Possible Phishing Scam/Fraud Sprouting in Pinoy Tech Communities

Watch out for promogirl's, occasionally called pornogirl, "contests". Expect them to pop out on most online Filipino communities, the first three are tech-related. I have this gut feeling that it's just a scam. TipidPC Thread PC Tipid Thread PinoyPC Thread The "prices" are USB to IDE adapters and threads entitled "Sino may gustong manalo ng FREE tech stuffs taas ang kamay!". There have been various reasons for the "promo". Here's a quote from Cottonfields of PC Tipid

I have a hunch in the back of my head about this. Sometime ago, I have a friend, a hacker, that purchased computer peripherals on online store such as newegg.com using hacked accounts. Then guess what he did for it to be delivered to the philippines? Ingat lang. We don't know her/him in person. We are not certain about the legality of this game/promo.

And one from SIKYA of TipidPC who "won" and claims to have recieved his price.

this is no scam guys. this is inline with promogirl's upcoming computer store. be ready co'z as i've heared, there will be more contest to come in the following days. Be glad that there are still persons here who is giving out free items like this just to have some fun and at the same time promote themselves here in our communit, not just to be notice but to be respected.

But there really is no straight answer. The questions to the quiz-type contests are pictures of motherboards with the logos blurred out. Whoever gets to give the model of the board wins. After that, the "winner" will be asked for their home address. Looking at SIKYA's profile, it seems authentic since he does have comments and has been a member since May 7, 2005. So, scam or some generous attention whore?

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