The description in the title originates from a Swoggi.com victim, just one of scores of people who genuinely feel they got scammed by this self-described “online auction” operation.
Is Swoggi really a scam though?
By the looks of things, it certainly is.
Let us take a closer peek at it.
Why would one call Swoggi “almost legal” though?
If you take a look at one of the many consumer scam review portals, you will see people there calling on various authorities to shut this scheme down.
Indeed, some are absolutely outraged that even PayPal seems to play into the hands of these scammers, acting as their payment processor and lending them an aura of credibility at the same time.
This is quite a problem indeed.
There are victims out there who fell for the Swoggi scam because they thought it must be legitimate on account of PayPal’s support/involvement.
Why can we say with such a high degree of certainty that Swoggi is a scam indeed?
- The user (victim) feedback regarding the service is absolutely abysmal.
- The operation fits the mold of micro online auctions pushing a long- and well-known scam model, in every way.
- The Terms and Conditions section of the Swoggi site makes it clear that this is indeed a scam.
- The whole setup is the definition of “too good to be true.”
In regards to the actual auction process, it is worth knowing that:
- Every bid costs 50p.
- Bidders will NOT have the money spent while bidding refunded.
- Every bid increases the countdown timer (sometimes by as much as 3 min. per 1p bid).
- Towards the end of the auction, the timer begins counting longer “seconds” (sometimes as long as 3s ones).
- Sometimes, the clock counts up, not just down. Several people have noticed this “glitch.”
Knowing the above, it is clear why this setup can indeed be called a scam: no one ever tells the user that he will be spending 50p on every bid…
How does Swoggi.com work (how does it make its money?)
Swoggi.com uses a number of channels to draw unsuspecting victims to its glorious auction pages. Newspaper ads have been known to make the rounds in the UK, and there are a number of other domains that attempt to hype the operation.
One such domain is Moneyexpert360, which is an obvious attempt to cash in on the prestige of the MoneyExpert brand. As such, it is in and of itself a shining example of underhanded marketing practices on the part of the Swoggi scammers.
Once drawn to the page, potential users are invited to become members and to buy credits for bidding. Needless to say, money spent this way is seldom seen again.
According to the Swoggi T&C, clients requesting a withdrawal will have to pay £15-£30 as an “administrative fee.” If that is not abusive, nothing is…
Of course, most of the time, those duped by the scammers end up losing their whole deposit and not just the above said, generously-sized “administrative fee.”
Once in possession of the much-vaunted credits, users can begin bidding, paying 50p for every bid they make. This way, with scores of people pushing the bids up and the countdown timer up as well, something sold for £150 will generate revenues of thousands of pounds for the perpetrators.
Needless to say, winning anything is extremely difficult against such odds. People have reported seeing the same few users win most of the bids within a given time-frame, so there may indeed be some foul play involved on this level too.
The winner of the auction then has to pay the price of the product, before it is sent his/her way.
Those who fail to purchase their winnings within the set time-frame, fulfilling the required conditions (some of which are clearly abusive as well), forfeit the credits spent through the auction.
Those who win products the price of which exceeds a certain preset level, are required to provide a bonanza of sensitive personal information, which the operator then considers its property. As such, it reserves the right to sell said information to anyone, and to manipulate it any way it sees fit.
Why does PayPal seemingly aid and abet such a scam?
While it is clear that Swoggi.com is nothing more than a rudimentary roulette game, that awards its “prizes” quite randomly, it parades as an “online auction” site, akin perhaps to eBay and its peers.
While PayPal may take issue with providing payment processing for a gambling operation, it certainly has no such qualms about working with an online auction site.
What is infuriating about the setup is though that PayPal do not seem to be keen at all on running any additional checks on Swoggi, and on reading into the reputation of the operation a little.
Swoggi.com Review Conclusion
Based in Singapore, Swoggi.com is nothing more than a lousy (and at first glance: cheap) scam.
It continues to draw in victims and to make money at their expense, through lies and deceit.
Some may say it is not a genuine scam, but rather, a skillfully operated ruse. That is just being too lenient though. Let’s call a spade a spade, and Swoggi.com what it truly is: a scam.
Do not fall for positive reviews of this swindle, you may read here and there. The scammers have apparently paid some reviewers/bloggers to hype their scheme.
If you deposit any money with this site, the odds are overwhelming that you won’t ever see it again and you may as well forget about getting your hands on that dirt-cheap iPad.