With the love of entering contests comes a lot more spam emails in the last couple years. After a few months of entering contests your email inbox can be a jumble of winning emails and spam emails. There are certain things to watch for when you get an email claiming you won a prize. Do I need a separate email for contests?
As much as the excitement over takes us when we see " Congratulations" or You're a Winner" our common sense needs to kick in and make sure it's a legitimate winner notification email.
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Prize Winning Email Fake Alerts
1. Spelling Errors
When I say spelling errors one single typo is not enough for you to get up in arms about. But where there are blatant spelling and grammatical errors in the text odds are this isn't a legit winner email. I have seen winner emails with even the company name spelled wrong. So watch closely as you read the email.
2. From a Massive Brand
In the last year or so emails claiming to be from Facebook or Amazon or other very large brands have been out there claiming you won a prize. Right away that should be a red flag. These companies are so large they just wouldn't even have the time to be reaching out to a winner of a contest. A winning email would come from a PR person that would reach out to you by phone or email.
3. It asks for You to Pay
If there is any cost to you whatsoever, walk away and delete the email. Never should you have to pay to claim any prize in Canada, nor do you have to pay to have a prize shipped to you.
4. Click to Claim
If you get a winner email that doesn't describe the prize and asks you to click a link to see or claim your prize. Be wary. Read the email top to bottom including the address it came from. Do you remember entering that contest? Think before you click. Reputable contests tell you up front what you have won and how to claim your prize.
5. Lotto or Lottery
Watch for this word, in any winner email you get. If you see it delete the email and walk away from it. You will not get an email if you have won any lottery within Canada other than your local lottery like OLG. You will get a phone call and have to provide identification and sign a ton of paperwork. Never will you claim a lotto prize from within an email.
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