Anyone else been scammed?

[Erin Go Braugh]

I entered some sort of poetry contest in 6th grade. It was an online one that my teacher recomended. I won a third place prize. Oh goody. Of course, I wasn't the only one who won a third place prize. Also, I had to pay to get the trohpy that I had earned. They put my poetry in a book (so they say) and invited me to their convention at Disney World. None of this was being paid for. So now they feature my poetry in their books and I don't get shit for it. Just now, I got an e-mail saying I was nominated Poet of the Year. I keep sending these assholes e-mails saying " fuck -off" and all sorts of obscene, not-very-poetic-or-nice things. Anyone else had this problem?

[RhetoricalAbsurdity]

Yep, I did. Fortunately some of my lovelies over at FictionPress let me (and everyone there) know about the scam before they really got me. At that point all I had done was enter some poetry and whatnot. They sent me so much crap, inviting me to conventions, and with claims that "You've won a chance to win a MILLION DOLLARS!" Shit like that. I still get junk mail from them, but I'm quite thankful I didn't invest any money in it. Sorry to hear that you did, and hopefully this thread will save someone else from the scam.

[Paradox]

Yep, happened to me too. I don't remember if it was Disney Land where they wanted me to go, but it was in Orlando, or somewhere in Florida. And they wanted me to buy that big book of poetry by people who post on their site, which supposedly contained my poem as well. I just wanted to post my poem there, I didn't intend to enter in any contest, but they sent me a letter in the mail saying that I was selected I think as a semi-finalist, for some contest to win $10,000. But I had to buy to get to the convention! :lol: What a scam.

[Pawn Power]

Wow, don't be so quickly convinced. My sister almost got scamed into that but my mon was like "don't be stupid", but my sister would not listen. So my mom finally convinced her by writting an awful poem and entering it, guess what, she won!

[encephalon]

yeah, I fell for it when I was younger, though I didn't put up any money. Shortly after they kept sending me things saying "you've been nominated for ___" I realized it was a scam. Since I try to take writing semi-seriously, I'm still embarassed about that to this day, nearly ten years after being duped.

[Hate Is Art]

Jeezus, all you kids got scammed!! Your a dumb bunch. :D

[encephalon]

they play off of the (futile) hopes of kids that want to be poets of some sort, much like the lottery system plays off of the hopes of the poor and destitute. For anyone that wants to be some kind of writer, getting published is a big deal, and that is taken advantage of by parasitic companies like that.

Especially regarding kids, if they see an ad in some magazine saying "win ___ and get published," they don't consider that it might be a scam. Even most adults today trust that the media is honest--adverts and otherwise--even though they shouldn't. Frankly, kids should have every right to trust that advertisements, especially in reputable magazines (I once saw this ad in NEW SCIENTIST), are entirely honest.

Unfortunately, though they should have the right, they don't. I just hope that most kids aren't scammed enough to go to those conventions and stuff. Kids don't have a reason to doubt it until they actually buy into it.

Adults, on they other hand, do have a reason, if nothing more than experience alone. It's sad that more adults are scammed than kids. If they weren't, FOX news wouldn't exist.

I fell for it before it was a website, even. I can't imagine how many more people they get now.

[che's long lost daughter]

I joined in once too :cringes: I post my poetry there and several times I receive mails from them telling me that I made it to the semi-finals and inviting me to a convention which I have to pay for.

[Invader Zim]

Ok kids a lesson for life, you never win anything on the internet, and if it says you have, and then says "to claim your cash prize please call xyz", then its a scam, the phone call will cost a small fortune, guaranteed. If they ask you to send them a fee for entering a draw, or whatever, then its a scam.

In fact in life you never win anything, except on very very rare occasions, and the chanses are you will know that you have won. IE the lottery, you will see your numbers come up.

Practically everything else is a fraud, trying to take your money.

[canikickit]

MY name is Benjahman Nkupapa from Nigeria and I am a very wealthy man. Please give me your bank account information so that I can fill your account with money.

Thank you.

[encephalon]

MY name is Benjahman Nkupapa from Nigeria and I am a very wealthy man. Please give me your bank account information so that I can fill your account with money.

haha. I sometimes want to email those people back and ask them if anyone's ever fallen for their scam.

but seriously.. can you really blame kids for being innocent? They take the world completely at face value until they learn differently... and then they turn to communism.

[Hate Is Art]

Hey Benjahman Nkupapa, I PM'd you my bank account details. I expect the money in ASAP.

Oh and Enigma, I once claimed an emerald from one of those scratch card things :D :D

It was a shit emerald though, more like a very small piece of green glass.

I felt well cheated.

[RedAnarchist]

I sometimes email back, telling them to do something - usually along the lines of "leave the money by Xplace before X time on Thursday" :lol:

[NovelGentry]

Your a dumb bunch.

The proper word is "you're."

[encephalon]

The proper word is "you're."

hah.

[Hate Is Art]

Zing. :(

[Raisa]

Yeah they sent me letters too. But no one really had the money, and I knew it was all a bunch of shit to flatter me into buying things.
They wanted to have you pay alot of money to go to their disney world convention, and that is saying that only people with money like that are deserving to be a part of this which I found stupid and elitist. So even if my poetry was something special, it doesnt even matter, I wasnt down with that boozhie crap!

[captain anarchy]

ok my first published poem was published through them i supposedly am still in a contest for that same poem i get a cap load of junk mail saying come here for this and we will give this for $ and what not. i did get the book with my poem in it and it got here yesterday. thats all i payed for. i refuse to pay for an award i am supposedly being given. if a thing is being awarded to a person it should not have to be payed for by that person it should be payed for by the person awarding it to the other person. i only sent them the one poem and got anoid by them since i sent a poem to a different place that emailed me after that. it was nobelhouse publishing. they say they have an office in new york and france and the uk. they said they published it and the poem will be in a book that is estimated to be released in spring of this year. they have not sent any junk mail to me like poetry.com has. i have been reading the emails poetry.com sends me just to get a good laugh at how dumb they think a person is with expenses then i delete them. i am currently still working on my novel and looking for a writing contact for it.

[captain anarchy]

yeah those i am a wealth man and i want to fill your bank account with money i always emailt hem back saying i won't give that info but you can call me and tell me your identity then if i like you you can write me a check. they never email me again.

[Motorcycle_diAries]

Yea,,,i posted one of ma poems too, and i thought i won for real. I even would have sent them some money to get ma trophy,,,but then,,i was so damn Broke then.

Now thinkin of it,,,I'm glad i was broke. :)



--------------------------------
You took away all the oceans and all the room
You left me my shoe size- with bars around it
Where did it get you? Nowhere.
Youe left me my lips
And they shape words
Even in Silence.
Osip Mandelstam

[guerillablack]

Do they really count as a published poem?

[captain anarchy]

i think so and its copywrited to the poets name. at least the book i got with my poem in it says it is.

[ganja guevara]

I suspected it was a scam, so wrote the most dumb poem i could ('Cabbages' was its title if anyone can see it in their book), and it won and all sorts, i get invited to those silly conventions too. :lol:

[Anarchist Freedom]

Alot of my friends have been scammed into this shit too oh well what can ya do yah know?

[Invader Zim]

Originally posted by Anarchist [email protected] 25 2005, 04:34 PM
Alot of my friends have been scammed into this shit too oh well what can ya do yah know?
Wise up or lose your cash.