Michigan Lottery warns public of prize scam
(CBS DETROIT) - The Michigan Lottery is warning the public to be aware of scams of people claiming to be lottery agents or prize winners.
The Michigan Lottery said they process all prize claims for free, and players must have a valid winning ticket to claim a prize.
If you didn't purchase a lotto ticket or played a lotto game, you couldn't have won a prize, the press release states.
To check if a lottery prize, offer, or promotion is real, people can call the Lottery's Player Relations Division at 844-887-6836 or email onlinehelp@michiganlottery.com.
Lottery prize scams happen more around the holidays, according to the Michigan Lottery.
According to the Michigan Lottery, there are two types of lottery prize scams:
- A person gets a letter, email, text, or phone call to inform them that they've won a big lottery prize but must pay a fee to collect the prize. If the person agrees, the scam artist convinces them to mail a cashier's check, make an electronic funds transfer, or even arranges a meeting to get the money in cash.
- A person is contacted by mail, email, text, or phone call by someone claiming to be a lottery prize winner. The scam artist tells the person they will share their prize if the person sends money to them. If the person agrees, the scam artist convinces them to mail a cashier's check, make an electronic funds transfer, or even arranges a meeting to get the money in cash.
After getting the money from the victim, a scam artist sometimes comes back for more, claiming unexpected processing costs or fees, or using an excuse to get more money from the victim, the Michigan Lottery said.
If you believe you have been the victim of such a scam, contact your local law enforcement agency.