BBB Tip of the Week: Powerball Lottery Scams

Lottery scams were among the top 10 scams of 2015. An easy prediction is that scammers will take advantage of the recent Powerball frenzy.

Even though Powerball winners are announced on television and online, scammers send out emails and snail mail or make telephone calls in attempts to trick secondary winners of smaller prizes. For people who haven’t won the lottery, scammers may tell them that they won a “second chance” drawing. In either case, scammers will ask winners to pay for taxes up front in order to receive the winnings.

In a variation of the scam, scammers will send a letter informing someone of their prize winnings, along with a check to cover the taxes that would need to be paid on the winnings. The “winner” is then instructed to deposit the check and wire the deposited amount for taxes to a third party to receive those winnings. Of course the check is bogus and the “winner” is now a victim, having sent their own money.

The Better Business Bureau offers the following tips to avoid lottery scams:

Don’t pay to receive a prize. Requests for money by wire transfer, prepaid debit card, gift card or other unusual means are red flags of a scam.

If you didn’t enter a contest or buy a lottery ticket, then you can’t win. It is a scam if you’ve won a contest or lottery you never entered.

Be cautious of scam emails. Some sweepstakes may email about smaller prizes, but you should verify the organization. Winners of big prizes are often contacted in person. And lottery winners must claim their prize with the winning ticket.

Check and verify if a contest or offer is real through channels you trust. Don’t call a number in an email or on a website if you think it might be a scam. The person waiting for your call is also in on the scam.

When in doubt, conduct an online search for scams using the information provided in the questionable email. Other sources you can trust include the Washington’s Lottery website at www.walottery.com and BBB Business Reviews, even those offering sweepstakes, at www.bbb.org.

You can learn more about scams at www.bbb.org/scam and report scams at www.bbb.org/scamtracker or by calling (509) 455-4200.