Were they sweepstakes from a well-known company like Nestle or Whirlpool? Unfortunately most of the sweepstakes online are scams. Please do not give them any of your personal information. If they ask for you bank account, credit card number, social security number, et cetera, then it is definitely a scam, and they just want to rip you off. If you've given out your email address in a lot of different places, you might even have to get a new one because of the amount of spam you'll receive.
Recently entering a lot of sweepstakes,getting a ton of e-mail saying I've won.How do I know whats bogus?
Did you keep track of what sweepstakes you've entered? If you get an email that requires you to submit too much personal info, it's probably a scam. You can also request more information about the company and official rules from the sender of email. Check with better buiseness bureau to check on the company.
Reply:If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Reply:Scam operators — often based in Canada — are using the telephone and direct mail to entice U.S. consumers to buy chances in high-stakes foreign lotteries from as far away as Australia and Europe. These lottery solicitations violate U.S. law, which prohibits the cross-border sale or purchase of lottery tickets by phone or mail.
Still, federal law enforcement authorities are intercepting and destroying millions of foreign lottery mailings sent or delivered by the truckload into the U.S. And consumers, lured by prospects of instant wealth, are responding to the solicitations that do get through — to the tune of $120 million a year, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, says most promotions for foreign lotteries are likely to be phony. Many scam operators don’t even buy the promised lottery tickets. Others buy some tickets, but keep the “winnings” for themselves. In addition, lottery hustlers use victims’ bank account numbers to make unauthorized withdrawals or their credit card numbers to run up additional charges.
The FTC has these words of caution for consumers who are thinking about responding to a foreign lottery:
* If you play a foreign lottery — through the mail or over the telephone — you’re violating federal law.
* There are no secret systems for winning foreign lotteries. Your chances of winning more than the cost of your tickets are slim to none.
* If you purchase one foreign lottery ticket, expect many more bogus offers for lottery or investment “opportunities.” Your name will be placed on “sucker lists” that fraudulent telemarketers buy and sell.
* Keep your credit card and bank account numbers to yourself. Scam artists often ask for them during an unsolicited sales pitch.
The bottom line, according to the FTC: Ignore all mail and phone solicitations for foreign lottery promotions. If you receive what looks like lottery material from a foreign country, give it to your local postmaster.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Reply:All of it is bogus.
The only message worth opening is the one from your valued friend.
(You can't buy any of them)
Reply:If you read the fine print, they probably say You've won ... if you have the right number, or something like that
Reply:It's all bogus. Those companies just collect your personal information and then sell it to mailing lists and telemarketers.
Reply:A friend of mine has been doing these contest over ten years and is really sucked into it. Everybody is telling her to stop but she thinks that she's gonna win some day. I truly believe its all a hoxe. Before you soak in hundreds of dollars, think twice. I can't tell you what to do, only to hope you make the right desission, and good luck... Dr Checko... (Nickname)
Reply:I think they are all bogus they all want something in return , they ask you to at least feel out a credit card application from their sponsers and so forth.If you must fill out sweepstakes I'd stick to Publishers Clearing House but I myself am a sceptic of all of them.
Reply:it's 90% bogus... but you can take a look at this site from time to time : http://www.snopes.com/snopes.asp
Reply:They are all bogus!
Reply:Ask yourself: "Did I enter into this sweepstake?"
Reply:if you really did win something you would have gotten a phone call i would disregard the emails and put them under spam emails. that way you do not get more of these emails saying that you won thing when you didn't win a thing. i use to do the same thing and enter to win stuff on the net and it told me the same thing that i won stuff i just needed to fill out a form and it would be mine, when really they were taking me for a loop so the best thing i can say is do not believe these emails because they are not true. if you think it is not real then 90% of the time it is not. so don't get your hops up on things and remember if you really did win they will call you.
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