A Prize Today, a Problem Tomorrow
Online giveaways are fun, but think twice before entering.
In 2024, people reportedly lost over $12.5 billion in scams,1 and fake giveaways are a growing tactic to look out for. Learn how to spot these scams and protect yourself with these helpful tips.
What is a Giveaway Scam?
Scammers create fake giveaways or sweepstakes to trick people into sending money or sharing their personal information. They commonly appear on social media but can also be found in emails or text messages. If you want to enter, here are some red flags that can help you determine if it’s fake:
Excessive Prizes — Do the prizes seem too good to be true? Most likely, it’s a fake giveaway. Common fake prizes include high-value items, gift cards, and cryptocurrency.
Paying or Sharing Information — Giveaway scams may ask you to pay or share personal information, such as passwords, banking details, or Social Security numbers.
"Like-Farming" — Scammers encourage users to like their posts to cast a wider net of possible victims. Legitimate giveaways may also ask you to like their posts to increase engagement, but you can tell the real giveaways from the fake ones by looking for common imposter scam tactics. Make sure a giveaway post is real before liking, sharing, commenting, or tagging your friends.
Missing Terms & Conditions — Legitimate giveaways have terms and conditions on their websites, social media posts, or emails. If there are no terms and conditions, don’t enter.
Imposter and Phishing Tactics — Giveaway scams often have common imposter and phishing red flags such as:
a. Typos and grammatical errors.
b. Suspicious-looking links.
c. Pressure and urgency to act fast.
d. Posted by unverified or fake accounts.
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How to Avoid Giveaway Scams
- Verify that the business or group running the giveaway is legitimate. Look for an official website and information about the giveaway. If you can’t find any details about the giveaway and there’s no website, it might be a scam.
- Don't click on suspicious links. Look for common telltales, like subtle typos (entrtowinb1g.com), symbols (giveaway-#win&big.com), and links that are just numbers (http://101/10/1/101).
- Don't share any personal information. Scammers use this to access your accounts, where they can take your money, open lines of credit, or commit further identity fraud. Legitimate giveaways never ask for your Social Security number, driver’s license, logins, or passwords.
- Don't pay. Legitimate giveaways never ask you to send money to enter or claim a prize.
- Don't enter. If you have any doubts, don’t enter! No prize is worth risking your identity or money.
How to Report a Giveaway Scam
To report a giveaway scam, contact the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If you think you have been the victim of a scam or believe your Security Service account has been compromised, contact us immediately at 1.888.415.7878.
For more information and resources about fraud and scam prevention, visit our Fraud Awareness page.
