Massive Mega Millions drawing brings out jackpot hopefuls, as well as lotto scammers
With more than a billion dollar Mega Millions jackpot on the line, there is quite a bit of excitement surrounding the drawing, but it's not just everyday people who are hoping to get lucky, scammers are also hoping to hit it big.
"So, what I have here is that I bought a bunch of tickets. It's for my family and friends," said one man buying tickets at a Woodland Hills Chevron.
Despite the odds of winning being roughly 302 million to one, he didn't want to miss a chance for the jackpot at the Woodland Hills gas station, which is considered a lucky lotto location since a woman took home a $426 million jackpot back in January.
"I'm hoping that lightning strikes twice," he told CBSLA.
According to some experts, thieves are also interested in the jackpot.
"As soon as you get to a billion dollar jackpot, all eyes are on the jackpot," said Aura Chief Scientist and cyber security expert Zulfikar Ramzan.
Consumer cyber security experts, like Ramzan, said there's been a spike in lotto scams, from bogus websites claiming to sell Mega Millions tickets to texting scams promising a lotto windfall.
"In many ways, it's like the perfect storm for scammers," Ramzan said. "They have a large prize pool that people are attracted to and you've got people who are very susceptible and vulnerable."
The most common scam, according to the digital safety company Aura, is being told you won the jackpot, either over the phone or via text message.
"And in those scams, they are usually asked to make some form of pre-payment, like pay your taxes up front or give a smaller, temporary payment in exchange for a bigger one later, and of course the bigger payment never shows up," Ramzan said.
There are also new sites popping up daily on the internet and on social media, many posing as legitimate lotto sites offering online Mega Millions ticket sales.
"Of course these are not official lottery tickets, and they're not going to yield anything beyond that," Ramzan said.
Paul Bailey said he's never before played the lottery, but was lured in by the billion dollar jackpot. CBSLA's Kristin Lazar asked him if he could see how someone might fall prey to a lotto scam given all this excitement.
"Absolutely," Bailey said. "I have seen more people play the lotto now than I ever have."
It's important to note that Mega Millions tickets can only be bought in stores that are official dealers, and if you are a legitimate winner, you will never ever be asked to pay any money up front.
