My answer is ‘Almost‘!

These sites (and there are plenty of copycats) appear to operate as eBay-type auctions, but they have several important unlike eBay, when the auction ends, it doesn’t!

These are not real, fair auctions like you’d expect – you bid in tiny increments, say a penny – but, every penny costs you around 60 cents (or equivalent local currency) and every bid costs money so the more bids, the more money the ‘house’ gets.

It’s obvious;y a huge money spinner – a few ordinary goods seem to be going for $5, when in reality they can be paid for many times over by the losing-but-paying other bidders.

This system and the interminable nature of these auctions (the clock gets reset every time a new bid is received) means that the end result is a lottery. This is a fact that these sites want very much to suppress as the legal rules change a great deal if this is the case, but the fact remains that any logical examination of the system points to a lottery or some other form of gambling.

I tried this out for a day, lost $50 and helped the profits of Swoopo incrementally. I’m sure there are plenty of people who have the time and money and persistence (and luck) to actually snag one of those HDTVs for $20, but they are very much in the minority.

My advice? Avoid these sites like the plague that they are – if you want to gamble, buy a lottery ticket or play online poker, just don’t waste your time and money on Swoopo!

All my troubles are over… I’ve won the Microsoft Lottery. But I wonder – Does Bill know?

A Votre Amaible Attention ,

 

Nous Avons Le Plaisir De Vous Annoncer Que Vous Etes L’un Des Heureux Gagnants De La Bill Gates Foundation Lotery For Internet Expansion In The World Dont Le Siège Social Ce Trouve à LONDRES. Une Loterie Portant Sur Les Adresses Email Des Internautes. La Valeur Totale En Jeu Est De 50.000 000 Millions d’Euros Et Votre Adresse a été Tiré Au Sort Par Sélection Informatique Lors De Notre Premier Tirage Annuel Effectué La Semaine Dernière Au Siége Mondial Sis A DETROIT. Vous Faites Donc Partis Des Heureux Gagnants Et Votre Gain Est De 100.000 Euros.

Pour Entrer En Possession De Votre Lot, Veuillez Adressez Exclusivement Par email Au siège Social De La Bill Gates Foundation Lottery for Internet Expansion In the world UN un Courrier Comportant :

Votre Nom, Prénoms, Adresse Complète, Numéro De Téléphone, Fax, email Ainsi Qu’une Copie De Votre Carte Nationale D’identité Ou Passeport. Apres Quoi Il Vous Sera Explique Comment Entre En Possession De Votre Lot. Recevez Encore Toutes Nos Félicitations.

Directrice des operations: Mme ISABELLE CHEVALIER Sec Coordinatrice Zonale: De M. Rudolf P. Coordinateur Zonal: Markhams De M. James Nkomo

Membre du conseil : Caro malandji

Garantissez les droits d’auteur Le © 1994-2006 BILL GATES FOUNDATION LOTERY

Tous droits réservés. Limites de service – directive 100860 8556 2548 9576 Mme ISABELLE CHEVALIER Directrice Des Opérations.

UK Broadcaster Channel 4 faces damaging allegations that the Richard And Judy show is systematically cheating viewers out of tens of thousands of pounds in a premium-rate phone quiz scam.

The phone in number goes up and thousands of people call in on a premium rate phone number, paying £1.00 ($2.00) to enter the competition. Within 7 minutes, the winners have already been chosen and their details sent on to the show. But then, a few minutes later, a second on-screen solicitation goes out and thousands more phone in, unaware that they have no chance of winning.

The daily competition makes a healthy profit of around £1 million/year. It will be nice to see them paying all that money back.

Not Cricket, Richard!

Update Feb 24 2007

Channel 4 was warned more than two years ago in a devastating email that the Richard And Judy phone-in competition was ‘unfair’, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The correspondence, which implicates the broadcaster in the scandal for the first time, was sent on September 15, 2004, by telephone service provider Eckoh after it won the contract to run the You Say, We Pay quiz.

read more | digg story

Here’s the latest example of this nasty scam preying,as usual, on those members of society with probably the least to lose. The US Government, as you may not be aware, makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

The following warning is on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website (http://travel.state.gov)

Please Note: There have been instances of fraudulent websites posing as official U.S. Government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. Government have sought money in order to “complete” lottery entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. The Department of State notifies successful Diversity Visa applicants by letter, and NOT by email. To learn more see the Department of State Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning. (more…)