Lottery Scams

The lottery landscape often attracts con artists who try to trick lottery players into giving them sensitive information such as their full name, home address, and bank account details. Con artists use the victims' information so they can steal their money or identity. As a lottery enthusiast yourself, you might be on the con artists' radar, therefore it's crucial to know how to identify scams and fraud schemes. What to look out for:

Getting a fake check - you will be asked for your bank account details and scammers would claim that the money will be deposited into your account
Receiving a message or email telling you that you have won a prize and, in order to claim it, you need to pay a fee
Someone unknown to you asks for your help in redeeming a lottery ticket for them
Receiving a letter, an email or an SMS from a 'lottery representative' claiming that you won a prize in a California Lottery game, and they try to convince you to send them money
Seeing logos or email addresses similar to those of the California Lottery

The California Lottery would never ask you for money in exchange for your winnings. Legitimate lottery providers would also not ask you for your personal or financial information over the phone or over email. Moreover, they wouldn't ask to meet you in person.

What to do when in doubt?

Ignore the phone calls, emails and messages and mark them as spam
Do not click on suspicious links
Contact the local law enforcement if you think you are a victim of a scam
On social media, ignore friend requests, messages or tags from people you do not know. A common practice is that con artists claim to be jackpot winners and they choose random people to donate a part of the sum
You cannot win a prize if you did not enter a lottery game
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

If you believe you are being targeted by scammers or if you see fraudulent activity, please get in touch with the California Lottery customer service team at 1-800-LOTTERY (1-800-568-8379).