Possible fake contests

I recently read a post on here by someone who mentioned that not all the contest holders are being fully honest in their intentions. For instance, some might be masking their intentions of just finding domain names to sell later. I thought, no way. But then I came across a contest that seemed so vague, and their “business” covered about five completely unrelated areas. I haven’t seen many like that. Is this something that is happening on occasion? What strategies do you use to seek out and/or avoid these types of contests?

Can you tell us which contest this is, specifically. I can’t think of one right off the bat. That way, we can be watchful of our entries. Thank you!

I didn’t know if that would be appropriate.

Understandable. I have an idea of which one that could be. Thanks nevertheless!

No, No @tallcoolone! We can’t call out specific contests! It’s against the rules! I don’t want to see you or anyone else in trouble!

Still seeking useful replies, or did the post I read recently not speak the truth about people using SH to buy and sell domain names (with no business intentions whatsoever)?

I think that it absolutely does happen in some cases. I also think SH tries to root those out whose intentions as a contest goes along, don’t seem to be transparent.

That is part of the reason for the domain checker…so you can report entered names that get registered,and give others a heads up. I think after awhile you get a feeling for some.Contests that aren’t guaranteed,ones that want a name but no domain,are too vague about what they want and won’t answer questions, etc. Not saying that is always a red flag…as many legit contests fall into the above parameters…but some not so much at times.

It is impossible to keep 100% of the people who run contests be on the up and up…but I think overall SH has a pretty good record,and they take our concerns seriously.

But having names scooped is just part of the fallout of this at times.I’ve had it happen several times, as I know others have too.
If you have a super good name you worry might get scooped you can always register it yourself.

2 Likes