Many people, especially the elderly and other vulnerable members of the community, fall victim to misleading advertisements and gimmicks that claim they "may already be a winner" or they have been "specially selected" to participate in an offer regarding a sweepstakes win, leading them to purchase items that they don't want or need in the hopes of raising their odds. A new bill in front of the California legislature, Bill SB 1400, is looking to crack down on these misleading statements and ensure that people understand that they don't have to make any purchases in order to participate in sweepstakes.

The bill proposes to ensure that people are not intentionally mislead to believe that they have higher chances of winning if they enter. Some of the restrictions would include:

• Advertisements could not say that people have been "specially selected" unless they are really part of a smaller pool of people with increased chances of winning. The "specially selected" group cannot be larger than 25% of the total number of entrants.
• If people are told that they have been "specially selected," they must be informed of how many other people are also part of that restricted group.
• Advertisers cannot state that this is the recipient's final notice, unless they have been contacted before, and unless the statements are accurate.
• Sweepstakes advertisements must include the full rules and the end date of the sweepstakes.
• Advertisements must make it very clear that no payment or purchase is required to win.
• Another important change that the law makes is that it prohibits sponsors from selling the names of their entrants without express permission. This could help stop "sucker lists" where people who fall prey to misleading advertisements are then deluged by other such scams, because their names and contact information were sold to people looking for easy targets.

In the wake of lawsuits against misleading practices by Publishers Clearing House, many states updated their sweepstakes laws, but California sweepstakes legislation has not been substantially changed since it was first introduced in 1998. Bill SB 1400 hopes to clarify misleading advertising practices to better protect people from sweepstakes scams. It has passed the California State Senate, and will go before the Assembly next month.

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Sara Lee's Score Big Bucks Instant Win Sweepstakes is a great one to enter if you haven't seen a win notice in a while, or if you're feeling like you'll never win a prize. This sweepstakes is giving away nearly 21,000 prizes. The lion's share of the prizes are small: 20,500 vouchers for a free loaf of bread. But it's still fun to be a winner, and free bread is always useful. An additional 300 winners will receive a gift card for $50 worth of sports gear, while 25 grand prize winners will receive $1,000 each. Several people have already reported winning prizes from this sweepstakes in the Contests Forum.

Aside from the tons of prizes, this sweepstakes also offers restricted entry which really ups the chances of winning for people who are eligible to enter - residents of the states of AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN TX, UT, VA, WA, WI & WY aged 14 and above. Enter daily until May 31, 2008 for your chance to win.

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Coca Cola and Universal Studios have teamed up to offer four families a free trip to Orlando, Florida in their 2008 Universal Resort Summer Sweepstakes. Each trip, which includes airfare, hotel, a VIP park tour, and Breakfast with the Simpsons, is worth nearly $4,000.

To enter, you must be a resident of the U.S. states of CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV, or DC aged 18 or above. Enter daily until the sweepstakes ends on July 31, 2008.

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One of my problems with winning cash is that there is a high chance that it will just be stowed in my bank account and eventually used to pay bills or frittered away on little stuff. If I win a big prize, I want it to go toward something amazing that I wouldn't treat myself to otherwise! That's why Smoothie King's Fun in the Sun Getaway Sweepstakes is so much fun. Instead of giving away cash, they're awarding four Visa gift cards, each worth $5,000. Visa gift cards can be used just like a credit card, but they can't simply be dropped into a checking account and forgotten. You could use them to buy a new home entertainment center, a fun family vacation, or anything else that you could buy. Nifty!

To enter, you must be a U.S. resident aged 18 or above. Enter daily until the sweepstakes ends on July 31, 2008 to raise your chances of winning.

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USA is offering entrants the chance to win a trip to their choice of three great vacation destinations in the USA Today - Pick a Trip Sweepstakes. When you register, you state whether you'd prefer to go to Miami, San Francisco, or New York. Three separate drawings will be held, one for each destination. The trip includes an $850 airfare voucher and a hotel stay. Because each person can enter only once, and can only enter for one of the three drawings, the odds might be better than average since you'll only have approximately 1/3 of the competition.

Entry is open to residents of the contiguous United States (void in AK, HI) aged 18 or above. Enter once per person before May 16, 2008.

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One of the ways that scam artists try to convince people to hand over sensitive information like their bank or credit card numbers, or even to write out a check to cover "fees" or "taxes," is by masquerading as a legitimate company. Sometimes they go through quite a lot of effort to make the letters seem legitimate, by copying company logos and even using the names of actual executives in their mails.

One example of this is the Heineken Lottery Scam, which congratulates recipients on winning "prizes" like $5,000,000 cash, a new car, etc. All they have to do to claim the prize is to write a little check. Oh, and hurry, this offer isn't good long!

Anyone who is familiar with the Top Warning Signs of a Sweepstakes Flag should be seeing some red flags right now. Private companies cannot legally hold lotteries in the United States, and no legitimate sweepstakes will ever ask you to pay to receive prizes. So no, unfortunately those Heineken lottery notices are simply scams. Although the company does hold legitimate sweepstakes from time to time, real winners would not be asked to pay money to receive a prize.

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Enter Progressive's Pump Up the Savings Sweepstakes for your chance to instantly win some fantastic prizes. Three grand prize winners will each take home a whopping $25,000 in cash. Additionally, Progressive will award two $50 gas cards every day, for a total of 560 first prizes. That's a lot of chances to win. The total ARV for this sweepstakes is over $100,000!

To enter, you must be a resident of the United States aged 18 or above. You can enter daily until the sweepstakes ends on December 31, 2008.

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7-Eleven is giving away fun prizes like XBox 360, Guitar Hero Aerosmith games, and XBox Live points in their Guitar Hero Instant Win Game. With over 2,500 prizes being awarded, your chances are pretty good. I won one of these prizes this week, but I'm still entering because you can win one second prize and one first or grand prize per person. You'll need a code from a 22 oz Slurpee Icy Beverage, or use the free code: SLURPEE to enter.

The sweepstakes is open to U.S. residents (void in AK, HI) aged 13 or above. Enter daily until May 31, 2008 for the best chances to win.

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Nintendo is offering two lucky winners everything they need to play video games in style in their Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Online Sweepstakes. Each winner will receive a treasure chest full of Pokemon-themed treasure like a limited edition Pikachu DS Lite, a Wii game system, gift certificate for $1,500 to purchase a HDTV, and various Pokemon games and swag. Each of the two prizes is worth $2,500.

To enter, you must be a U.S. resident aged 13 or above. Enter daily until the sweepstakes ends on May 21, 2008.

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With the rising gas prices, just about anything that makes filling up the tank a little less painful sounds great to me. That's why I love General Mills' Fuel Up for Free with Car 43 Sweepstakes, which is awarding 1,550 prizes, each a $25 gas card. That should at least put a dent in my monthly gas bill! To enter, you must be a resident of the United States aged 18 or above. Enter daily for your best odds of winning. The sweepstakes ends on November 30, 2008.

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