How to avoid Sweepstake Scams

Just quick and easy steps to take in order to avoid sweepstakes scams. I have been sent thousand dollar checks in the mail only to find out they were fraudulent. I want to share with you how to avoid these scams.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Your brain
• Good judgment
• A tight fist

1. This is so inportant to learn. Never fill out an online survey that promises you money for your time and effort. They add your email and home address to their database and never send you anything. The most that you may get is coupons for groceries and or cigaretts. It really doesn't pay for your time. They may say they will give you $5-$75 for some surveys, but what they neglect to tell you is you have to take so many. You can spend all day and never see a dime.
   
   What you'll end up doing is paying for their products using your credit card. They promise you rebates, meanwhile your credit card bill is sky high. Never fall for those. Most of the time the rebates are coupons offering dollar discounts for other items. I tried them and never received a cash rebate on anything.

2. Never sign up to be a secret shopper especially online. If you find an add in your local newspaper, those may be real. If they tell you to visit a website, 9 times out of 10, they will send you to do surveys first. You would want to have an actual interview with the employer because essentially, you are their employee. You need to punch a clock and get paid, not scammed.
   
   This is how secret shoppers get you. You sign up with them online and they will send you a check usually for about $3,000.00 and an assignment sheet. On your assignment sheet, you have to call them. They will tell you to deposit the check into your account and withdraw the amount of the check. On your assignment you'll have to spend a small amount at a couple of stores. You get to keep the items. The larger part has to be western union or money gram back to them.
   
   The trick is, you may go to jail for attempting to cash the check....

3. Check out all online surveys. If none of them are registered with the Better Business Bureau, have youtub accounts, or other references that can testify to their legitimacy, run as fast as you can. Most of them are not. They are scams. If there are 20 survey sites on the web, about 2 of them are legit. Do your homework. Check out www.ripoffreport.com and enter the sites information. If it is a scam, rip off report will have it. People are always posting scams there. You can google the sites name and add scam behind it and see what comes up. Read comments left by people on the sites you come across. Use your better judgment when deciding to do so. Ezine articles are a good way research any wedsite. Check out hubpage.com for any scams. There are plenty sites you can learn about scams.

4. Online surveys and secret shoppers applications is how sweepstakes get your information. They too will send you checks in the mail for thousands of dollars and request that you send them the larger portion so you gan get your grand prize. TOTALLY A SCAM....

Tips & Warnings

• When you read the letter, check out the people sending it and who you are supposed to contact. Most of them are two to three people listed in the letter.
• Always check for typo's, paper quality, and ink. Wet the paper and see if the ink runs.
• If you ever receieve a check in the mail that you didn't earn, its usually a fraud. This is how you can tell if the check is legal.
• 1- The check will come in an envelope without a return address.
• 2- The name of the bank is real but address won't match or wont be printed on the check.
• 3- The signature on the check will not match the executive mentioned in the letter that accompanied it.
• 4- There will be multiple addresses both on the letter and the check.
• 5- The addresses are usually from Canada and United States. If the letterhead says somewhere in the Central or Pacific with a Canadian location, its a fraud. The telephone number may be in Mountain Time and the address is completely different from the phone number, its a fraud. Google all the information including the names of the people and see what it tell you...

Resources

• Find fraudulent companies here

[Aprilshowers]

on 9/2/2009 Great work! 5 stars!