won a large prize over $600 and had to give my SSN for a tax form that got filed for the next year. pretty standard practice. where does the declaration take you? if it is a industry-standard contract website, congrats on the money!
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Received email I won ebay scratch and sell sweepstakes -- is it legit?
- Thread starter Chessguy1
- Start date
OP
OP
I appreciate the congrats but still a bit skeptical :p
gonna research and try to contact people, but most likely going to submit the form tomorrow.
will of course keep you guys updated.
i didn't really intend to enter, i just wanted the ebay coupon, so if i really do get $10k holy shit.
gonna research and try to contact people, but most likely going to submit the form tomorrow.
will of course keep you guys updated.
i didn't really intend to enter, i just wanted the ebay coupon, so if i really do get $10k holy shit.
- OP remembers entering this specific sweepstakes
- The domain that sent the email is the same one that Ebay tells you to contact with questions about the sweepstakes
- The email didn't get swallowed by a spam filter
- Contests are required to ask for your SSN for prizes above a certain dollar amount, which this prize is.
If you're still skeptical, I'll fill the form out for you and send it. ;D
Assuming OP makes a normal salary, it'd probably be about $6000 cash-in-hand, and then arguably a little more back in his tax returns (Assuming OP is an American tax payer somewhere in the $0-$250,000 range that is)w
Although, if the company is sending him a 1099 then they're probably not withholding taxes from it, so he might just be on the hook at tax time. I don't really know how small gift winnings like this work.
I received an email from someone (nattyboy at gmail) named Nate who asked me to sign a petition asking some dude named Scott Morrison to stop mocking Christianity. I don't know who Scott Morrison is nor Nate so I deleted it right away.
My point is if it was me I'd delete that email too. I'm paranoid about inputting SSN online
My point is if it was me I'd delete that email too. I'm paranoid about inputting SSN online
Don't
Don't tell anyone till the cash is in your account. Congrats on being 10 grand richer. How you gonna spend the cash?reached out to ebay on twitter about the contest and they did confirm the email for me kinda
filling out the form with my personal information right now.
this is looking damn good, oh my god. still haven't told anyone irl yet, but i think i might.
You'd look like a dick if you told everyone you won ten grand then a week later told them actually you'd been scammed.
Yeah I was gonna say. If they are handed the 10k and taxes haven't been withheld, be careful not to spend it all if you don't have enough saved up to pay the taxes on it.
reached out to ebay on twitter about the contest and they did confirm the email for me kinda
filling out the form with my personal information right now.
this is looking damn good, oh my god. still haven't told anyone irl yet, but i think i might.
Well, congratulations. I guess that sometimes it pays not to be completely cynical. :)
Your SSN was probably already leaked by Equifax. You got nothing to lose 😄
Congrats on the dough! What are you going to spend it on? And don't say you're going to save it or pay off loans. That's lame.
I'm cynical and even I think that's legit. They do need your SSN for the tax form. Everything else checks out, too.
reached out to ebay on twitter about the contest and they did confirm the email for me kinda
filling out the form with my personal information right now.
this is looking damn good, oh my god. still haven't told anyone irl yet, but i think i might.
GET THAT MONEY
OP
OP
They replied to my documents and said it was approved and I will receive the prize within the guidelines outlined in the rules. (8-10 weeks?)
They also posted the official winners list with myself on it if you dig through their website.
oh happy day :)
I have to cover the taxes and i'll be honest I have more than 10k in savings so no i really need the money story from me, i'll probably get a new TV (i don't have HDR) and upgrade my PC and save the rest.
i have been kinda anxious since i won, ngl.
They also posted the official winners list with myself on it if you dig through their website.
oh happy day :)
I have to cover the taxes and i'll be honest I have more than 10k in savings so no i really need the money story from me, i'll probably get a new TV (i don't have HDR) and upgrade my PC and save the rest.
i have been kinda anxious since i won, ngl.
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So we all agree this is scam to make this seem real and then email us through our resetera emails, right?
i'm gonna start a legit sweepstakes but make it seem like a scam so no one will ever actually claim the prizes.
They would only ask if you won. They wouldn't ask if you it was for a chance of winning. Either way I just find it hard to believe they're giving you this much money without a human being involved. There will be taxes. And they'd probably want a quote for PR.
Don't listen to all these jealous losers OP.
I'll tell you the same thing I told my royal Nigerian cousin when he e-mailed me an needed my credit card details. You gotta have trust to make money. That's what honest cash is built on.
And when he gets back to me about those millions in the trustfund, you and me are gonna be laughing our way to the bank!
I'll tell you the same thing I told my royal Nigerian cousin when he e-mailed me an needed my credit card details. You gotta have trust to make money. That's what honest cash is built on.
And when he gets back to me about those millions in the trustfund, you and me are gonna be laughing our way to the bank!
Awesome OP. Everything turned out better than expected.
Curiously, how do they have you cover the taxes? I know in shows like Price is Right, Wheel of fOrtune, etc. nobody takes the prizes, they take the cash equivalent of the prizes, because if you take the prizes you have to pay the tax on it, so unless you *need* a new car and have... $5,000 in cash ready for it, then most people can't afford to accept the prize, so tihey take the cash value and have the taxes deducted as income.
In the case of Ebay if someone was like "OH here's $10,000 in Ebay credits, but you have to give the government $4,000 in cash now..." then I'd really, like, kinda pause on that. I don't need $10,000 in crap from ebay more than I need $4,000 in actual cash to pay mortgage/daycare/bills/etc.
Curiously, how do they have you cover the taxes? I know in shows like Price is Right, Wheel of fOrtune, etc. nobody takes the prizes, they take the cash equivalent of the prizes, because if you take the prizes you have to pay the tax on it, so unless you *need* a new car and have... $5,000 in cash ready for it, then most people can't afford to accept the prize, so tihey take the cash value and have the taxes deducted as income.
In the case of Ebay if someone was like "OH here's $10,000 in Ebay credits, but you have to give the government $4,000 in cash now..." then I'd really, like, kinda pause on that. I don't need $10,000 in crap from ebay more than I need $4,000 in actual cash to pay mortgage/daycare/bills/etc.
OP
OP
I don't really know right now, they simply said i'm responsible for tax and they'll send me a 1099 form.
It's also cash, not an ebay gift certificate.
I'm surprised at how nonchalant this whole experience is. It was basically, you won, give us your address/ssn, and then 2 hours after i sent it, you are approved! expect your prize in 8-10 weeks or earlier, and that's literally the entire ordeal so far.
Oh nice, if it's cash that solves my question.
They send you a 1099 form for "misc income," which you fill out and this prize company reports that as income to the Feds for you. When tax season comes along and you're doing your taxes you'll report that as income and then it gets flushed out with what you owe or what you get back from the feds.
For a one time thing it probably makes sense to square up next spring. If you get recurring misc income (if you're a contractor or freelancer) a lot of people pay quarterly tax payments instead of having one massive tax liability in the spring. When I did a lot of freelance I only did quarterly payments once, and other years, I just saved about 30% of my freelance income in a savings account specifically for taxes.
Check received.
