Who wouldn’t want to win thousands or even millions of dollars, or the chance to go on an extravagant vacation? Scammers take advantage of your eagerness to win that big prize. The initial contact in a sweepstakes scam is often a call, an email, a social media notification, or a piece of direct mail offering congratulations for winning some big contest. However, the catch is you’ll be asked to pay a fee, taxes, or customs duties to claim your prize. The scammers will then request your bank account information, a wire transfer, or suggest you purchase gift cards and give them the card numbers. Once the scammer entraps the person, they’ll keep coming back, staying in contact for many months, promising the big prize is only one more payment away.
In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 148,000 reports of fraud involving prizes, sweepstakes, and lotteries – up 27% from the year before. It was also reported that victims collectively lost $255 million. (https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/sweepstakes.html)
Warning signs
- As the common lottery slogan goes, you need to be in to win it! You can’t win a prize if you did not enter. If you receive a call or an online solicitation saying you won something without entering, it is likely a scam.
- You’re told you need to make an up-front payment to collect the prize. According to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, no money is EVER required to claim a prize.
- Someone claiming to be a lottery official contacts you about winning the lottery when you have not received any prior notification. A lottery official would NEVER personally contact you about winning a jackpot before an official claim form is filed.
How to protect yourself from lottery/sweepstakes scams
- Hang up on calls claiming to be from contests like the Mega Millions lottery or the Publishers Clearing House (PCH) sweepstakes. They will not call you out of the blue to tell you you’ve won.
- Read the fine print on a contest form and make sure it isn’t missing legally required information, such as ways to enter the contest, the start and end dates, and descriptions of prizes.
- Never provide personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you about a lottery prize.
If you believe you are a victim of a scam, contact Bethpage immediately at 800-628-7070.
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