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Fraudsters use lottery and prize scams to get money or your personal and banking information. You'll receive a communication claiming you won a prize. Typically, you won’t remember entering to win, and that’s because you didn’t. It's a scam. Learn about lottery and prize scams and what you can do to safeguard against them.
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What you need to know
- Be diligent when you receive unexpected communications. If there's a claim that you've won something, don't act quickly to get the prize. Ask questions and investigate if it's valid.
- Don't send money to people you don't know, or share your personal and banking information.
- Be wary of requests for money. If you're required to pay a fee to claim a prize, then it's not legitimate.
What's a lottery and prize scam?
Fraudsters try to trick you into a lottery and prize scam. What usually happens is that you’ll receive an unexpected notification that you’ve won a prize, but you're asked to pay a fee to claim your winnings. If you pay to claim the prize, often you won't receive it or if you do receive a prize, it's not what you expected.
How lottery and prize scams work
- You receive an unexpected notification by text message, phone, mail, email or social media that you’ve won a lottery or prize. Your winnings could be anything, such as money, an all-inclusive vacation or an electronic device.
- You may be asked to provide your personal and banking information to prove that you’re the correct winner and to receive the prize. Your information may be used to steal your identity and money.
- To claim the prize, you may be asked to pay a fee to cover costs, such as insurance, taxes or bank fees.
- Often, your payment is taken but you don't receive a prize. If you do, it's something far less than what's promised. Sometimes, fake checks are sent to trick you into thinking you’re receiving legitimate prize funds.
Warning signs of lottery and prize scams
- You don’t recall entering a draw
- You're advised to respond quickly to claim the prize or risk missing out
- You're asked to keep your winnings confidential
- You're required to pay a fee to claim the prize
- You've been overpaid prize winnings and are asked to send money back
- Make sure you read and understand the terms and conditions before you redeem a prize. If something seems too good to be true, it often is.
- A legitimate sweepstake is free and your odds of winning are only by chance. If you're asked to pay to enter or to increase your chances of winning, it's most likely a scam.
- Don't act quickly to claim an unexpected prize. Take your time to make sure the prize is legitimate by researching the company, phone number and person or organization that's contacting you. If you’re unsure, ask a trusted family member or friend for their opinion.
- Never share your personal information, including your Social Security Number (SSN) or banking information, like your personal identification number (PIN) or passwords with anyone.
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