Last month a Chattooga County woman was the victim of a sweepstakes scam.  The Chattooga County Sheriff’s Department reported that the woman received a check from a company calling itself “Prime Alliance, Inc.” and attempted to cash a check she received in the mail from the company at National Title Pawn in Trion.  Even though the check appeared to be a Wells Fargo Check it was a fraud according to law enforcement.  The company wanted the woman to cash the check and then mail back a portion to them for “taxes.”

The AARP, the nation’s largest senior citizen advocate group, warns people of these types of scams.  The AARP says that there are legitimate sweepstakes out there but that before entering a sweepstake, consumers should use caution.

Read carefully all of the rules and small print before entering a sweepstakes

 9 tips for playing it safe

 

1. If the fine print is missing any of the following info, assume a scam: Start and end dates; judging date; methods of entry including judging criteria; type of proof of purchase required; description of prizes and approximate retail values; legal disclaimers; sponsor's name and address.

2. Carefully check for your odds of winning. Be wary of contests that don't disclose it (and even those that do, as the 89-cent contest proves).

3. Never provide personal information such as a driver's license or passport number. Legit contests will request only your name, address or possibly phone number.

4. Check the reputation and any complaints filed against the contest organizer with the Better Business Bureau and/or your state attorney general or state consumer protection office.

5. In a skill contest, gauge the difficulty. If it seems too easy, the hard truth is that it's likely a scam.

6. Told you're "lucky" or "guaranteed" to win something? Those words are usually illegal. So is, typically, the use of simulated checks or items of value unless they bear the words "SPECIMEN" or "NON-NEGOTIABLE."

7. Think twice about entry forms mailed by bulk rate.You typically have a needle-in-a-haystack chance of winning anything significant in mass mailings.

8. Don't call a provided phone number for contest details unless you've checked the contest's authenticity with an online search. Avoid any numbers with a 900 area code, which generate high per-minute charges. But be aware that some conning contests have you call toll-free 800 numbers, where you're then told to call a 900 number.

Still others may provide area codes that seem to be domestic American codes but in fact are for foreign countries, meaning you'll run up high long-distance charges. You can check a code's location by typing it and the words "area code" into an Internet search engine.

9. Avoid email or online contest entries unless they're at a trusted company website. Signing up at a public location or event can risk identity theft or your contact information being sold to telemarketers.

 

 

Sid Kirchheimer is the author of Scam-Proof Your Life, published by AARP Books/Sterling.