Reconstruct your entry
Find the campaign, rules and your entry confirmation. Check whether the notice arrives in the expected period through the stated channel. If you do not remember entering, do not complete a form just to discover what prize you supposedly won.
A provisional selection may still require validation. It is different from a prize already delivered. Keep the published response deadline in mind while checking the message.
Verify through a separate channel
A display name can resemble a brand without identifying the sender. Open the organizer's usual website and find a contact independently. Do not rely only on the phone number or link in the message you are questioning. Ask whether the notice and reply channel are authentic.
For social media messages, compare the account with the one named in the rules. Confirm an agency's connection to the promotion before sending information.
Pause unexpected requests for payment
The FTC warns about prize messages demanding payment to collect winnings. An unexpected request for a transfer, gift cards or login information should prompt you to stop and verify the sender.
Excluded travel expenses and obligations associated with a real prize need official checking. They do not automatically explain a payment requested by someone whose identity is unverified.
Check the reason for documents
A sponsor may need to validate eligibility described in the rules. Before providing a document, establish who receives it, why it is needed, which channel to use and what information is necessary. Never provide a password or login code to validate a prize.
If you already shared credentials or authorized a suspicious payment, promptly contact the relevant service or financial institution through an official channel. Keep messages and addresses to explain what happened.
A useful verification request
Example inquiry
“I received a notice about [campaign] from [address or account]. Can you confirm whether it belongs to your notification process and which official channel I should use to respond?”
Leave identity documents and bank details out of this initial inquiry. Giveario does not handle prizes or validate winners. Send a listing URL through Contact if its information needs review.