Mega Millions Fans Warned Over New Scam
Tuesday October 10th 2017Mega Millions fans in Florida are being warned against divulging any personal and financial information as a new email scam sweeps the state. The message, which states that the receiver is entitled to enter a prize draw for $1 million, has been widely condemned by Florida State Lottery.
What Should I Watch Out For?
This latest lottery scam attempts to convince members of the public that they have been selected to enter a special Mega Millions draw, with a seven-figure prize up for grabs.
In order to enter, the message states that participants must send various pieces of personal information, including their name, home address and contact number to an attached email address.
In addition to harvesting a vast amount of personal information, players are encouraged to keep their entry into the draw a secret to avoid impersonation or double claims. The message, which appears to include the official Mega Millions logo, is notable for its unprofessional use of different colored fonts and a blend of upper and lower case lettering.
I’ve Received this Email. What Should I Do?
Players who have received this message are advised to report it to the Florida State Lottery’s Division of Security. Under no circumstances should recipients send any personal information in reply to this message or download any additional attached files.
How Can I Spot Future Scams?
As with any lottery, you’ve got to be in it to win it. This means that if a player is contacted by phone, email or letter regarding a big win in a lottery that they have not entered, alarm bells should immediately start sounding.
Mega Millions officials will never contact players unless they have made a claim for a prize in an official drawing. Representatives will also never ask for a fee upfront in order to claim a prize. In addition, players should be on the lookout for poor spelling and grammatical errors, conditions of winning (handling fees), and an openly addressed letter (Dear Participant). Often these scams come from a free webmail address (hotmail.com, yahoo.com, etc.), which would not be the case with any official communication.
How Do I Actually Win?
If all this talk of winning life-changing lottery prizes has you feeling pumped, why not enter tonight’s official Mega Millions draw, when a jackpot of $36 million will be up for grabs? For your chance to land an eight-figure sum, simply select your numbers online or play through any authorized retailer in participating states. Good luck!
Latest News