When Bob Bacon received notice recently about being selected as the “Winner for the 2022 Best of Manhattan Awards,” he got that tingly feeling you get when you sense a trick play coming on the go board. Although the stated purpose of the award was “to support and offer public recognition of the contributions of businesses and organizations in and around Manhattan,” Bacon was suspicious, since he’s a local organizer with the Triangle Go Group in North Carolina, some 500 miles from Manhattan. “Looks like a scam to tempt go players into buying a trophy,” says Bacon, who shared a link to You Won!!! How Small Businesses are Scammed into Purchasing Awards. “The point of the scam is to get businesses to buy an award, which is ultimately worthless,” the site warns, adding that “If you didn’t apply for an award, or the group cannot tell you how you were nominated, chances are the award is not legitimate.” Number three on the list of warning signs is that most legitimate awards do not come with costs for the recipient; the Manhattan Awards email says “We just ask each Award recipient to pay the cost of their awards.” Forewarned is forearmed; don’t put yourself in atari!
