How To Spot Lottery Scams (2021)

We have all dreamed of winning a life-changing sum of money on the lottery before. Those dreams of winning it big, and hitting the jackpot often causes people to let their guard down when it comes to false lottery scams.

In 2017 alone, lottery and sweepstakes scams cost Americans $111 million, many of whom were targeted by professional scammers. That is why it is essential to know precisely how to identify fraud when you see it. With that in mind, here is everything you need to know about avoiding lottery scams.

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1. Real Lotteries Never Ask for Money

If you are trying to avoid scams in the lottery, the first thing you should know is that a legitimate lottery will never, ever ask you to pay upfront fees. With a real lottery, the only “fee” you should ever pay to the lottery provider is the cost of the ticket.
A lottery scammer will try and get you to pay some “fee” to access your jackpot, which is often just a ruse to fleece you out of your money. Such “fees” may be asked to pay for false expenses such as “admin fees” or to “prove” you are a real person. Don’t fall for it.

2. Lottery Scams May Ask for Documentation

Lottery scams, like many spending scams, might be out to get your sensitive data. They may ask for your bank account details via email or your online banking credentials. They may ask for your social security number, which should not be provided unless you are 100% certain that there is a verifiable reason.

There are, however, different kinds of legitimate lotteries that may ask for documentation, such as your payslips, such as local housing lotteries in places such as NYC. In this case, even if you do not have a salaried job, you can quickly provide real pay stubs with the reliable online pay stubs maker to show your income and tax details.

3. If You Didn’t Play, You Didn’t Win

Many money scams will contact you out of the blue to say that you have won a cash prize for a competition you have no memory of ever entering. Remember, if you did not actually play a lottery, you definitely have not won a lottery.

No matter what they might say, there is no chance that you have won a legitimate prize for a lottery you never played. If they are telling you this, it is a scam.

4. Guaranteed Wins Are Non-Existent

Finally, it is worth noting that there is no such thing as a guaranteed win in any circumstances. If a so-called lottery provider advertises their games as giving guaranteed cash prizes, walk away.
A real lottery will always be upfront about its prize structure and the low odds of winning anything. Any claims of guaranteed and risk-free jackpots should be treated with extreme caution or ignored altogether.

Avoid All Types of Scams in 2021

Lottery scams are just one of the many insidious types of scams that target Americans every year. To stay up to date on the latest techniques used by criminal scammers, we have got you covered. Make sure to consult our regularly updated scam guides to stay one step ahead of the swindlers.

How To Prevent Identity Theft and More

If you want to be the first to receive the most notorious scams weekly, feel free to subscribe to the Scam Detector newsletter. You’ll get periodic emails – no spam. Meanwhile, educate yourself with some other fraud-related articles below, so that you can protect yourself in many other niches. Last but not least, use the comments section below.

Here are some must-read materials for the end:

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