Online Sweepstakes: Understanding What They Entail

Online sweepstakes are a growing niche on the Internet. Outside you might have witnessed stickers on item labels, advertisements in magazines, or on tv promising you the opportunity to win. Most are reputable, some are not, figuring out the distinction can save you time and income and soon have you enjoying normal prize deliveries straight to your door or bank account. On the Internet many people enter for the convenience of computerized entry and the possibility of large or lavish prizes. Often these prizes are offered in exchange for information such as survey or poll completion and do not require and sort of purchase. Others may be offered to customers of certain product or service providers. Others still are totally free and are meant to attract attention to companies that finance them.

Many might consider such offers as too good to be true, and very often some are. It is important to distinguish legitimate online sweepstakes from the illegitimate ones. With a little knowledge and common sense, safely enjoying opportunities for prizes online can be straight forward and simple.

The number one enemy for anyone who is on the Internet hoping to win prizes is misinformation. Many people set their sights on particular online sweepstakes and are then drawn into compromising situations in order to proceed ahead. Reading the fine print of any offer is important, and a person's greatest protection against being taken advantage of is the ability to walk away from a bad deal.

Many sites will claim that a prize is free, and then once personal information is collected, the site claims that the entrant must complete the purchase of a certain number of products or services in order to claim the prize. Often times these purchases are in vain, as the prize will not pay out, and then the entrant is left with little to no recourse. Sweepstakes sites sometimes do not even have online contact information, and require people to mail grievances to P.O. boxes with no guarantee of contact!

A good thing to remember when entering online sweepstakes, or when engaging in any deals online, is that no legitimate party will ask you for banking or other personal information. Never send an account number, social security number, or other sensitive item to anyone without explicit confirmation of their legitimacy. Most offers that require you to wire money or send a cashier's check are fraudulent. Remember, one can always walk away!