· Adventure · Money
Fake Deal Detector: free shopping game to spot fake discounts
-70%! Last chance! Spot the inflated prices, the hidden fees and the deals that are actually real.
What is Fake Deal Detector?
Twelve online offers, each with a price history, fees, a timer and reviews. Tag every one real or fake, then point out the tricks: inflated original prices, hidden fees, fake urgency and fake reviews.
Fake Deal Detector is a free smart-shopping game. Twelve online offers appear one by one, each with a sale price, a "before" price and its price history, delivery and fees, a timer or stock message, and reviews. Tag each one Real deal or Fake deal.
For a fake, point out the tricks behind it: an original price nobody ever paid, a fee that only shows up at checkout, a countdown that restarts every visit, or reviews that were copied, paid for or posted all at once. After each answer, every row is explained.
At a glance
- Category
- Adventure
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Play time
- 2–4 min
- Price
- Free, in your browser, sign-up optional
How to play
- Read the offer
- Price and price history, delivery and fees, timer and stock, reviews.
- Tag it
- Real deal or fake deal. A visible delivery fee or a sale with a real end date can be honest.
- Name the tricks
- For a fake, tap every row with a trick: inflated original, hidden fee, fake urgency, fake reviews.
- Score
- 1 point for the right tag and 1 for each trick found. A row marked by mistake takes one back. Every offer is explained.
Scoring
Each of the 12 offers scores 1 point for the right tag (Real deal or Fake deal) and 1 point for each trick you find on a fake: inflated original, hidden fee, fake urgency, fake reviews.
A row marked as a trick by mistake takes one point back, never below zero for that offer. A perfect run scores 24 to 30 depending on the offers dealt.
What it trains
- Price checking
- Comparing a "before" price with its real history.
- Reading the small print
- Finding the fees that only show up at checkout.
- Resisting pressure
- Telling a real deadline from a countdown that never ends, and honest reviews from fake ones.
Strategy and tips
- Check the price history
- A discount only counts if the "before" price was charged for a while.
- Look at the total
- Handling, service and resort fees can wipe out a discount. Compare final prices.
- Ignore the countdown
- A timer that resets, or "only 1 left" for weeks, is pressure, not information.
- Read the bad reviews
- Real products have some complaints. A wall of perfect, identical praise is a warning sign.
- Big can be real
- Clearance and last year's models can be genuinely cheap. Check, don't assume.
Why play Fake Deal Detector?
Shops know that a big red percentage and a ticking clock make people buy faster. Practising on made-up offers trains the reflex to check the history, the total and the reviews before paying.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fake Deal Detector free?
Yes. It is free and runs in your browser, with no download. Signing up is optional.
Are the shops and products real?
No. Every product, shop and price is made up to show common tricks.
Is every big discount fake?
No. Some offers in the game have large, genuine discounts, like clearance of last year's model.
How do I check a real price history?
Price-tracking sites and browser extensions show how a price changed over time. Look for a "before" price that lasted weeks, not days.