Geo Holidays (aka Fairfield Affiliate) - my experience

I just received a call from "Fairfield Vacations" tonight (in
Toronto), and right away my scam alarm bells started going off.
Because the person claimed I had won a vacation by filling out a
contest card at a hotel, I left open the possiblility that it was
legit so I played along. But by the end of the second call, I was
convinced it was a scam. Luckily my wife is equally suspicious -
perhaps more so than me, so we're not really their dream customers.
Then I did a quick search on the Web and found this thread which
confirmed (and added to) our worst fears.

Anyway, I thought it worth providing a list of red flags that came up
in the conversation with the agent which will hopefully help someone
else who may have a less-developed sense of scepticism:

--What is your wife's name? (obviously not information necessary to
win a prize; I refused to give her name or even an initial.)

--We must confirm that you make at least $47,000 per year. (Again,
this is totally irrelevant to winning a prize. I pressed the agent on
that point, and he weaseled his way around, saying "more or less". But
when I then asked if "less" was okay then, he said no, only "more". So
I told him that I make "much much more" - an absolute lie by the way
told just to play along)

--You and your wife must attend (this is a dead giveaway that it's a
sales pitch. They insist upon this because they only need to convince
one of you, and you won't be able to make an excuse like "I need to go
home and ask my wife")

--No kids allowed. (Crazy rule: definitely not related to picking up a
contest winning - which in any case could be easily mailed)

--Is 7pm good for you? (contest winnings do not need to be scheduled
by the hour)

By the way, although I asked several times, both men I talked to
insisted that there would be not sales pitch involved (so they're
already guilty of false advertising), although one of the men did
allow that there would be movies shown of the vacation spots - another
red flag for sure.

Funny ending: I agreed to go and accepted a confirmation number, but
in the end, neither one told me the address of the place I was to go.
Ha!

So please, don't fall for this scam. Go only if you're sure you know
what you're getting into - they don't tell you on the phone based on
what I've read here. Feel free to waste their time like I did tonight,
it means fewer suckers getting scammed. And never give out personal
information to any stranger over the phone: that's just crazy. I'm
sure my wife would never have forgiven me if she heard me spelling out
her name to a telemarketer.

Good luck with this and all other con games
-sezme

I just received a call from "Fairfield Vacations" tonight (in
Toronto), and right away my scam alarm bells started going off.
Because the person claimed I had won a vacation by filling out a
contest card at a hotel, I left open the possiblility that it was
legit so I played along. But by the end of the second call, I was
convinced it was a scam. Luckily my wife is equally suspicious -
perhaps more so than me, so we're not really their dream customers.
Then I did a quick search on the Web and found this thread which
confirmed (and added to) our worst fears.

Anyway, I thought it worth providing a list of red flags that came up
in the conversation with the agent which will hopefully help someone
else who may have a less-developed sense of scepticism:

--What is your wife's name? (obviously not information necessary to
win a prize; I refused to give her name or even an initial.)

--We must confirm that you make at least $47,000 per year. (Again,
this is totally irrelevant to winning a prize. I pressed the agent on
that point, and he weaseled his way around, saying "more or less". But
when I then asked if "less" was okay then, he said no, only "more". So
I told him that I make "much much more" - an absolute lie by the way
told just to play along)

--You and your wife must attend (this is a dead giveaway that it's a
sales pitch. They insist upon this because they only need to convince
one of you, and you won't be able to make an excuse like "I need to go
home and ask my wife")

--No kids allowed. (Crazy rule: definitely not related to picking up a
contest winning - which in any case could be easily mailed)

--Is 7pm good for you? (contest winnings do not need to be scheduled
by the hour)

By the way, although I asked several times, both men I talked to
insisted that there would be not sales pitch involved (so they're
already guilty of false advertising), although one of the men did
allow that there would be movies shown of the vacation spots - another
red flag for sure.

Funny ending: I agreed to go and accepted a confirmation number, but
in the end, neither one told me the address of the place I was to go.
Ha!

So please, don't fall for this scam. Go only if you're sure you know
what you're getting into - they don't tell you on the phone based on
what I've read here. Feel free to waste their time like I did tonight,
it means fewer suckers getting scammed. And never give out personal
information to any stranger over the phone: that's just crazy. I'm
sure my wife would never have forgiven me if she heard me spelling out
her name to a telemarketer.

Good luck with this and all other con games
-sezme