A message lands. You've won the car. There's a photo, the logo looks right, the account name is almost exactly the one you follow.
Then they ask for a payment to release the prize.
Will a real giveaway DM you if you win?
No. A legitimate sweepstakes never announces a winner by direct message, and never asks a winner to pay anything. Real operators contact winners by phone, email or post — the channel named in their official rules — and the prize is released without any payment from you. If a message says you've won and then asks for a fee, tax, or shipping charge, it's a scam regardless of whose name is on the account.
The scam isn't a fake giveaway. It's a fake win.
This is the part people get wrong. They assume the danger is entering a giveaway that doesn't exist.
The far more common scam works differently: a real giveaway gets targeted by impersonators. Once a giveaway account builds a following, copycat accounts appear with near-identical handles — an extra underscore, a swapped letter, a full stop — copy the photos and bio, then message that account's followers claiming they've won.
The giveaway can be entirely genuine while the message you received is entirely fake. Which means checking whether the brand is real doesn't protect you. You have to check the message.
Five checks on the account that messaged you
- Compare the handle character by character. Not the display name — the handle. Impersonators rely on you glancing.
- Check the follower count. Real accounts have tens of thousands. Copies usually have a few hundred.
- Check the post history. An account created three weeks ago with a handful of reposted photos isn't running a $55,000 giveaway.
- Check whether they follow you. Impersonators mass-follow a real account's followers to harvest targets.
- Go to the brand's actual website — typed in yourself, not through a link in the message — and use the support channel published there to ask whether the message is real.
The one rule that ends every conversation
No legitimate sweepstakes operator ever asks a winner for money.
Not a release fee. Not shipping. Not insurance. Not customs. Not “the taxes, which you pay to us and we forward.” Not a gift card, not crypto, not a payment app transfer.
Prize taxes are real, but you pay them to the IRS when you file — never to the company that ran the giveaway. There is no legitimate reason for money to move from a winner to an operator, ever. The moment a payment is requested, you have your answer and the conversation is over.
What a real operator will ask for
Worth knowing, so a genuine process doesn't spook you.
- A signed affidavit of eligibility, liability and publicity, usually returned within about five days
- Your Social Security number — on that affidavit, for tax reporting. The operator must file a 1099 for the prize value, and that requires your taxpayer ID
- Proof of a valid driver's licence and insurance before you take delivery of a vehicle
The SSN request is the one that makes people nervous, and reasonably so. The distinction: it arrives on a formal affidavit as part of a documented process — never over social media, and never alongside a request for payment.
If you've already paid
Move quickly.
- Contact your bank or card issuer immediately and ask about reversing the transaction. Card payments have the best chance. Gift cards, crypto and payment-app transfers rarely do — report them anyway.
- Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or 877-382-4357.
- Report the account to the platform for impersonation.
- Tell the real brand. They can warn their followers and file their own impersonation report, which often gets faster action.
- Don't reply again. Paying once marks you as a target and the follow-up requests will escalate.
Verifying a message from Speed Junkies
If you're selected in one of our sweepstakes, you'll be contacted by phone by American Sweepstakes & Promotion Co., the independent administrator that conducts our drawings. Not by us, and not by DM.
We will never ask a winner for a payment of any kind, and we will never request card or bank details.
Our official accounts are listed on our prevent scams page. If a message doesn't match one of those exactly, it isn't us — and you can check with us through the Help Center before doing anything else.
You can also see how we measure up against the checks in our guide to whether car giveaways are real, and read our official rules for how winners are actually notified.
No purchase necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. See Official Rules for full details.
Frequently asked questions
Are Instagram car giveaways real?
Some are, but Instagram is where impersonation is worst. A genuine giveaway account often has copycat accounts with nearly identical handles that message its followers claiming they have won, then request payment to release the prize. The giveaway can be real while the message is fake, so verify the handle character by character and never pay anything.
Will a real giveaway DM me if I win?
No. Legitimate operators notify winners through the channel named in their official rules, typically phone, email or postal mail. A direct message announcing a win is not how a lawful sweepstakes contacts a winner.
Why would a scammer ask for a fee to release the prize?
Because the fee is the scam. There is no prize. Requests are framed as shipping, insurance, customs or taxes to sound procedural. No legitimate operator ever requires a winner to pay anything to receive a prize.
What should I do if I already paid a giveaway scammer?
Contact your bank or card issuer immediately about reversing the payment, report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, report the account to the platform for impersonation, and notify the real brand so they can warn others. Do not send further payments.
Is it normal for a sweepstakes to ask for my Social Security number?
Yes, but only on a formal affidavit and only for tax reporting, because the operator must file a 1099 for the prize value. It should never be requested over social media, and never alongside a request for payment.
How do I verify a message claiming to be from Speed Junkies?
Winners are contacted by phone by American Sweepstakes and Promotion Co., the independent administrator that runs the drawings, never by direct message. Speed Junkies will never ask a winner for a payment. Check the official account list on the prevent scams page, or ask through the Help Center before responding.