Philippines: Beware of Giveaway Contest Scams

There is a widespread scam operating in the Philippines in which a target receives a phone call or text message from a scammer telling the target that he/she has won a G-Shock watch in a contest or giveaway. The scammer may claim that the contest is from G-Central and may use a link to G-Central to show the supposed prize (although the page linked to will just be about new watches and not about any contest or giveaway). The scammer will ask for a payment (of around 500 pesos) to cover the shipping and processing. After making this payment, the target will actually receive a watch later, but it will be a cheap fake.

Please be aware that G-Central does not run any contests or giveaways, is not based in the Philippines, and is not associated with any retail stores in the Philippines. G-Central is strictly a fan and news website and does not sell or give away any products. Please ignore any calls or text messages that claim to be from G-Central or that use any links to G-Central, as well as any that do not mention G-Central but may be operating a similar type of scam. The Philippines is one of our top ten countries in terms of visitors, and we want everyone there to be aware of this. Many people have reported these scams to us, and we do not want anyone to be defrauded.