Sweepstakes Home
Sweepstakes can be fun - but shouldn't
cost you money
Sweepstakes offers sweep savings
out the door
Sweepstakes 'scams' unveiled through
series
Daughters vent their frustrations
at sweepstakes
Another area person also believed
he was a winner
USPE responds to local customers'
complaints
Attorney General wants to better
the odds in sweepstakes
Sweepstakes victim goes public
Sweepstakes industry hits unlucky
streak
Psychology lures people into buying
Sweepstakes victim getting her
money back
Sweepstakes legislation may carry
local victim's name
Buying club complaints piling up
Here's the key: Think, call BBB
before you sign
NEWS-SUN, EVENING STAR
& HERALD-
REPUBLICAN
|
Psychology lures people
into buying
Originally printed in The Evening
Star 2/25/99
By CINDY BEVINGTON
INDIANAPOLIS - The bold print. The personalized messages.
The lure of dreams-come-true with "guaranteed" promises
that "YOU, CINDY BEVINGTON, are a winner."
These and other ploys used by mail order companies in their
sweepstakes offers are what "trick" some individuals
into believing that they, and they alone, are the winners.
The information came to light at a national meeting of attorneys
general in Indianapolis Wednesday. A subcommittee appointed by
the attorneys general to investigate sweepstakes fraud learned
the information as part of a public hearing they called with
industry officials and sweepstakes victims.
Dr. Ravi Dhar of the Yale University School of Management
and Dr. William Arnold of Arizona State University testified
on the psychology involved in sweepstakes.
Dhar has conducted studies on why people buy certain messages
in all kinds of sales offers. He is an expert in consumer behavior
and decision-making, marketing management and marketing strategy.
Arnold is a professor of communication who currently serves
as ASU's Director of Gerontology Program. Among others, one area
of his research interests is telemarketing and mail fraud scams
among the elderly.
The wording of sweepstakes offers is just one reason why people
feel inclined to believe the mailings - and perceive that they
need to buy something to win, regardless of messages to the contrary,
the men said. Even when companies include the words "may"
or "if" in their mailings, 40 percent of the recipients
still disqualify the qualifying words, they said.
"Some words speak louder than others," Dhar said.
Young people may throw a sweepstakes offer in the trash or enter
the contest without buying something because they understand
it's just a game with a very low odds of winning.
But the elderly seem to have a decreased capacity to process
this information, he said.
Prominent label warnings such as "no purchase necessary"
also are often discounted because the warnings come on an envelope
or letter crowded with dozens of other messages that negate the
warning.
In fact, Arnold said, his studies show that 87 percent of
recipients would open the package anyway, even with a warning
label on it.
Use of official-looking packaging - such as that used by the
federal government - also deceives people into giving more credibility
to the possibility of winning, both men said.
Also, many mail order companies have started to put "official
postal notices" on their mailings and envelopes - a trick
called "tacit credibility," Arnold said. Because people
see these messages, they tend to believe the package and its
contents are more legitimate when they receive it.
The mind-set of people who continue to spend money on sweepstakes
offers even though they never - or rarely - win something is
similar to that of a gambler's, Dhar said.
The idea of continuing even though you're losing tremendous
amounts of money is perpetuated with the thought that "next
time I'm going to win" or "I've lost so much now, I've
got to stay in to get it all back," he said.
Although the professors did not advocate banning sweepstakes
entirely, they did suggest that government officials think about
limiting the amount of total information that could be contained
in a sweepstakes offer.
States also could limit use of certain words such as "priority"
and "official notice," they said.
They also recommended educating people as to their real chances
of winning.
|
STAR REPORTER'S
SWEEPSTAKES SERIES WINS NATIONAL AWARD
EXCLUSIVE TO THIS WEB SITE:
A letter to The Evening Star editor
from Indiana's Attorney General
Want to read another paper's stories
about sweepstake scams?
Why do the elderly seem more susceptible
to believing sweepstakes promises? Two experts give their opinions
Why do the elderly seem more susceptible
to believing sweepstakes promises? A gerontologist shares his
studies.
Iowa has seen it before
National issue, local example,
big news
Persons to contact if you believe you may be the victim
of a sweepstakes scam:
National Association of Attorneys
General
750 First Street, NE, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20002
PH: (202) 326-6000
FAX: (202) 408-7014
Office of Attorney
General
Steve Carter
402 W. Washington St.
Fifth Floor
Indianapolis, IN 46204
PH: (317) 232-6201
FAX: (317) 232-7979
National Fraud Information Center 1-800-876-7060
National
Consumer's League
1-202-835-3323
Federal Trade Commission 1-877-382-4357
(toll free)
E-mail
Cindy Bevington
or Evening Star
editor Dave Kurtz.
WATCH FOR ADDITIONAL STORIES EXCLUSIVE TO THIS WEB SITE!
|
