You have won a VIP giveaway you never entered, or so the message claims. Fake giveaways are among the most common online scams because they exploit excitement: a luxury prize, a celebrity name, and a short deadline are designed to make you act before you think. Real giveaways exist, but the fakes far outnumber them.

Learning to tell them apart takes a few minutes and saves real money. This guide covers the warning signs that mark a giveaway as fake, and the verification steps that confirm a real one.