How to Find Out If a Sweepstakes Is Legitimate

There's nothing like the joy and excitement of winning a contest or sweepstakes. Unfortunately, not all sweepstakes are held with forthright intentions. As a result of entering an unscrupulous sweepstakes, you may become bombarded with spam e-mails, letters and unwanted phone calls from third-party vendors. Furthermore, there's no shortage of fraud occurrences where sweepstakes are concerned. However, there are precautions you can take to insulate yourself from would-be scam artists.

Instructions

Finding Out If a Sweepstakes Is Legitimate

1. Research the source of the sweepstakes. Most legitimate sweepstakes originate from reputable companies such as Wal-Mart, ESPN, Tylenol and General Mills, to name a few. However, there are cases when blog owners and small companies may use sweepstakes to increase traffic on their websites. These may be 100% legitimate sweepstakes opportunities, but you should definitely avoid sweepstakes that you feel unsure of. Every legitimate sweepstakes will indicate your odds of winning, value of prizes and how to find out who the winner is. Check for these three elements before filling out the sweepstakes form.

2. Read the details of the sweepstakes. Look for official rules and contact information for the company or individual sponsoring the sweepstakes. In some cases, a smaller company may not post rules for its sweepstakes, but usually lack of legally binding rules and regulations are a surefire way to tell a sweepstakes may not be legit.

3. Read the privacy policy. A legitimate sweepstakes should tell you exactly what it intends to do with your private information. The privacy policy is usually located at the bottom of your entry, just below the official rules of the sweepstakes, or on the company's website.

   Legitimate sweepstakes will not sell your information to third-party solicitors, and it should clearly state that your information will be used for the sole purpose of entering you into the sweepstakes. In certain cases, the sponsoring company may use your information to send you newsletters and other advertisements. If this is the case, you should be able to read about that in a clearly stated privacy policy.

4. Guard your cash and credit card information. It's illegal for a sweepstakes to require you to purchase anything as a condition of entry. In most instances, a "no purchase necessary" phrase should clearly be indicated on the company's website or entry form. You should never be asked to provide any credit or debit card information as a condition of entry in a sweepstakes. Avoid paying shipping and handling charges. This may be another indication that something isn't right.

5. Contact a company directly. There are a multitude of imposters who may use sweepstakes offerings that are similar to other more popular sweepstakes. To avoid fraud, be sure to contact the actual company to determine whether it is hosting a sweepstakes at the moment. Other sources at your disposal to check the legitimacy of a sweepstakes include contacting your state or local fraud protection agency, or the Better Business Bureau.

References

• Sweetie Sweeps
• Consumer Fraud Reporting
• Hypersweep

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Squidoo
• Fraud
• Stretcher