our members are made up of professional compers, who enter competitions full time, through to first time compers, with whom the seasoned members are only too willing to share tips. My background is in competitions, both as an entrant and with over ten years of running the website. We’re innovative, providing the first online competition tagging system in Australia for members and over 130 options on the way competitions can be listed or sorted.”

lottos.com.au has been featured numerous times on national current affairs programs through Channel Nine’s “A Current Affair” and Channel Seven’s “Today Tonight”, other TV shows, as well as in magazines and in the book, “How to Win Competitions” by Sherry Sjolander.

In terms of the future, Lindner is very optimistic. “Our first national meeting in Hobart in 2010 was well attended by members. In July 2011 we had our National meeting in Sydney, with attendance more than double that of Hobart. Members are enjoying 2011 with seven cars already won, along with numerous overseas holidays and other prizes. It’s still a thrill when I hear of our members wins, whether it’s a movie ticket or a car.”

number one in model search

There has been a surge in competitions on Facebook. Apart from the obvious popularity of Facebook, the reasons for this are mainly two-fold. Firstly, it’s relatively easy to set up a competition on Facebook. Secondly, if the competition asks you to Like the page, it’s viral – your Facebook friends may well notice the Like and check out the Facebook page and perhaps enter too.

However, Facebook competitions are largely unregulated – many or most do not have the relevant state competition trade permits and many use the Facebook Like button as a voting mechanism for a promotion, which is a breach of the Facebook Promotions Guidelines (Point 5).

lottos members have complained about the conduct of some promoters.

In this case (link), an issue where a words or less answer requirement was over the stated maximum of 25.

Another situation is where some Facebook competitions have stated the person with the most ‘Likes’ would win. An individual has the most Likes, another Facebook user complains to the promoter that the winner is a Comper and the winner is disqualified. What’s with that? The promoter was running a competition – obviously they are going to get entries from people that like entering comps!

Be aware that entering Facebook competitions can lead to disappointment. Even if the above scenarios do not affect you, you have another hurdle to overcome and that is the professional Like brigade, where Facebook groups and websites, usually international, have been set up specifically to trade Likes in competitions and sweepstakes between people that are not usually even known to each other.

Lucky Roland in the picture (left), is currently running at number one in the “Make me the Next Model” competition, thanks to the users of Football365 and Reddit when they posted links to his entry’s page on those websites.

Speaking of Facebook competitions, have you joined our Facebook competitions page yet?

For more in-depth and frequent competition topics, along with thousands of regular competitions listed, visit the lottos competitions forum.

why people enter competitions

Why do people enter competitions? To win prizes of course! Well that’s the simple answer, but delve a little further and there could be more to it.

The challenge to try and win and then the thrill of winning prizes is a real buzz for entrants. Getting something for free or obtaining luxury items that people would normally not afford themselves can be another motivation as nothing beats winning a car or a holiday and even winning movie tickets is fun.

Some compers win prizes to then sell on the lottos prize exchange section or on eBay to supplement income. Others use prizes as gifts for family and friends which is handy at Christmas and birthdays.

Older entrants may enjoy exercising the brain with words or less type competitions. Wives and husbands sometimes share the common hobby of entering competitions and comp together.  The friendship aspect – as people share a common interest in “comping”, many compers meet up regularly in their home state and lottos had it’s first national meet up in Hobart in 2010, with plans confirmed for the second national meet up in Sydney in 2011.

A very small number of compers enter and win so many competitions that it’s lucrative enough to be their full time job. Entering competitions can be a low cost hobby with potential to win great prizes.

What motivates you to enter competitions?

For more in-depth and frequent competition topics, along with thousands of competitions listed, visit the lottos competitions forum.

win a car with extreme lengths

German man, Andreas Muller, 39, won himself a car competition – after having the word ‘MINI’ tattooed on to his privates. Muller responded to the RTL Radio’s competition, which posed the challenge to listeners: whoever pulled the craziest stunt to get the car would win.

