Giveaway and sweepstakes scams: check the request
Evaluate what a prize message asks you to do, not just the brand it displays. The FTC identifies demands for advance payment, fake checks, and requests for sensitive information as prize-scam patterns. Use independent sponsor information, preserve the original contact, and choose a reporting or recovery step appropriate to what happened.
By Extra Profit Editorial Team
Last reviewed
Check the request before you respond
These answers identify warning signs, not a verdict about a company. No flagged answers does not prove a message is legitimate. Your answers stay in this page and are not stored or sent anywhere.
A recognizable name does not authenticate a message
A real company and a fake message can coexist. Begin by locating the company’s official website independently, then compare its guidance with the request you received. A copied logo or convincing personal greeting is not a separate source of evidence. The FTC specifically warns that impersonators borrow the names of familiar organizations. FTC prize scams
The PCH guide below applies that method to a named company and its current official scam instructions. It avoids an unhelpful blanket question such as whether every message with a brand name is “real.” Instead, it asks which instruction conflicts with the source and what you can do next.
Match the response to the situation
| Stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| You have only received a message | Pause, retain it, and verify through an independent channel |
| You are being asked to pay | Do not send money to release the claimed prize; compare the demand with official guidance |
| You deposited a suspicious check | Ask your bank about the risk before transferring any proceeds |
| You already paid | Contact the payment provider promptly and preserve transaction evidence |
| Information was misused | Follow the official recovery guidance linked from the FTC |
This is a triage sequence, not a verdict about a specific person. The FTC explains both the common prize-scam patterns and recovery and reporting routes. FTC source
Make an evidence packet, not a public accusation
Keep the original message, sender details, requested action, relevant links, and any payment record. Separate what the message claims from what you independently confirmed. For example, “the caller used this company’s name” is an observation; “the company called me” is a conclusion that may not follow.
Do not publish financial account details or identity documents while warning other people. A report can describe the method and preserve the evidence without exposing more information. If you are helping someone else, agree on the next protective step rather than arguing over why the message seemed believable.
What these guides do not promise
No checklist can certify a promotion from its surface appearance. Rules and contact details can be copied, and a lack of an obvious warning sign is not proof. The useful outcome is a better-supported decision about whether to stop, verify further, or report. For prize claims involving tax documentation, use independently verified payer details and the applicable IRS information rather than instructions from an unsolicited message.
Scam guides
- Publishers Clearing House Scams: Check and Report
Check an alleged PCH prize notice, preserve useful evidence, and follow the current official reporting route.