How to Enter Contest Alerts in Chesapeake, Virginia Without Scams
Two checks — did you enter, and is anyone asking for payment — separate a real Chesapeake contest alert from a fraudulent one.
Entering contest alerts safely in Chesapeake, Virginia means working only through a sponsor's own official rules and never paying anything to claim a prize. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states that legitimate sweepstakes never require a fee, tax, or customs payment to release winnings, and any request to pay by wire transfer or gift-card number is treated as a certain sign of fraud, according to the FTC's prize and grant scam guidance. That rule is the filter for every contest alert a Chesapeake resident receives, whether it arrives by text, phone call, or mail.
The sections below explain how real alerts differ from fraudulent ones, what local reports have described, and where to find verified, currently open opportunities to enter.
What Separates a Real Contest Alert From a Fake One
A contest alert is any notice — text, email, call, or letter — telling someone they may win or have won a prize. The clearest test is whether you entered it yourself. The FTC advises that a person cannot win a contest or lottery they never entered, so an unsolicited message announcing a surprise prize should be treated as fraudulent on its face, according to the FTC's guidance on prize notification scams.
The second test is money. No legitimate sweepstakes operator asks a winner to pay fees, taxes, or shipping costs before releasing a prize. The FTC also states it never collects money directly from consumers, so a caller claiming to represent the FTC, another government agency, or a sweepstakes company while demanding payment is impersonating that organization, per the same FTC prize-scam page.
These two checks — did you enter, and is anyone asking for money — catch nearly every fraudulent contest alert before you need to investigate further. If either answer raises doubt, stop responding and verify independently rather than using any contact information the message itself provided.
Why This Matters in Hampton Roads
Fake prize and lottery notifications are not a minor nuisance. The FTC's most recent tallied data show consumers nationally reported losing $301 million to fake prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams, averaging $907 per victim, making it a persistent and costly form of imposter fraud, as reported in the FTC's consumer alert on lottery and sweepstakes scams. The pattern shows up close to home.
A Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker report filed from Virginia's 23503 ZIP code, in Hampton Roads near Chesapeake, around October 2025, described callers claiming a $3.5 million sweepstakes win while demanding $3,500 in advance fees; the consumer paid nothing after verifying with the BBB, according to the filed BBB Scam Tracker report. Local law enforcement has flagged the same pressure tactics in a related context. The Chesapeake Sheriff's Office issued a consumer warning about callers claiming a "pending legal matter" and demanding immediate payment, a tactic the Virginia Sheriffs' Institute relayed as part of broader phone-scam awareness, per the Virginia Sheriffs' Institute notice.
The demand for urgent payment is the common thread, whether the caller claims a prize or a legal threat.
Verified Contest Opportunities Open to Chesapeake Residents
Rather than waiting for an alert to arrive, residents can enter known, verifiable opportunities directly. The Virginia Lottery runs statewide second-chance promotional drawings that are entered free through the Lottery's official app or website, with winners notified by email, according to the Virginia Lottery's promotional winners page. Since July 1, 2026, winners of certain prizes have also been able to claim anonymously, per the same source.
A local, time-limited option is also currently active. Audacy's Chesapeake Jubilee ticket contest, tied to Hampton Roads radio stations WPTE-FM and WWDE-FM, runs call-in entries from May 4 through May 8, 2026, awarding sets of four festival tickets under the station's general contest rules, with no payment required to enter, according to Audacy's contest page. Both of these share the same structure: a named sponsor, a published set of rules, and no entry fee.
That combination is what a real contest alert looks like, in contrast to an unsolicited message claiming you've already won.
How to Verify a Suspicious Contest Alert Before Responding
Before acting on any contest alert, confirm its source independently rather than using the phone number, email address, or link the message itself provides. The Better Business Bureau does not run sweepstakes itself, so any message claiming BBB involvement in a prize is automatically false, and real sweepstakes never charge upfront "shipping," "handling," or "tax" fees to release winnings, according to BBB guidance on holiday and prize scams. If an alert still looks suspicious after these checks, Chesapeake residents can report it rather than respond to it.
The Virginia Attorney General's consumer protection office and the FTC both accept reports on suspected prize and lottery fraud, and reporting through ftc.gov/complaint or ReportFraud.ftc.gov is preferable to using any contact information supplied in the alert itself, per the Virginia Attorney General's office.
- Look up the sponsor's name and search for its official rules page directly, rather than clicking a link in the alert.
- Treat any request for payment, gift cards, or wire transfers as a stopping point, regardless of how the request is framed.
- Confirm you actually entered the contest; a prize you don't remember entering is not one you can have won.
- If a message claims to be from a government agency, remember federal agencies do not collect payments over the phone to release winnings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I ever pay a fee to claim a contest prize?
No. The FTC states legitimate sweepstakes never require payment of fees, taxes, or customs duties to release a prize, and a request to pay by wire transfer or gift card is a certain sign of fraud.
What should I do if I get a call claiming to be from the FTC demanding payment?
Treat it as impersonation. The FTC states it never collects money directly from consumers, so any caller claiming to represent it while demanding payment is not actually the agency.
Where can Chesapeake residents report a suspicious prize call?
Through the Virginia Attorney General's consumer protection office or directly at ftc.gov/complaint or ReportFraud.ftc.gov, rather than using contact information the caller provided.