Safeguarding Yourself Against Lottery Scams: A Comprehensive Guide
Congratulations! You have won the lottery; and you cannot believe it. Before you celebrate, you should ask yourself if it could be a scam. The digital world has made it easier than ever for scammers to reach large numbers of people with their messages and false claims. However, just as with traditional scams, there are ways to detect electronic lottery fraud and protect your identity and your money. Here is a guide to some of the more common lottery and sweepstakes scams in circulation and how you can protect yourself against these crimes.
Scammers trick you into thinking you’ve won a big prize in a fake contest. In most cases, the scammers will ask for money, personal information, and other valuable material from you, claiming it’s necessary to receive your prize. Volunteering your personal data makes life easy for imposters and an ordeal for you.
The top warning signs of a lottery scam are:
- You never bought a ticket or entered a giveaway. If you never bought a ticket or entered to win money in the first place, you should proceed with caution.
- The host of the lottery is demanding a payment for you to receive your payment. Real prizes don’t usually cost money.
- The information is generic and confusing. If the fine print doesn’t make sense, or you can’t find it easily, that’s a big red flag!
- Unsolicited checks or duplicate checks have arrived for you in the mail. Getting a surprise check in the mail may feel thrilling, but it could be a scam to steal your personal information.
- Rushing you to respond. Criminals will pressure you because quicker you act, the less likely you are to think twice about a dishonest situation.
Scammers reach their victims in a variety of ways:
Email phishing
In this scam, you receive an unsolicited email announcing that you won the lottery. The email impersonates a government agency, well-known company, or sweepstakes agency. These emails will use the wrong domain, come from free accounts, and appear unprofessional. The emails will soon ask for money or confidential information.
Social media messages
You get a notification that you won a gift card or a discount code to a local store. Scammers hope you’ll respond with your personal information or click on links that can take your personal information or download malware onto your device. Don’t respond.
Scammers say you have won a foreign lottery, or that you can buy tickets for one.
Messages about a foreign lottery are certainly from a scammer—and it is a bad idea to respond. First, it is illegal for U.S. citizens to play a foreign lottery, so don’t trust someone who asks you to break the law. Second, if you buy a foreign lottery ticket, expect more offers for fake lotteries or faux investment “opportunities.” Finally, there are no secret systems for winning foreign lotteries, so do not believe someone who tells you they can help you win.
If you find that you have scammed after you thought you won a prize, give us a call. At NorthCountry we can advise you what to do next and freeze accounts if necessary. You should also always report scams to the Federal Trade Commission.