The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot today are 1 in 292 million. To put that in perspective, it’s like President George W. Bush randomly picking someone from the entire U.S. population in 2003 to have dinner with him at the White House. Pretty slim, right? Feeling lucky?
Even though the chances of winning are so small, many people fall for lottery scams. With the Powerball prize climbing to over $1 billion, it’s easy to want to believe you’ve won. But the truth is, those calls, texts, or emails claiming you’re a winner are almost always scams.
How does the lottery scam work?
Scammers trick people by claiming they’ve won the jackpot. They give victims a “claim check number” and tell them to go to a local Dollar General store—where you can’t actually claim lottery winnings.
The scammers then ask for money, saying it’s needed to claim the “prize” or make an “insurance deposit” to ensure the funds go to the right person.
Some victims are contacted by fake “operators” pretending to represent Mega Millions. These scammers send official-looking emails, texts, or make phone calls, all claiming the victim has won.
In one Mega Millions scam, a victim gets a WhatsApp message saying they’ve won a $700,000 “Cash Gift.” To claim it, they’re told to pay a fee. It’s all a scam!
How to protect yourself from lottery scams
Here’s advice from Mega Millions on how to not get scammed:
- You can’t win a real lottery if you didn’t buy a ticket.
- If you live outside the area where the lottery or game is available, it’s a scam.
- Check the caller’s area code. If it’s from a foreign country, that’s a red flag.
- Be suspicious of emails with misspellings or bad grammar, or if the caller speaks poor English.
- If someone tells you to keep your “win” a secret, it’s likely a scam.
- No real lottery will ask you to pay money to collect a prize. If they do, it’s not legitimate.
- Just because the name of a real lottery is mentioned doesn’t mean the prize is real. Scammers may use the name without permission.
- Never share personal information or send money unless you confirm the company or person is legitimate.
- If they offer to wire your “winnings” into your bank account, don’t share your account information.
- If you’re told to call a number to “verify” your prize, don’t. That number could be part of the scam. Look up the lottery’s real contact information instead.
- If you think someone is trying to scam you, hang up right away. Talking to them could get your name added to a list shared with other scammers.
Stay alert and protect yourself!