The Oprah Winfrey Show has become famous for its giveaways. Nearly five years ago, the daytime talk-show queen launched her 19th season with giving 276 audience members a brand new car, and thousands have walked away with free items during her "favorite things" shows.
But a new e-mail is flooding inboxes purporting that Oprah is giving away $1 million, and there's only one thing you need to know about it: it's fake.
[Snopes.com: Oprah Millionaire Contest Show]
The e-mail tells the recipient that they've been randomly selected to be part of the Oprah Millionaire Contest show, and then asks for the recipient's full name, address and personal information. The e-mail says that 20 people will be selected to attend a May 9 taping of the show and compete against each other by answering current affairs questions. The top four supposedly would win $1 million.
Winfrey warns her fans and followers on her Web site, making it clear that she is not hosting a sweepstakes competition right now. Oprah.com said there are at least a dozen scams about the show that are currently circulating the Internet.
Oprah.com also reminds fans that the show will never ask for any personal information via e-mail and that all Oprah correspondence will have special contact information to verify it.
If you've received one of the e-mails, the FBI asks you to forward it to their Internet Crime Complaint Center.
