You receive a notice that you’ve won a LOT of money. It may be an email, a call, or a notice by snail mail. You are thinking of all you could do with that money. Maybe you’ll buy a Porsche or a Jag. Maybe you’ll get that vacation home. Maybe you’ll travel. Perhaps you’re generous and you’ll give money to your family and your favorite charities. (We’ve all dreamed of what we would do with the Mega Millions jackpot!)
SNAP! Back to reality. The spiel goes on. All you need to do is send a ‘small’ amount of money for fees and taxes and you can claim your prize. Wait a minute. All I have to do is SEND money to get my winnings?
ALERT!! RED FLAG!! Do not send money to anyone, anywhere, who says you’ve won a prize. If the lottery is legitimate, you will not be asked for money to claim your prize. Just hang up the phone, throw away the snail mail, or ignore the email (and delete it).
You can be proactive. Learn more about lottery scams from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Talk to your older friends and relatives about foreign lottery scams and share some simple tips that can help save a lot of headaches.
- Be cautious of unknown domestic or international calls.
- Monitor all accounts for unusual activity.
- Know what payments are being made from accounts.
- Watch for sweepstakes or prize notifications around the home.
- Be aware of changes in living conditions such as past-due bills, not having enough money for expenses, etc.
You can be a target as well. Scams are perpetrated against all ages. Younger people are scammed more often but older adults lose more money, according to the FTC.
If you’ve been scammed, report it to the police and the Federal Trade Commission. If snail mail was used to contact the scammee or if money was sent by mail, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Notify your financial institutions and consider closing your accounts. Contact the Social Security Administration as the scam could put your benefits at risk. Check credit reports often. (You can also place a fraud alert or freeze on your reports.)
With apologies to Paul Simon but there must be 50 ways to lose your money. Send them the cash, Flash. Buy the gift card, Pard. Be in a rush, Gus. Just do what they say. They don’t want to discuss much. They just want you to pay.
But- there are ways to protect yourself. Just hang up the phone, Joan. Don’t fall for the scam, Pam. Don’t send them the fee, Lee. It’s a set up, you see. Be cautious of calls, Paul. Report to the Feds, Fred. And ignore the scammer’s plea.
There are a lot of people out there who don’t care about us but they like our money. Don’t make it easier for them to scam you.
Stay safe.
