Lottery Scams

Whether you’re a regular lottery player or you’ve never bought a ticket in your life, you may come across a lottery scam. This happens when a fraudster builds their hoax around the lottery – typically by telling their victims that they have won a prize. In reality there is no prize, and the scammer is just trying to find a way to extract personal or financial information.

Unfortunately, these type of scams are just as common in New Jersey as they are in the rest of the world. Find out what to look for to avoid being caught out, and how to report a scam.

How to Spot Scams

While some scams are very basic and easy to spot, others may look or sound much more authentic. The main point to keep in mind is that the only way to win a lottery prize is to buy a ticket and match the winning numbers. If you haven’t got a ticket and someone has said you are a winner, it is a scam. If you have actually played, then you can check your numbers online or by visiting a New Jersey Lottery retailer. Here are some more warning signs.

• The New Jersey Lottery will not contact you if you are a winner. They do not know who has won prizes - you need to notify them.
• You will never be asked to pay any kind of tax or processing fee before you can receive your winnings.
• Legitimate lotteries do not select their winners at random on the basis of an email address or phone number. You have to enter a draw in order to be able to win.
• If someone has contacted you to say you have won and asked you to provide bank account details or your Social Security number, it is a scam.
• Fraudsters sometimes pretend to be a previous winner, for example someone who has won a Mega Millions jackpot and said they would give lots of their money to charity. Remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

Scams can take various forms, such as emails, letters, phone calls or social media messages. Stay vigilant and do not open any suspicious links.

What To Do if You’re Targeted

If you receive an email, letter or phone call that you think is a scam, do not respond to it or provide any information. If you do give them some details, you should notify your bank immediately.

Attempted scams can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or via the FTC Consumer Information website.

You can also contact the New Jersey Lottery’s Security Unit to alert them of the scam. They will investigate the fraud to try to stamp it out and bring the criminals to justice, so you should provide as much information as possible. This includes any scam material you have been sent or the instructions you received. The NJ Lottery Security Unit can be reached by phone at (609) 599-6100, email or by mailing the following address: New Jersey Lottery; Security Unit; P.O. Box 041; Trenton, NJ 08625-0041.