Who doesn’t want to win the jackpot? Lottery and sweepstakes scams come in many forms, sometimes appearing to be from the state lottery or publisher’s clearinghouse, while other times it’s from a foreign lottery or an investment opportunity. In most cases the message is for a lottery or sweepstakes the victim did not enter into and requires paying a fee to release the winnings. After the victim pays the fee, the prize money never arrives.
Below are a few red flags of lottery and sweepstakes scams:
- Mail, email, text or call stating you won a prize
- Mail claiming you alone are the winner but is postmarked bulk rate (sent to many people)
- They require personal and/or financial information
- The prize requires sending a fee for processing or insurance purposes via wire, ACH or cryptocurrency
- Limited time offer – you have to send the fee now
Fraudsters prey on a victim’s desire for good fortune, but taking a moment to think about the details can halt this scam in its tracks. If you have to pay a fee for your prize, it is a scam. If you won a sweepstakes you did not enter, it is a scam. A lottery or sweepstakes will never send you funds and then request that you send funds elsewhere. It is also illegal for US residents to play foreign lotteries.
Protect yourself from lottery and sweepstakes scams:
- Do not respond to lottery or sweepstakes messages you never played
- Never send funds to a person or group you don’t know or didn’t expect to pay
- If the message is from a company you haven’t heard of before, look them up online with terms such as “scam” or “complaint”
