(DailyDig.com) – Be wary of con artists posing as lottery officials or prize recipients, says the Michigan Lottery.
There are two distinct kinds of lottery prize fraud during the holidays that the Michigan Lottery has identified.
In the first kind of scam, the person is contacted by phone, text, email, or mail, telling them that they have won a large lottery but that to claim it, they are required to pay a charge. According to the Michigan Lottery, con artists sometimes return for more funds after obtaining them, citing unforeseen processing fees or expenditures as an explanation.
The lottery organization has warned that recipients of such communications should exercise caution. Victims have said that con artists convinced them they won the jackpot even if they didn’t buy a ticket by making up a plausible tale. According to the Michigan Lottery, in order to be eligible for a reward, you had to buy a lottery ticket or participate in a lottery game.
The fact that the Michigan Lottery processes all prize claims at no cost raises further concerns, since they have said that they would never ask lottery winners for payment.
Someone posing as a lottery winner and contacting the person by phone, text, email, or mail is the second kind of lottery fraud. The con artist promises to split the reward with the victim if they give them some money.
Convincing the victim to send money electronically, mail them a cashier’s check, or even set up a meeting to collect cash are some ways con artists steal from unsuspecting victims in both of these types of scams.
The Michigan Lottery will help anybody who gets any kind of contact from anyone about being a winner of a lottery prize and may be worried that they might be a victim of a scam. Call 844-887-6836, option 2, or email [email protected] to reach the Lottery’s Player Relations Division and verify the legitimacy of a reward, offer, or promotion.
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