• A second laptop for free, the vacation of a lifetime in Zanzibar, USD 6,000 per day?
• Be careful, offers that are too beautiful are mostly not true. Before you provide your data and pay, check carefully the seller and the terms and conditions of the contract.
• Visit konsument.edu.pl - find out if you get caught in the traps lurking on-line and learn what to check in a given situation and where to turn for help.

On the occasion of the World Consumer Day, i.e. on 15^th March, together with the ProPublika Foundation, we launched an interactive educational tool. The website konsument.edu.pl (only in Polish) is a virtual simulator of on-line threats lurking for consumers. The site resembles a social networking site where booby-trapped offers pop up among regular posts.

- By supporting the konsument.edu.pl portal, we wanted to develop a tool for promoting safe consumer behaviour and habits on-line. Thanks to the simulator everyone can see what tricks fraudsters or dishonest sellers use, go through the whole purchase procedure and learn the consequences of their actions. Each situation ends with a summary: advice on what and how to check before taking up the offer, and information on where to turn for help. I encourage you to learn through play on konsument.edu.pl, and also to use this tool for consumer education, e.g. in schools - Tomasz Chróstny, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, says.

Examples of offers - traps

• Buy 2 products for the price of ONE. Offer includes, i.a.,  ASIS PLAY Premium Gaming Notebook 1000 HF for PLN 5200. The vendor's website features only positive reviews, e.g. Bartosz, an executive in a large PR corporation ranks it with 5 stars: "I've been waiting for some super bargains because their equipment is top of the line. And I got it! My employees got the best deal, and I saved money for the company." Will you buy?
• Buy a bracelet and give the gift of life to someone. “For now I don't sell things made of wood, but if you're already here it's not a coincidence - you can do something good," writes Adam Sierszeń, the organizer of the charity fundraising, and pleads for help for his beloved daughter Yoko, whose life may be saved by a surgery in Germany. "I give Yoko love, but I cannot give her life. Yoko's life is in your hands. Each zloty counts," he pleads. In addition to the gripping story, the site features a video of the girl singing "Red Apple" and comments from Internet users who have already donated. Will you help too?
• Making money hassle-free and risk-free. Message from Łukasz Mięga: "I invite you to my elite RichNet team. If you want to earn really big money quickly without leaving home, watching advertising, writing posts and winning new prospects, go to: www.richnet.com/id37624. I already earn in this way! Let’s meet in a secure world of RichNet business." Are you in?
• Movies for free. Watchit website offer: “Watch your favourite series and films. 12 months for free.” Only blockbusters to choose from. You only need to set up a free account. Will you sign up?

These are only some of the situations presented on konsument.edu.pl. Go through the entire procedure – our simulator is fully safe (the data entered are not recorded or stored) - check where to look for catches are and when the red lamp should go on. Have fun and make smart consumer decisions in real life. Remember: I surf, I check...and then I BUY.

Consumer safe on-line is the theme of the activities we are conducting all week long to mark the World Consumer Day. Remember: surf, check... and only eventually - buy. Follow us on the @¦wiatowy Dzień Konsumenta profile on Facebook (until 19^th March from 12.00 , you can ask experts for an advice during video chats) and Twitter @UOKiKgovPL.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
Email: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer advocates – in your town or district

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL