Sweepstakes Scams and Safety - How to Avoid Contest Scams and Sweepstakes Frauds
By Sandra Grauschopf, About.com Guide
- How to Recognize Sweepstakes Scams
- What are the Risks of Sweepstakes Fraud?
- Protect Your Privacy While Entering Sweepstakes
- How to Tell if a Sweepstake is Real or a Fraud?
- Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Scams
- Report Sweepstakes Scams to the Authorities
- Examples of Sweepstakes Scams
How to Recognize Sweepstakes Scams
Sweepstakes scams convince people that they are winners when they are really not. The catch - you have to pay money or give up sensitive personal information before you can claim your win. Here are some tips on recognizing fraudulent sweepstakes win notifications.
- Warning Signs of a Sweepstakes Scam
- Before You Respond to a Sweepstakes Win...
- Things that Aren't Signs of Sweepstakes Scams
- How to Decide Whether Sweepstakes are Trustworthy
What are the Risks of Sweepstakes Fraud?
Find out what can happen if you become a victim of sweepstakes fraud. Understanding the goals of sweepstakes scams can help you to recognize and avoid them before you become a victim.
- Sweepstakes and Identity Theft
- Understanding Sweepstakes Scams & Tactics
- Consequences of Falling for Sweepstakes Check Scams
Protect Your Privacy While Entering Sweepstakes
If you are careful with the personal information you use to enter sweepstakes, you can prevent scammers from reaching you easily and recognize sweepstakes scams instantly. Furthermore, you can reduce the amount of unwanted marketing that you receive from entering sweepstakes. Here are some tips on how to protect your personal information.
- Why Use a Separate Sweepstakes Email Address to Enter Contests
- How to Reduce Spam Email from Entering Sweepstakes
- Get Less Junk Mail from Sweepstakes Entries
- Alternatives to Using Your Home Phone Number for Sweepstakes
How to Tell if a Sweepstake is Real or a Fraud?
Some criminals use fake sweepstakes to trick you into giving up your personal information. Here are some ways to tell whether a sweepstake is real or a fraud so that you can avoid scam web sites.
- How to Determine Whether a Sweepstake is Legitimate
- How to Recognize Scam "Wins" on Twitter
- Sweepstakes Entry Forms - How Much Information is Reasonable?
Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Scams
Sweepstakes scams often use Publisher's Clearing House's name to try to trick people into believing they've won a big prize. Here are tips to help you learn what's legitimate and what's not when it comes to Publishers Clearing House.
- Are Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Scams?
- Did You Really Win from PCH?
- How to Contact Publishers Clearing House to Verify Wins
- Example of a PCH Sweepstakes Scam
Report Sweepstakes Scams to the Authorities
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.
Examples of Sweepstakes Scams
Sometimes, the best way to learn to recognize sweepstakes scams is to see exactly how they work. Here are some examples of real sweepstakes scams.