Beware Sweeper When Entering Online Sweepstakes, Contests & Giveaways

By Author: Sweepstakes 13 A Place for Winners
Total Articles: 60
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You need to be careful when entering Online Sweepstakes, Contests & Giveaways. The same goes for entering offline Sweepstakes. Especially if you are new at it there are a ton of scams out there. With that said, most of them are run by legitimate companies. There are many chances to win some amazing prizes. Like anything else there is always going to be a few people out there that would not think twice about taking you for a ride. You know how "Spam and Scam rhymes?" Some companies are like leeches when it comes to getting your personal information. They will take your information and sell it to marketing companies. Then you notice your snail mail box and email in box starts to fill up with junk. Your phone will not stop ringing. All that just for giving your information entering a Sweepstakes or Contest. BUT not all companies are like that and over all most companies respect your privacy. We will never sell your information when you enter our in house Sweepstakes.

Protecting Yourself is #1 with Sweepstakes, Contests or any promotion
There are many so called Sweepstakes and Contests experts out there. They ...
... will give you a list of what to look out for when you enter a Sweepstakes so you will not get scammed but when you break it down it is plain commonsense. However, there area few things that will help that you might not know.
Legitimate run Sweepstakes or Contest promotions will have a Privacy Policy stating how they are going to use the information that they collect from you.
They should specify how your information is stored, whether it is shared with any partner companies, and how they will use that information in the future. However, that does not guarantee that your information you gave when signing up to win the $5000 a week for life, will not be shared or sold. It does not hurt to always read through the privacy policy. It is amazing what they will try to squeeze into the fine print. What you need to look for in a Privacy Policy is making sure of is something like this: "We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information." That was taken from our Privacy Policy. Make sure everything is clear and you understand what you are reading. If not, contact them and have them give you an explanation. Another piece of information to look for is the "Rules" and sometimes the Privacy Policy and Rules might be mixed together as one. We have a separate rules and privacy policy for our site and Sweepstakes.

Some things to flat out avoid.

If a Sweepstakes or Contest does not have a privacy policy and or rules stated they are not legitimate. You should never have to pay to enter a Sweepstakes or have to purchase anything to enter. Some contests you do but make sure you look into it before entering.

What information do they ask for?
Your name, address, age, gender, email address, and telephone number is fine. Financial information like a credit card number, bank account number, or social security number, NOT FINE.

Great! You Win!

For the record, many people do win sweepstakes and some win a lot. However, to claim your prize they need your social security number to verify everything. DO NOT fall for it even if they tell you, you have won an Island in the Caribbean. Let’s say you win a cash prize of $250.00. Then they tell you they are going to send you a money order for $2000.00. You are asked to cash it at your bank and then to wire the rest back to them minus the $250.00. They tell you "Go ahead and keep an extra $100.00 for your time." You can see where we are going with this and this happens all the time. They feast off of people looking to make a few extra dollars.

When is doubt always go with your gut and you will never go wrong.

Good Luck,
Sweepstakes 13 - A Place for Winners!

Sweepstakes 13 – A Blog/Directory for Sweepstakes, Contests, Giveaways, Competitions & Freebies. Our Blog Articles are education tools as well as a way for everyone to share your comments, opinions and experiences. Chat with fellow Sweepers in our forum. Plus, enter to win and add your favorites promotions.

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Sweepstakes 13 - A Place for Winners!