How to Identify and Prevent Sweepstakes Scam Phone Call
Source: admin Release Time: 02:25:15 2018-11-26
If you love sweepstakes, you might dream about receiving a phone call that you have won an amazing prize. But unfortunately, if you don't know how to detect a telephone sweepstakes scam, that dream can turn into a nightmare. According to Fraud.org's 2014 scam report, the majority of scam victims were contacted by telephone first.
Maryann Westhouse received a message on her answering machine from someone claiming to be from a car dealership, telling her that she had won a Cadillac. Earlier in the conversation, they had confirmed that she had already won the car! Highly suspicious of this behavior, Maryann's husband called the corporate office for the dealership that the callers claimed to be representing. Not surprisingly, they were not running any sweepstakes for a Cadillac. How You Can Tell the Difference Between Legitimate Prize Notifications and Scams Asking for a Lot of Personal Information: Legitimate companies will already have the information you submitted through the entry form. Additional information can be requested by an affidavit. So too many questions is a red flag that you're being scammed. Pressure to Answer Immediately: Legitimate sweepstakes sponsors understand that people might have some questions for them, too. And they won't mind answering them or giving you the chance to verify that you've really won. They won't pressure you to make an instant decision to trust them. Legitimate Sweepstakes Details: The person at the other end of the line should be able to tell you the name of the sweepstakes and the company sponsoring it. It should be something that you remember entering or can find with a quick Google search. A Mysteriously Changing Prize: If you've really won, your name will have been drawn to receive a specific prize. You won't be told you might win one of several different things (a car OR a trip OR something tiny is a common ploy of scammers). And you won't be told that you're a winner, no a finalist, no, maybe you haven't won at all. (Don't be thrown if you're told you're a potential winner, though. That's normal until your information has been verified). Either you've won or you haven't. Other Common Scam Signals: Be sure to also know the top warning signs of sweepstakes scams by heart, many of which also apply to telephone scams. And PCH is a company that is often misused by scammers, be sure you also know the signs of a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes scam. Hopefully, every prize notification phone call you receive will be legitimate. But by knowing the common signs of phone scams, you can help keep yourself safe and protect yourself from fraud and identity theft.