SOURCE: Gema de las Heras, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Say you hear or read the words: “You’ve won!” What will you do with your winnings? Who wouldn’t be excited to win a prize, sweepstakes, or lottery? But…did you actually win? And how do you know?

Sweepstakes, prize, and lottery frauds are among the top scams people report to the FTC. These scams usually start with a call or message that says you’re a winner. (A lie.) They say to get the so-called prize you have to send money or click somewhere to give your information. Don’t. The most recent FTC data shows people reported losing $301 million to this type of fraud. That’s an average loss of $907 per person.

But there are also legitimate contests and prizes that follow the law and give real prizes. So how do you know the difference?

One question to consider is: did you enter the sweepstakes or play the lottery? If not, you absolutely didn’t win. And here are other ways to spot and avoid prize scams:

• Don’t pay to get a prize. Real prizes are free. Anyone who asks you to pay a fee for "taxes," "shipping and handling charges," or “processing fees” to get your prize, is a scammer. Stop and walk away.
• Don’t give your financial information. There is absolutely no reason to ever give your bank account or credit card number to claim a prize. If anyone asks for it, it’s a scam.
• Don’t give your personal information. Scammers hope you’ll click on links that will take your personal information or download malware on your device. Delete the message without clicking on the links and don’t respond.

Check out #FTCTopFrauds and ftc.gov/data to learn more. Already paid a scammer? Learn how to get your money back and tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.