Hard Copy:
(NAPS)—Every day, thousands
of American consumers receive
sweepstakes promotions—but not
all sweepstakes offers are legitimate.
It’s important to be able to
spot the scams.
Legitimate sweepstakes are
marketing techniques that help
marketers draw attention to their
products by offering consumers a
chance to win a prize or money
with no payment required. If you
have to pay to collect your prize,
the sweepstakes is a scam.
“You should never have to pay
to win a sweepstakes or collect a
legitimate sweepstakes prize,”
warns Chief Postal Inspector Lee
Heath. He says this means that
you don’t have to pay shipping
and handling fees, taxes, legal
fees, custom fees or buy a product
to receive your prize. “Whenever
you’re required to make a payment
before you can collect your
prize, that is your clue that you
are not dealing with a legitimate
sweepstakes company,” advises
Patricia Kachura, Senior VP of
The Direct Marketing Association.
Heath says to ask yourself the
following questions to prevent
being scammed:
• Do they ask for your credit
card number, checking account
number, bank account information
or other personal account information?
Heath says no legitimate
prize company asks for this information
to declare you a winner.
• Do they ask you to wire
money or make a payment in an
urgent manner? Do you feel pressure
to make a payment within a
given time deadline to collect
your prize? If so, Heath says to
take a step back and evaluate
the sweepstakes. Contact your
postal inspector to verify that
you are dealing with a legitimate
sweepstakes.
• Does the advertising copy
clearly state that no purchase is
necessary to win and a purchase
will not increase your chances of
winning? Heath says you never
have to pay to play or collect your
prize when the sweepstakes is
legitimate.
To learn more on how you can
prevent being scammed, visit
www.usps.com/postalinspectors
and/or www.dmaconsumers.org/
sweepstakeshelp.html.
