How to Spot a Fake Sweepstakes
Red flags that separate legit free sweepstakes from scams, what a real GiveawayGoose email actually looks like, and how to report someone impersonating us.
Red flags
A legit sweepstakes never asks you to pay to enter, to claim a prize, or to cover "shipping fees" via gift cards. Anyone asking for those is impersonating the brand. Walk away.
A legit sweepstakes will not ask for your Social Security Number, full bank account credentials, or wire-transfer information to claim a small prize. We do ask for a mailing address (to ship physical prizes) and a 1099-MISC W-9 when prize value crosses the IRS threshold.
A legit drawing notification names the specific giveaway you entered and links back to its giveaway page on the original site. Generic "You won!" emails with no giveaway name are almost always fake.
What a real GiveawayGoose email looks like
It comes from a @giveawaygoose.com address. It names the specific giveaway. It links to giveawaygoose.com (not a lookalike domain). It never includes a password, secret code, or instruction to pay anyone.