The Better Business Bureau serving Vancouver Island is warning local businesses to be aware of scams related to business awards and vanity award opportunities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always an ego boost to receive a notice that you or your company has won an award鈥� Rosalind Scott, president and CEO of the BBB, said in a statement. 鈥淗owever, if that award requires you to pay a fee to claim it, make sure you check out all the details before sending money.鈥�
She said the BBB has received calls recently from local businesses informing them they have been contacted by scammers pretending to be a representative of a legitimate organization, that has recently hosted a business award event. The business award nominee has been then asked to pay a fee to receive their award.
鈥淚n the cases reported to us, the reality is that the representative calling and/or emailing is not actually associated in any way with the awards event.鈥�
While there are many legitimate and competitive awards out there (even ones you鈥檝e never heard of), there are also a lot of 鈥渧anity awards.鈥� These are available in virtually every industry and for every profession. For some, you fill out a form and pay a fee to enter the 鈥渃ompetition.鈥� With others, you are notified that you鈥檝e won and directed to a place where you can order plaques or trophies. These awards may sound good but are not particularly prestigious. The more winners there are, the less respected the award becomes.
The BBB said the scheme typically targets business owners through email campaigns. The email will congratulate the owner on his or her selection for the Best of [insert city name] Award and invite the contact to follow a link to a website listing further details on how to claim the prize.聽
Among the instructions on how to claim the honour and receive a plaque or trophy, a one-time fee will be listed ranging from $100 to $200, sometimes with higher amounts if the owner would like a larger trophy or plaque.
BBB recommends the following tips聽before paying to receive an award:
鈥� Research the award.聽Check out the company鈥檚 BBB profile at聽to ensure that the offer is legitimate.
鈥� Ask specific questions.聽Learn everything you can about who is giving the award, where they are located, how long the award鈥檚 been in existence and how your business was selected as a winner. Organizations that offer legitimate awards will be willing to provide specific details on why your company was chosen.
鈥� Know the nomination process.聽Find out who nominated your business for the award. For privacy reasons, some nominators may wish to keep their personal information private, but the organization hosting the awards should be able to tell you if it was a consumer, supplier or another business that nominated you. If you didn鈥檛 apply for the award, or the organization cannot or will not tell you how you were nominated,聽chances are the award is not legitimate.
鈥� Check for payment requirements.聽Most legitimate awards do not come with a cost to the recipient to receive the award itself. There may be costs associated with travelling to or attending the awards ceremony, but it is unusual to have to pay in order to officially 鈥渨in鈥� or receive the award. If you are asked to pay a fee, scrutinize it closely. If there is a fee for winning or for receiving a certificate or plaque, it could be a scheme simply after your money.
To report a vanity award scheme, visit BBB Scam Tracker at聽
