I' m sick of reading about people who rack up numerous prizes in one sweep when the rules clearly state 1 prize person (or household). Many of these people are aware of what they are doing and frankly I think it's selfish. It's irresponsible of the sponsors not to check and to disqualify people. Unless the rules clearly state that I CAN win multiple prizes I quit after the first one...including those pesky song downloads. It's only fair.

Don't get me started on people who use multiple email addy's or physical addresses...

I haven't noticed posts where this is the case...seems like people usually say "I'm done with this one" or in some cases they will note that they and their spouse or child both won. (How do they manage more than one win when most of us have trouble securing one?!?)

Does anyone post a reply reminding such people that they're only allowed one win? And where are you finding people who announce that they use multiple addresses?  I'm not challenging you here, anikka, I'm really just curious because I've been doing a little unscientific research over the years about cheating...mostly in academics, and whether or not younger folks are less concerned about such behavior than prior generations.  I hadn't really thought about whether the same questions about cheating might apply to the world outside the classroom!

If anyone has any further insights, please post...and cue me towards some keywords I might search to find posts on this subject! Thanks for the topic, anikka...very interesting.  (Infuriating when you keep getting the "Sorry, you didn't win" message --but interesting from a sociological standpoint.  )

I absolutely agree, 3mnkids1...if they're following the rules it seems perfectly legit to win a prize for each eligible member of a household.

I just haven't ever noticed a post that claimed to have won something outside the rules, so I'm curious to see some.  Are they bragging that they've succeeded in bending the rules, are they unaware of the rules (and if so, does someone point it out to them), or are they totally oblivious to the idea of there being something wrong with cheating? 

It's my understanding that once you win but continue to enter when it's one prize only, that the system already recognizes you as having won and will not award anymore prizes.  If it doesn't, they usually won't get the extras.  If people were to use various email addresses, they would also need various physical addresses to have for each prize won.  I highly doubt there are many people if any that have that many physical addresses to use.  In situations where people have tried cheating by changing their name around, etc.,  it's usually caught and the wins returned to the prize pool for new winners to be picked.

I think this has gotten more blown out of preportion than is realistic.  There are also people who lie about their wins.  So, I wouldn't put much stock in someone claiming they won a bunch of prizes from a sweepstakes that had a limit of one.  As far as I'm concerned, it's a bunch of hoo hah; and I have more important things to do than worry about such claims being posted on forums especially with no proof.  So, I wouldn't worry about it or waste time getting mad over it.

There were a couple of occasions where I continued to enter after I won the limit of prize(s).  I hadn't realized there was a limit until I checked the rules at some point.  However, I was never sent anything other than the initial prize(s) that I was limited to winning.  So, they do catch these things.  Now, when I win, I check the rules to make sure there is or isn't a limit.  I'm sure there are other people who don't realize that once they won, they can't win anymore and continue to enter unknowingly.

anikka - I do understand your anger - when I first learned that people cheated, I was floored that they could be so selfish and greedy too. 

I'd already run the emotional gamut on this issue years ago, so when my son told me that this was happening (before I even read the comment) I'd already reacted to it I guess.

In re-reading this thread, I remembered how that felt, and then thought that you might think I was dismissing your feelings - I didn't intend to, I just didn't want you or anyone who read this to fall into that kind of unproductive anger - especially if it riled people up to the point where they complained to the sponsors!

The best we can do is to inform others on what being an honest sweeper is, and hope they follow the rules. If it's 1 prize pp, and someone has 5 members in their home that are eligible, they are ALL entitled to try to win. If it's 1 per HH, then when 1 of them wins, they are all done. Easy peasy 

nkb - passions run high on this issue, as you probably already know 

From what I've observed, it seems to me that there has been a shift in how cheating is viewed and accepted, from plagarism (rampant online with people not crediting their source(s) and pretending something is their work) to trying to get more than your fair share of something for free.

I think the root cause is file sharing - music, etc. - we have a whole generation brought up practically online, and formerly taboo behaviors are now not only accepted, but in some cases, lauded. 

Then again, each generation believes the worst of the next...   

Good point on the music sharing. This particular type of cheating is often met with the excuse that the industry is ripping people off by charging too much, so it's okay.  My husband also thinks that this downloading habit has led to cheating in other areas. But if it's okay to steal from the industry because they're the big guys, I wonder what makes it okay in the same person's mind to copy off his/her neighbor's exam, for instance. 

Too true...too true!

Another excellent point, which speaks to lack of enforcement as encouragement.

I'm always testing the theory that if I can find the strongest motivations among a group for not cheating, and/or take away the strongest motivations for cheating, I can thereby significantly reduce the pool of cheaters in classroom setting.  Not sure it's working yet. 

Not sure if I fall into the cheater category as I am the computer geek in my household I have registered myself, and both my parents in plenty of sweeps.  When I see only one entry per household though I only will register myself.  But if a contest allows more than one person to enter i.e. an instant where it is okay for me to register all 3 of us I do.  Have I gotten multiple wins by doing this yes.  But there are plenty of contests in which I have entered all 3 of us and we have won absolutely nothing.

My intention is not to cheat but afford my parents an opportunity to win prizes.  By me doing this there have been some really nice prizes that my parents have one: $150.00 for Sleepyhead.com, 2 vouchers on Southwest Airlines which had a retail value of 800.00 I just booked my parents a trip to CA for next year with these tickets.  The good thing was that these were open ended tickets and so when I booked the flight the agent told me it did not matter what the retail value was b/c these were open ended tickets the flight could be 1100.00 and my parents still would not have to pay.  I am happy that I entered these contests in which my parents were able to get these prizes.

So if I am considered a cheater for this I guess I have to wear that name on my sleeve and be a cheater then. 

To me I think the contests that state you have to be a certain age like under 14 and people lie about there age and enter and win these contests are truly cheaters!!!

In the past, ePrize and HGTV have responded that it is not cheating to enter for other people as long as it's within the guidelines of the rules.  Sweepers who unilaterally in their minds deem it cheating are just making up their own rules!!   They're just selfish bitter sweepers!!

Great story, Ping.  Thanks for that.  I'm not necessarily in favor of spanking, although I was spanked plenty myself as a kid and it sure worked...but it's good to know there are parents who still believe in discipline and are adept at enforcing it.

OMG...entering your imaginary friends and animals...ROFLMAO!!!  I can just see people sitting at their computers typing in "Fluffy Smith" or "Fido Jones"!!! 

Oh please, I read about cheaters all the time! First there was the Office supply place that was doing an instant win and you had to be under 18 or something and people were playing it, getting multiple wins and then posting them as "who wants this I'll email you the coupon for it because I dont have an office max in my state and I'm in my thirties and dont need school supplies" No wonder my fifteen year old couldn't win!!!!
  Then there was the person who won over 25 shirts (of course cheaters always say they will give them to charity!)
 Then there are the people who ask "do you know a good roboform that will do 25 emails?"
 Just go to your daily freebies and look under the comments posted for various instant wins and you will see tons of people admitting to cheating!!!!!!!! You will also see my comments posted about how wrong I think it is. 
Of course the response is that I'm just a whiner.   It is our duty to let people know how we feel. the sponsers dont want just a few winners and why should someone's distant cousin who doesnt even own a computer get prizes? I do feel husband and children in the same household are ok with me. Just not your whole extended family!