Warning about trick Temu uses in South Africa that is banned in Switzerland
Temu is running video ads on social media platforms in South Africa claiming shoppers can get an iPhone 17 Pro Max for free, but the offer is not what it appears.
The ads feature actors who emphasise that the deal is real and urge viewers to click through to the Temu app to claim the offer.
MyBroadband tested the campaign from start to finish and found it to be nothing but a contrived scheme designed to trick customers into making a purchase.
Customers who click through are presented with a spinning wheel which contains a grand prize that unlocks a “R0 flash grab” item.
The app lets customers spin the wheel three times, and it lands on the winning option every single time. Customers are then prompted to select an item to add to their “flash grab”.
The predetermined outcome is consistent with Temu promotions globally, where regulators have found the spin mechanic is designed to create a false sense of luck.
After claiming their “flash sale” items, which in our case included two iPhones, customers are told they must first purchase items worth at least R350 on the platform to unlock the flash grab.
Only after completing this purchase are they told they must return to the “flash grab” screen at a specific date and time to claim their item.
Temu states at this point that there is only one iPhone per flash grab slot available, and thousands of people waiting in line for it.
In our case, we were told to return to the Temu app on a Sunday evening more than a week later to try and claim an iPhone.
Since our flash grab contained two iPhones, we tested two strategies: pressing the claim button the instant it became active, and spamming it beforehand.
Neither worked. MyBroadband asked Temu directly whether this was a scam and whether it could prove the phones went to real shoppers.
Temu’s response did not address either question directly. Instead, it offered a generic statement about the promotion being legitimate.
“We can confirm that this is an ongoing promotional campaign by Temu and that there are users who have successfully claimed the promotional rewards,” the company stated.
Although the company denied the promotion was a scam, it provided no evidence that phones were awarded to real customers.
Temu’s track record
The iPhone campaign follows a pattern of Temu promotions that promise high-value prizes but bury conditions in fine print and gamified interfaces.
Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) forced Temu to remove its spinning wheel mechanic entirely in 2025, calling it a manipulative design element intended to trigger impulse purchases.
SECO also required Temu to strip out psychologically manipulative messages such as fake scarcity alerts and to overhaul how it advertised discounts.
“For discounts or price comparisons: the crossed-out reference price must be the product price on Temu immediately before the price reduction,” the Swiss regulator stated.
Temu may no longer use reference prices, manufacturer-suggested retail prices, or other methods of calculating a product’s discount that were previously allowed under Swiss regulations.
Poland’s competition authority fined Temu for misleading discount advertisements, accusing the platform of inflating reference prices to exaggerate the appearance of savings.
Notes from Poland reported in January that the regulator fined Temu close to 6 million zloty (R27 million) for giving misleading information on discounts.
In September 2025, the US Federal Trade Commission announced a $2 million (R31.8 million) settlement with Temu to resolve allegations that it violated the INFORM Consumers Act.
Temu was accused of failing to provide consumers with the required information and tools to help them avoid and report stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe goods while shopping online.
In July 2025, the European Commission issued preliminary findings that Temu may have breached the Digital Services Act, with potential fines of up to 6% of global turnover.
In May 2025, South Korea fined the platform roughly 1.39 billion won (R15.6 million) over undisclosed cross-border data transfers.
Temu under fire in South Africa
Temu already faces a formal investigation by the National Consumer Commission (NCC) in South Africa, announced in November 2025 alongside a parallel probe into rival Shein.
The investigation will probe the companies’ marketing operations, product safety, and the accuracy of their digital market representations.
“We intend to go into that space and test their compliance fully with the Consumer Protection Act,” said Prudence Moilwa, head of complaints and investigations at the NCC.
“As a commission, we are signalling to the e-commerce space to say that commission is here to hold you accountable.”
If found in violation, Temu faces administrative penalties of up to R1 million — or 10% of its annual South African turnover, whichever is greater.
The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has separately confirmed that false claims designed to lure consumers into purchases are classic breaches of the ARB Code in South Africa.
This was in relation to a separate MyBroadband investigation, which found that Temu was sending users notifications for fake orders to lure them into buying products on its mobile app.
ARB CEO Gail Shimmel said that although the ARB had not received complaints from other users about that particular issue, it had received reports about other allegedly misleading ads.
However, it had not issued any adverse rulings regarding Temu’s advertisements, in part because the company was willing to engage and rectify issues.
In 2025, the ARB handled four Temu complaints. One was resolved between the complainant and Temu, while Temu fixed another.
Screenshots of the Temu “Flash Grab” event
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