Sweepstakes Scams & Safety

How to Protect Yourself From Sweepstakes Scams

So just how do you tell a legitimate sweepstakes from a sweepstakes scam? How do you protect yourself from getting scammed into entering a sweepstakes that is not legitimate? To protect yourself from a scam sweepstakes, you should be an informed person who reads the official rules that come with every legitimate sweepstakes and also make sure you understand what those rules mean.

While most contests and sweepstakes offer entrants a real chance of winning great prizes, there are also some con men that prey on the hopes of winning. It’s important to recognize the signs of sweepstakes fraud in order to protect yourself from falling victim to a scam.

Key Things That Tell You a Sweepstakes Is a Scam:

• They want you to pay to enter.
• They want you to pay for shipping the prize.
• They call you and say you won, but they don’t know your name or address. They want you to provide that information.
• They call you and don’t give you the exact name of the sweepstakes.
• They use words and phrases like “claim your prize,” “you have been approved to receive,” “you have been awarded,” “To file and claim your winning, please contact …” and other, similar wording.
• They do not tell you what they will do with the information you put in the entry form, or they may say in legal jargon that you give them permission to sell your information to third-party companies (as in the case of Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes).
• There are a lot of misspellings in the e-mails you get from them, and the e-mails come from another country.

Key Things That Tell You a Sweepstakes Is Legitimate:

• The sweepstakes has a sponsor.
• The sweepstakes may have a judging agency that officiates over the sweepstakes. This is not always the case, but in large companies a judging agency may run the sweepstakes and the drawing, and send out the winning notifications and prizes.
• The sweepstakes has official rules.
• They tell you what they will do with your information (privacy policy).
• When they contact you, they will know your name, address, e-mail address and whatever else you put into the entry form.
• They will let you know the exact name of the sweepstakes you entered, and usually you will remember entering it.

While there may be fake or scam sweepstakes on the Web, run by people ready to take down your information and use it for their own good, there are also legitimate sweepstakes that may also be slightly shady. These sweepstakes do have official rules and a privacy policy, and give out legitimate prizes. However, they may bundle “offers” into the entry form, and without knowing it you might just sign up for something you will be paying for. But if you pay attention to the entry form and make sure to opt out of anything that has a check mark next to it that is not necessary, and also make sure to never give out your credit card information, there is no way you can be charged.

Another important thing to do is to sign up for a separate e-mail account just for entering sweepstakes.

The best way to protect yourself from sweepstakes scams is to read the official rules and anything else you find on the site you are entering. If your “gut” tells you something isn’t quite right, then don’t enter it. There are literally thousands of legitimate sweepstakes going on at all times, so there is no reason to enter something that could cause you trouble at some point.

It is very difficult for law enforcement agencies to pinpoint sweepstakes scammers and prevent them from targeting other victims. By reporting scams to the proper authorities, you can provide them with vital information that might stop someone else from losing their life savings.