When you hear the word "free" online you think something is not right. Over the past three years these legitimate companies have accounted for over $160,000,000 dollars in prizes from over 13,500 sweepstakes, contest and giveaways. In the world of online sweepstakes, there are hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and prizes to be won. Many come from the likes of companies such as, Dell Computers, General Motors, Kraft and nearly all of the Fortune 1,000 companies you most likely buy products from daily.

    Now throw "Free Sweepstakes" together and whammo there's no way in hell it is legit. The dark side includes scams, fraud, phishers, etc. who do not have your best interest at heart. While the cons and cheats are very small, they do exist. We at Sweepstakes Today http://www.sweepstakestoday.com like to keep our members and the public at large aware, informed and educated. Like anything online, this is a sliding landscape. Well now it's a little easier. Today SweepstakesToday.com released its Tips & Tricks to Identifying, Trusting, Engaging and Winning online Sweepstakes. Craig McDaniel, founder of the company, is one of the leading experts on online sweepstakes and security.

We get the following advices:

    * Never give any personal financial information like your social security number, bank info or a credit card. Legitimate sweepstakes NEVER ask for this kind of information unless you win. Then it is never emailed and only sent with a affidavit by FedEx or UPS.
    * Don't let your emotions get the best of you. Everyone wants to win; don't let it get to your head.
 based companies governed under US law and administrated by reputable firm.
    * Time. Most sweepstakes are organized to give potential applicants a fair amount of time to participate. Those who seem urgent or have lingo to "Act now" are most likely to be fraudulent. Be on the lookout for this and read the fine print. In some cases you may be time pressed. For instance, you may be winning event tickets, a trip or tickets for a concert.
    * Never pay fees. No legitimate company will ever make you pay a fee to win a prize. Don't do it. Fees can also include handling charges, service fees…etc. Watch out for emails and correspondence that asks you to wire money. This is one of the newer forms of fraud that has gotten so many victims. Never respond to an online lottery especially any that come from a foreign country. There have been at least 30 different variations of them and
    * Last, Sweeping as it is call is fun hobby. It is safe, you don't get dirty, and most of all it is unbelievable experience to win a big Grand Prize.
   * First rule of sweepstakes… Stick with only name brand company sweeps. Never enter a sweep offered by an unknown name company. Second, stick with only US or Canadian

For more information visit http://www.sweepstakestoday.com/.