Unsurprisingly, Muller’s offer to have the car manufacturer’s name branded on to his old fella topped the list of crazy suggestions and his stood out for the sheer ballsiness of it.

According to the competition’s organisers, Mr Muller’s suggestion to have the brand’s name inked on his member was the most extreme, giving him the keys to the £20,000 ($32,000) MINI Cooper when the deed was done. ‘There were a lot of crazy stunts put forward by listeners, but Andreas won by a short head,’ said one of the competition’s organisers.

Radio listeners were treated to Muller’s cries of agony while the unique piece of branding was created. Apparently Mr Muller’s screams, which were broadcast live on air, made listeners squirm a little, but he later admitted the pain was all worth it.

“Once I’m sitting in the car, it won’t matter anymore,” Mr Muller said. “Then the pain will be gone and it’ll be alright.”

The man was clearly desperate to get his hands on a MINI. It could have been worse, perhaps with a tattoo of “Mini Clubman S John Cooper Works”.  It has not been reported whether or not Mr Muller has a girlfriend.

Thankfully most competitions just involve entrants supplying their contact details if they are drawn as a winner.

One of the more bizarre things we’ve heard of in Australia to win a prize is where lottos member “Kelster200460″ had to roll down a hill in a ball naked.

What extremes have you gone to win a prize?

For more in-depth and frequent competition topics, along with thousands of competitions listed, visit the lottos competitions forum.

competition adverts in states where you cannot enter

No, competitions are not a waste of money. Entering competitions can be a very low expense hobby with the potential of great rewards in the form of prizes.

However, money is being wasted on some advertising competition campaigns, with some promoters and companies burning advertising dollars on markets that don’t exist. As an example, Origin Energy have a competition currently running which is open to residents of NSW, VIC, SA and QLD. Residents of other states may have noticed advertising for the Origin Energy “Sustainability Drive” competition via various online media in other states. The image grab above, where The Mercury (Hobart, Tasmania newspaper) online has been featuring banner adverts which in small print claim “Open to NSW, VIC, SA and QLD residents”.

This is where the waste of money headline comes into play – advertising in states where entrants cannot enter. This is a clear waste of advertising dollars that could be spent on providing more prizes! Another issue is that some potential entrants may not notice the small print and enter anyway, then find they are ineligible which could lead to brand damage. Their competition website also has a contact form that states “…fill out this form and we’ll be in contact with you within 48 hours”.  Having used that form with no email response sent back, they are probably better served if there was no contact form.

Wouldn’t you, the comper, rather the money wasted on advertising to ineligible entrants be spent on more prizes?

For more in-depth and frequent competition topics, along with thousands of competitions listed, visit the lottos competitions forum.

holiday in a war zone?

Holiday competitions are one of the most desired prizes by compers, with cars being the most wanted prize (as competitions to win a house are rare). In most cases, winners of holidays have a fantastic time, even more so as usually airfares and accommodation are paid for. Sometimes, however, the promoters cannot predict what could and can go wrong. Lonely Planet Magazine recently ran a competition with part of the holiday prize including an “overland adventure” to Libya.

Reports indicate that recently 1,000 people have been killed in clashes between rebels and Colonel Gaddafi’s troops.

Lonely Planet promised the lucky winner: “Your journey starts in Tripoli, Libya’s busy capital, before visiting the Sabratha ruins, and then on to the city of Leptis Magna.

Returning to the Libyan Mediterranean coast, you’ll have a chance to explore the Greek ruins at Cyrene and Apollonia, and the Tobruk war cemeteries before crossing the border into Egypt.

Once in Egypt, you’ll also visit the battleground of El Alamein and have two nights to explore Alexandria before ending your trip with a tour of the Pyramids of Giza and the mighty Sphinx.”

Would you knowingly travel to or have unintentionally travelled to a known ‘hot spot’?

For more in-depth and frequent competition topics, along with thousands of competitions listed, visit the lottos competitions forum.