4 Signs Of A Sweepstakes Fraud

There are thousands of contests and sweepstakes taking place each day. The vast majority of them are legitimate and abide by laws and regulations. There are real winners, you can even request a winners list be mailed to you. How do you know if a sweepstakes or contest is a fraud?

Don't be scared to participate in contests and sweepstakes but at the same time, be smart about it. Take time to read contest information carefully, including the rules in fine print. There are red flags that you can be alert for to detect a scam. What are the four signs of a scam?

1) You Are Already A Winner!
When you receive a notification in the mail, on the telephone or via email that you have already been declared a winner of a contest, it is probably a scam. Common examples of this scheme include email alerts that you have won the lottery and postcards that you have won a free resort vacation or cruise. If you did not enter a contest, how could you possibly be a winner? Ignore these communications.

2) Payment Required For Prize
Fraudulent contests will require you to pay a fee, usually disguised as a "handling fee" or "convenience charge". It may be a small amount like $10 or $15 and you might not think twice about it, but watch out. This is just a trick to get you to give up your credit card information and once the crooks have it you will likely have more charges on your account within hours. Never pay money out of your pocket to claim a prize. Even popular sweepstakes like Publishers Clearing House clearly denotes in their mailers that no purchase is necessary to enter.

3) You Receive A Check
Most people can't tell the difference between a real and counterfeit check. The scam works like this: The scam artist will contact you that they have won a cash prize in another country and offer to share the winnings with you if you agree to deposit the check in your account and then wire them their share of the winnings. After a few days the check will bounce, but the wire you sent is not reversible and you are left with nothing.

4) Bank Or Credit Card Info Required
Wouldn't it be convenient to receive your contest winnings via direct deposit to your bank account? Con artists swindle people out of their private bank account information with this easy gag. Never give a stranger your banking or credit card information. Legitimate sweepstakes will pay out via check after you have signed legal paperwork agreeing to pay the taxes and all other details have been disclosed to you.