How to Spot Free Vacation Scams

1. Find out who is giving the gift and keep your wits about you. A true free gift comes to you in the mail because you won a contest or sweepstakes. Upon notification in the mail, if you find you must call to claim your vacation, it's a scam.
2. Listen to the representative who calls you. He will most likely be talking fast so that you cannot get in a word of your own.
3. Ask what, if any, charges will apply. If the representative says you do have to pay the taxes that amount to 'X' dollars, it's a scam. Unfortunately, any free trip that includes charges is most likely a scam, and this is particularly true if there are high-pressure tactics used to get you to claim the gift.
4. Avoid giving out your credit card number to hold the vacation for you. This should be a tip-off that they only want your money.
5. Suspect they are lying. Pay attention as the representative gets in deeper in the text. It may seem like he is angry or making up some of the information. He probably is. This may be where you can catch him lying.
6. Find out if there are any requirements to the free vacation. If you have to sit through a long explanation of timeshares, it may not be worth it to you.
7. Make sure you know quickly what your free trip is and what you must do to claim it. If you have not found this out within 10 minutes, you won't like the answer.