How to Recognize a Sweepstakes Scam

Unfortunately sweepstakes scams are abundant. They are pushed to us via email and regular mail, as well as by telephone. It may seem hard to determine which sweepstakes are legitimate and which are trying to scam you. Using some caution and paying attention to detail will help you weed out the bad ones. Here are some steps to help you know what to look for when dealing with sweepstakes.

Instructions

1. Never pay to win a sweepstakes. No sweepstakes that you win will ever ask you to pay any fees. If a letter or email is telling you to pay to receive your prize, this is a huge red flag that the sweepstakes is a scam. Report it to your internet provider or local postmaster.

2. Do not believe you've won a sweepstakes that you haven't entered. You have to actually enter a sweepstakes to win it. Be cautious when dealing with a company you've never heard of. Keep a list of any sweepstakes you enter so you can refer to it should this situation ever arise.

3. Do not cash any checks you receive in the mail. Any sweepstakes that you win will require a signed affidavit before delivering the prize. Not only is the check you received a fraud, but you can actually be held responsible for cashing it. Consequences can include fines, loss of accounts and even jail. Any random check you receive for a sweepstakes without being notified first should be shredded and thrown away.

4. Never believe you've won a lottery for which you've never bought a ticket. All lotteries require a winning ticket to be claimed. This type of scam show up in email in-boxes quite a bit. Often, when you attempt to collect, you will find that you are required to pay money, give account information, or even personal information. Never give this information.

5. Watch for emails telling you that you've won a sweepstakes that come from a free email address (Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, etc.). This should be a red flag for you and any prize that you are being told you've won should be verified.

6. Look for grammatical errors in your winning notification. Criminals are not always smart. These notifications that come through regular mail or even email that are loaded with errors are likely scams. These errors can be anything from spelling errors to misplaced punctuation. Steer clear of any notification that looks like this. Legitimate sweepstakes sponsors will take the time to have notifications proofread.

Tips & Warnings

• Do everything you can to verify sweepstakes. You will save yourself a lot of hassle later.

• Never deal with any sweepstakes that asks you to wire money, give account information or pay ahead of time. These are the worst type of sweepstakes scams and can cause you a lot of trouble.