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Unfortunately, sometimes the hope of a winning lottery ticket can temporarily cloud the judgment of a reasonable person.
In order to help reduce these types of incidents, the New Jersey Lottery has released information aimed at educating players about common scams and outlining simple things that you can do to protect yourself against lottery con artists and scams.
Tips for Players, Retailers and the General Public include:
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Only buy tickets and games from one of the 6,000 authorized New Jersey Lottery Retailers throughout the state. In order to find the closest Retailer location, call (609) 599-5800. |
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Never agree to redeem a lottery ticket for someone you don't know. |
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Don't respond to a letter, e-mail, or phone call from someone offering you a lottery prize. |
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Never give out credit card numbers or bank information to anyone promising prizes. |
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Always make sure to sign the back of your ticket, especially if you think it's a winner! |
There are several scams that have become common around the country, including:
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A person claims to be an illegal alien who has won a lottery jackpot. Unable to claim their prize in fear of being exposed, the person offers to "sell" their ticket to an unsuspecting victim for a fee. However, you don't have to be a U.S. citizen to claim a prize. |
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Someone will claim to need help with paying a tax or fee before they can claim the prize, and ask you for money to help them. Legitimate lotteries will never ask for any taxes or fees to be paid before a prize is awarded. |
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Scam artists will randomly send out direct mail pieces or go through the phone book and cold call victims acting as a direct marketer and promising instant lottery prizes for credit card information. Credit card information is never needed in order to award a Lottery prize. |
In addition to some of the above scams, many residents receive letters, e-mails, or phone calls about winning a prize from a foreign lottery, often times with a counterfeit check included “to cover fees.” The Federal Trade Commission has compiled information about these Illegal Foreign Lotteries, and has directions for what you can do if you feel you have been contacted by one. (Click on the picture below for information.)
Together, we can put an end to these unfortunate incidents.
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