CONTEST WINNER SCAM
Pay to play
“You’ve just won a new 60″ flat screen TV“
Or trip to Bermuda. Or $10,000. Or new garage door. Or new iPhone. Or, Wow, isn’t it amazing how you can win a prize without even entering a contest? Yes, truly amazing. But don’t be fooled. It’s more than likely a “pay to play” scam.
Get protection from contest winner scams
YouMail – the totally free service that stops over 1 million bad guys from ringing your phone!
What you should know
We’d love to tell you that you’re a winner, but unless you’ve entered a legitimate contest, it’s a pay-to-play scam aimed at making you a very big loser. The call (or message) announces you’ve won a significant prize. The catch? You’re told that to “claim” your prize, you must fork over “taxes”, “shipping and handling charges”, or “processing fees”. Don’t pay to claim a prize, and never give your checking or credit card number for a sweepstakes promotion.
How YouMail can help stop contest winner scams today
YouMail is the leading solution for getting rid of robocalls and we are proud that our customers are protected from scammers, spammers, and other unwanted callers. Best of all, it’s a 100% free service available for everyone!
Typical contest winner scam voicemail left with YouMail customers
TRANSCRIPTION: Hi, this is Kyle. I'm calling in regards to an unofficial contest entry form that you may have submitted in our hot cash giveaway to win $25,000 in cash. I have excellent news for you. Your entry has been selected. Contact me at your earliest convenience. I can be reached toll free at 888-263-1974. My extension is 917 and again I'm Kyle. Congratulations and I look forward to speaking with you soon.
What you should do
Keep in mind that scammers will often pretend to call from well-known companies to make themselves appear legitimate and gain your trust. If you don’t remember entering, you probably didn’t. So, take that extra step and confirm if they’re legit. Do a quick search to find the company’s real phone number and then call to confirm that you entered a contest before responding to any claims that you won.
Our best advice
Unless you know who’s calling, don’t pick up. Let it go to voicemail and then you can determine if it’s a call you want to return. If it’s a contest scam, delete the message. Then, get YouMail so that you can block the caller and NEVER hear from them again. Definitely check out YouMail’s online phone directory to validate if the caller’s number has negative reports or is from a known scammer.