Scammers
Scammers are everywhere and they are eye balling your money. Have you ever dreamed of winning a sweepstakes, a contest, the lottery, or some other big prize? Imagine that you receive an email, a text on your mobile device, or a call on your cell phone that says something like this, “Hi, you’ve just won a prize, a free gift.” Maybe it’s an iPad, a brand-new car, a 60” television, or an all-inclusive, prepaid, exotic trip. Before you get too excited and respond to the sender, read this post.
HERE ARE 3 INDICATORS OF A PRIZE SCAM.
You must submit financial information.
They require that you provide your financial information. False! There is no reason to ever give your bank account or credit card information in order to receive a sweepstakes or prize. Never give it out. That’s a telltale sign of a scam. Beware!
You are required to pay.
The offer requires that you pay to receive your prize. A real prize offer will never ask you to pay anything. It’s free. If you are asked to pay taxes, shipping, handling, processing, or administrative fees to receive your prize, then know that it is a scam. To avoid being traced, scammers have been known to request money through wire transfers, cash payments, gift cards, and cryptocurrency.
You are told your odds are increased if you do.
They tell you that by paying, your odds of winning are greater. That is a lie! Verified sweepstakes are free and winning is by chance. It’s against the law for someone to request payment to increase your chances of winning a contest or a sweepstakes. Only scammers will do that.
HOW DO SCAMMERS TRICK US?
Scammers are clever, but they can only be successful with our help. They prey on the vulnerable, those who are not paying attention, and these who think they are too savvy to be outsmarted by a scammer. Believe me, I know that anyone can be caught in the web of a scammer.
- They have you believe they are from a government agency.
To the untrained eye or even to the person who is not reading carefully, the scam looks official. Scammers want you to believe you have won an authentic government-supervised lottery or sweepstakes. They often create a name that sounds like a government agency e.g., “National Sweepstakes Bureau,” or pretend they’re from an actual government agency like the FTC, USPTO, or IRS. None of these agencies will contact you demanding money. A great example, my clients are always receiving solicitation from scammers holding themselves out as USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). As a trademark lawyer, if I am the attorney of record on a client’s application, the USPTO will only contact me through an official communication. - Scammers use names of organizations you might recognize.
Scammers might also pretend to from a company that you know and perhaps even do business with, e.g., Verizon, Wells Fargo, Target, Bank of America, Amazon, just to name a few. No genuine company will contact you to ask for money so you can claim a prize. If you’re unsure, don’t click on (or respond to) anything the potential scammer has sent. Instead, go directly to the company’s official website and contact them through the secure portal. - Scammers will reach out in a variety of ways.
Scammers are relentless in an effort to get access to your hard-earned money. They message you through text, email, telephone, and social media. They will do whatever they can to get your personal information which leads to your money. You might be told that you won a gift card or a discount code to a local store. Or the message may say you won something expensive, like an iPad or a new car from your local dealership. Scammers hope you’ll respond with your personal information or click on links that can take your personal information or download malware onto your device. Don’t EVER respond. - Scammers make it seem like you’re the only person who won.
But know this, that same text, email, phone call or letter was sent to hundreds or even thousands of others. If the message was sent via mail, check the postmark on the envelope or postcard. If it was mailed by bulk rate, it means many other people got the same communication. For other types of messages, you could go online to see if other people reported receiving the same message. - Scammers say you won a foreign lottery.
They will often say you won a foreign lottery or can purchase a ticket to win one. These messages are almost aways a scam. Why? Because it’s illegal for U.S. citizens to play a foreign lottery. Also, if you buy a foreign lottery ticket, you will then likely be inundated with more offers for fake lotteries or scam investment opportunities. These scammers prey on the innocent, the greedy, and the cocky. - Scammers want you to act immediately.
They don’t want you to think through anything. They encourage you to act impulsively. In fact, they count on it. They tell you it’s a limited time offer, or you have to “act now” to claim your prize. They don’t want you to have time to evaluate what’s really happening. The quicker you act, the more likely you will fall prey to the scam. Don’t be rushed! - Scammers will sometimes send you a check or money order.
They may send you a check and then request that you return some of the money. If you deposit the check in your account, it might take your bank weeks to discover it was a fake check. By that time, the scammer has already been paid and you are left with a hole in your account. Once the bank discovers the scam, you will be required to repay the bank for the money it paid to the scammer on your behalf. A lose/lose situation for only YOU!
HOW TO IDENTIFY REAL CONTESTS AND SWEEPSTAKES?
There are many authentic contests hosted by reputable organizations. Here are a few thigs to know before attempting to claim a prize:
- Real sweepstakes are free and by chance.
It’s illegal to ask you to purchase something to enter, or to increase any chance you will win. - Contest promoters might sell your information to advertisers.
It’s likely, if you sign up for a contest or drawing, that you will get more promotional mail, telemarketing calls, or spam. - Contest promoters have to tell you certain things.
If they call you, the law says they have to tell you that entering is free, what you might win, the value of the prize, our odds of winning, and how you will need to redeem your prize if you win. - All sweepstakes mailings must say you don’t have to pay to participate. In addition, it is illegal to say you are a winner unless you’ve actually won a prize. If the promoter includes a fake check in the mailing, it must state that it’s non-negotiable and has no cash value.
Something to be aware of. If you are invited to participate in a skills-based contest, one where you do things like solve problems or answer questions correctly to earn prizes, they can ask you to pay to play. But you might end up paying repeatedly, with each round getting more difficult and expensive, before you realize it’s impossible to win or just a scam. Skills contests can leave contestants with nothing to show for their money and effort.
FINAL NOTE.
If scammed, contact the FTC to learn what to do.
Francine D. Ward
Attorney-At-Law, Author, Speaker
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