advanced reading about Sweepstakes Fraud
ریدینگ سطح پیشرفته درباره ی کلاه برداری
Sweepstakes Fraud
Some sentences have been extracted from the text. Put the correct sentence into the gap. One sentence is extra. Write A, B, C, … in the gap
A Over 90% of American consumers have received a mailing telling them that they have won a prize.
B Sweepstakes are games of chance.
C Like most consumers, she never won anything of value.
D The actual value of any prize a consumer may receive is often minimal, such as $1.00.
E Do not give out your credit card number or your checking account number.
F Buying will not help you win.
G If you think maybe you can win something without registering you should think again
The sweepstakes industry is a multi-million dollar business. Companies use sweepstakes to sell their merchandise. Certain sweepstakes operators have blanketed the public’s mailboxes with deceptive promotions that have bilked many consumers out of thousands of dollars a year.
Many sweepstakes solicitations suggest the prospect of valuable prizes. Most consumers never win the major prize. The odds of winning the advertised large prizes, which may be buried in the mailing in microscopic print, are astronomically small, such as one in 50 million.
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office receives frequent complaints from citizens about misleading sweepstakes or prize promotions. For example, a 97 year old Minnesota resident, whose income consists primarily of Social Security benefits, received countless sweepstakes solicitations in the mail. She bought over $10,000 worth of merchandise from a single sweepstakes company and spent almost $30,000 of her life savings on total purchases from sweepstakes companies; all in just three years’ time. She believed that buying products from the company would increase her chances of winning.
One of the best defenses against consumer fraud is an informed consumer. You should know that:
Businesses engage in sweepstakes offers in order to sell consumers goods or services and to attract consumers’ attention to the products or services they sell.
If you enter, your entry will have the same chance of winning as every other entry. No one knows the winner until after the sweepstakes ends.
Your chances of winning without a purchase are the same as the chances of someone who buys something. It is illegal to give any advantage to buyers in a sweepstakes.
The odds of winning are small. The mailing must state the actual odds of winning the prize.
Personal information is never required to enter a legitimate contest.
“Free” should mean free. If you really win a “free” prize, you will get it free with no fees attached. You should not have to order merchandise or pay any money to claim a sweepstakes prize.
Do not be deceived by letters that look official or urgent.
Read the solicitation carefully, including the fine print.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| merchandise (noun) | goods that are being sold | A range of official Disney merchandise was on sale |
| blanket (verb) | to cover something with a thick layer | The rooftops were blanketed in snow |
| bilk (verb) | to cheat someone, especially by taking their money | Consumers were bilked out of more than $15,000. |
| solicitation (noun) | the act of asking someone for money, help, or information |
|
| astronomical (adjective) | astronomical prices, costs etc are extremely high | astronomically high rents. |
| legitimate (adjective) | fair or reasonable | That’s a perfectly legitimate question. |
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