PROTECT YOURSELF FROM
LOTTERY SCAMS
An informational website from the Nebraska Lottery

Recently various scam artists have been attempting to impersonate Lottery, Powerball® and Mega Millions® employees in order to steal people's identities, credit card numbers, banking information and cash.


 

TYPES OF SCAMS:

  • Some scams use phone calls, emails, or socal media to convince a victim to send money. A Nebraska woman received a phone call notifying her that she'd won a $2.5 million lottery prize. The caller sounded legitimate, but asked her to send him $8,000 to release the prize check. The woman suspected the caller was a fraud and notified the proper authorities.
  • Another type of scam involves mailing the victim a counterfeit check. The fraudulent letter asks the recipient to cash the check and wire back a portion to the sender to pay taxes on the money.
  • Yet another tactic is for the criminal to claim he has a major winning ticket, but not enough cash to claim the prize. He will then offer the victim a share of the prize in return for a loan of the prize claim fee.

 

ALWAYS REMEMBER:

  • The Lottery would NEVER charge you to get your prize.
  • A Lottery official would NEVER personally contact you about winning a jackpot.
  • A Lottery official would NEVER ask you for money up front.
  • There's NO WAY to win a Lottery prize if you didn't play a Lottery game.

HELPFUL TIPS:

  • Ignore all emails, letters or phone calls from unknown individuals or entities soliciting money from you. Also ignore requests for personal or financial information.
  • To report a suspicious email, letter, phone call or website, contact the Nebraska Lottery at 800-587-5200 or email lottery@nelottery.com. For additional information about various types of consumer fraud, call the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at 800-727-6432.
  • Information about claiming a Nebraska Lottery prize is available at http://nelottery.com/homeapp/claimprizes or by calling 800-587-5200.



Nebraska Lottery
nelottery.com

Must be 19. Please play responsibly. Compulsive Gambling Help Line: 800-522-4700.