4 Tips After You Won Entering Sweepstakes
You won a Sweepstake! Winning a sweepstake can be fun and exciting! But how do you know it’s real and not a scam. After you won, now what do you do? Here are my 4 Tips on what to do after you won a Sweepstake.
There is nothing more exhilarating than to get an email stating that you won a Sweepstake!
I have won many things. Lots of small prizes and a few big. I’ll never forget when I opened my email to see that I had won a 3D TV, 4 pairs of 3D glasses, a year’s worth of Wheat Thins and a year’s worth of Coke Zero. This was a grand prize and the company picked one person from each state. How did I know this was real? What are the steps in winning something big? How did I verify this?
Step One
I used sweepstakestoday to complete sweeps. So the first thing I did was to go on the site and look up the Sweepstakes name. He has a button at the top of the main page that says, “Search Sweepstakes.” I was able to search even after the Sweepstakes had expired. When you get an email, letter or phone call, they will tell you the name of the Sweepstake. I did a search on the website of the name of the sweeps. It did come up and then I recall entering this one.
Step Two
In the email I received about my win, there was a name of the sponsor. I looked up the company and asked did they feature this contest. It was confirmed and they connected me to the person in charge. This is important because even if a number is listed, I like to not just accept it without doing my own research. After all, there are many scams out there. Although I knew I entered the sweeps after searching, I still wanted to verify another way. When you win something big, they do need more personal information from you. It’s for their own taxes etc. So you cannot afford to give away personal information if this is not legit.
Step Three
Sometimes in Sweeptakes you have to sign an affidavit and get it notarized. I had to do this for about 3 or 4 of my wins. Most smaller wins, there is nothing to do but get your prize.
An affidavit is a sworn statement in writing made especially under oath. In this case you have to prove who you are in order to get the prize. When you get it notarized there will be a small fee. I paid $10 to the notary. I went to a Fedex store to get this done. It won’t be hard to look up places in your area who have notary services.
Step Four
I notice most sweepstakes will tell you they will notify you if you win. This is not always the case. I notice in smaller prizes, I may get notified or it just shows up to my house.
In conclusion, It’s very exciting to win a sweepstakes. I have used my wins to give away as a gift or just to enjoy for my family. Stick with the major companies and the methods I did to verify the win. If you make sure you actually entered a contest, contact the sponsor to verify, you are good to go. Always be careful of emails because I am constantly getting emails of wins that I never entered. Scams and fakes are out there but don’t let that stop you from entering a real sweeps and getting real prizes. I wish you the best!
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