Fake giveaway entries: spot them, stop them.
Multiple entries, bots and typos skew every giveaway that runs on an entry form. This guide shows how to spot fake entries, what the usual measures really stop and how to verify entries without paying for SMS codes.
- Fake check to try
- Measures compared
- Verified without SMS costs
Christian Schätzlein, Founder and developer of Sendity
4 min read
Can you spot the fake entries?
Tap the suspicious entries, then reveal.
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Real Looks fine.
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Suspicious Same inbox as entry 1: Gmail ignores dots.
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Suspicious Plus alias, same inbox again.
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Suspicious Throwaway address at night.
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Suspicious Same minute, same pattern: a script.
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Suspicious Typo: if Tom wins, nothing arrives.
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Cannot tell Looks real. Whether it is really his address, no list can tell.
Sign-ups by message. No form, no code.
Sendity is a sign-up widget for your website. Instead of filling in a form, your visitors send one short message via WhatsApp or email. Sendity checks who it came from and hands your site the name and the confirmed phone number or email address.
See how Sendity works →-
One message instead of a form Visitors tap send in WhatsApp or their email app. Nothing to type, no confirmation email to click.
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Confirmed by the message itself The contact comes from the sender of the message, so typos and made-up addresses never reach your list.
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Pay per confirmed contact Start with 1,000 free credits, no credit card. After that, prepaid packages with no subscription.
A prize is an incentive to enter more often than allowed. A form that accepts whatever is typed makes it easy.
Multiple entries with address variants
Second inboxes, throwaway addresses, or the same Gmail address with dots or a plus sign. Everything lands in one inbox but counts several times in the form.
Bots and scripts
A form can be submitted automatically, a hundred times over, with made-up data. Typical signs are series seconds apart, often at night.
Someone else’s details and typos
Sometimes a person enters someone else’s address, sometimes they mistype their own. No list shows which; both only surface when the winner never answers.
What CAPTCHAs and duplicate checks achieve
A CAPTCHA slows simple bots, a duplicate check at the end finds address variants. Neither helps against second inboxes, other people’s details or typos.
What confirmation links and SMS codes achieve
Both check the contact. The link often lands in spam and many never click it. Each SMS code costs money even if nobody enters it, and attracts bots that trigger SMS to expensive numbers: SMS pumping.
Verifying in the other direction
With reverse OTP, your page shows a code and the participant sends it via WhatsApp or email. An entry only counts once that message has arrived, and you send nothing a bot could trigger.
A verified entry in ten seconds.
How an entry by reverse OTP works for your participants.
Tap to enter
No entry form: participants tap the button on your giveaway page, or scan a QR code on a computer.
Send the message
Only an account that really exists can send it. A typed address or a bot cannot.
The entry counts
Your site receives the name and verified contact and can count each number exactly once.
Classic protection or a verified entry?
What CAPTCHA, confirmation link and SMS code achieve together, and what entering by message changes.
| Aspect | Form with CAPTCHA, link or SMS code | With Sendity |
|---|---|---|
| Bots | A CAPTCHA slows simple bots | Every entry needs a real WhatsApp account or inbox |
| Multiple entries | Second inboxes and address variants get through | On WhatsApp, every entry needs its own number |
| Others’ details, typos | Only caught once the link or code is used | The contact comes from the sender itself |
| Costs | Every SMS sent costs, even without entry | Only verified entries cost |
| SMS pumping | Bots can trigger SMS to expensive numbers | Nothing is sent, so nothing can be triggered |
What verified entries change.
What happens when every entry is tied to a verified contact: at the draw and on your bill.
Each person counts once
On WhatsApp every entry needs its own number. Address variants and throwaway inboxes no longer multiply entries.
Winners who answer
The contact was verified at entry, so there are no typos or other people’s details. Your message reaches the winner.
No cost trap from bots
Sendity sends no messages, so bots cannot trigger SMS costs. You pay only for verified entries.
Live on your page in minutes.
Sendity runs as a compact widget on your page. Pick the path that fits your website.
Verification for giveaways: common questions.
What makes an entry “verified”?
The contact was checked at the moment of entry: the participant proved that the number or inbox is theirs. A typed form entry proves nothing of the kind.
What is reverse OTP?
The same short code, sent in the other direction. Your page shows the code and the participant sends it via WhatsApp or email. The sender of that message becomes the verified contact.
Can someone still enter twice with reverse OTP?
Only with another real account: another phone number registered with WhatsApp, or another inbox that can send signed mail. Most throwaway inboxes can only receive. A duplicate check before the draw is still worthwhile.
What about participants without WhatsApp?
They can send the code by email, or by SMS if you allow it. SMS works on every phone but is less secure because of SIM swaps and spoofable senders on some routes.
Does every giveaway need verification?
No. For a small prize, a CAPTCHA, email validation and a duplicate check are often enough. The more valuable the prize and the more you need to reach the winner, the more a verified contact pays off.
Keep reading.
Reviewed for accuracy in by Christian Schätzlein.
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