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Want to win a prize? Feeling Lucky? The internet has lots of contests for you to enter, matter of fact, it seems like there is one at almost every click. Winners can win anything from e-books to thousands of dollars (i.e. Publishers Clearing House) to even valuable services and the entries can cost between free (sometimes with registration) to hundreds of dollars per entry.
Why do organizations offer contests or sweepstakes. In reality, there are many valid reasons for this. Some include helping a charity or a charitable reason (like we do to help our veterans), an organization generating interest in a new service or product, or even just to gain followers (i.e. Facebook) or potential customers.
Aren't they all scams? You might be thinking they are all scams, well we can promise you not all of them are, you just can't enter any contest/sweepstakes blindly. What does that mean? You need to know some information BEFORE ENTERING, such as (this is not limited but just a sample of information to find out):
- How much does it cost to enter?
- What information do you have to give?
- What does the company do with the information, Privacy Policy?
- When does the contest end?
How do you know which ones are real? First, become aware! Also Investigate! A real contest will always have certain infomation such as who is promoting it, sometimes why, and contact information. Do a simple search on the name of the company and check out their information? Does it match what's giving on the contest/sweepstakes, it's a good start? Also do a quick online search on the name of the company "and scams", if someone reported it, it just might come up.
- Watch out if your're told you must send money to enter a sweepstakes or claim a prize! That's never true with a real sweepstakes.
- Don't give out your credit card number to "show your eligibility to win." Legitimate sweepstakes never ask this information to award a prize.
- You don't need to call or travel to find out if you've won a prize. Legitimate companies will notify you in writing.
The items listed are not being offered by ExploringArizona.org, but are being listed for our visitors. Please be responsible and read the details on all the individual pages. CBE or ExploringArizona.org are not responsible for any items ordered or services used.
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