last sunday when my boyfriend and i came to Manila Ocean Park we were asked by one of the exhibitors there to fill out a raffle entry for free. the prize? free hotel and beach resort accommodation for 3days and 2nights! Since it was free and all i had to do was fill out a small form, i did it hehe
then yesterday, i was surprised to receive this text message from an unknown number:
- Sender: +639198504651
- Msg: GOOD DAY! This is from the office PUERTO DEL SOL BEACH RESORT & HOTEL. Pls. Call today, ASAP at (02) 6362883/6361860& look for MS. APRIL NACIS. This is w/ regards to your participation at (MANILA OCEAN PARK) Your name has been selected as one of our recipient entitle to have gift certificate of 3days & 2nights free hotel and beach resort accommodation. Not only in our very owned resort PUERTO DEL SOL but you can also choose among other 6 destination either BOHOL, BORACAY, CAMSUR, CEBU, DAVAO, PALAWAN. The choice is yours & valid for 1year upon claiming, if interested to redeem, CALL us NOW ASAP.3796612
I was excited at first, who wouldn't be? 3days and 2nights free accommodation at awesome places in the country? i admit i was hell excited! but looking back at my scam pointers:
how to know if the service being offered is scam?
- if it's too good to be true, it is
- if you had to ask if it's scam, it is.
so before i bite the bait, i did my research and confirmed that it really is scam! based from other bloggers' experiences i gathered that... once you come to their office to claim your prize, they're gonna interrogate you and blah about your job, your salary range, your age blah blah blah and offer you a timeshare (you becoming some sort of a stockholder of their company), only then will they give you the prize in full. but if you decline, they're going to ask for a Php 5,000.00 deposit (which will be refunded after your visit) for the gift certificate they'll give you which is consumable within 30-days ONLY. sucks right?
so there, you have been warned.
shortly after my research, someone from the bogus company called and informed me about my luck! she explained everything about the prize and started asking a few questions too, also inviting me to their office... i just nodded on the phone like "uhuh, uhuh, yup, yup, uhuh.." then i cut her in and said, "excuse me, i did quite a bit of research and found out you're scamming me. sorry but i can't push through with your offer." and she said, "aaah okay." and the call ended. not even a slightest bit of defense. she like totally acknowledged my findings that she's a scammer and just put the phone down. i pity these people. nakakainis lang. why would people want to work for a company that deceives people? where's the dignity there. hay buhay.
if you guys really want that 3days 2nights vacation, just pipe in at www.metrodeal.com hahaha so many cheap vacays! my boyfriend and i got our discounted Manila Ocean Park tickets there >:D