Cash for Life Scams
The thought of winning a huge sum of cash propels millions of people to play the lottery every week, but it is also a hook that scammers use to try and con money out of innocent victims. By trying to convince their targets that they have won a prize, these fraudsters can actually steal from them instead.
Of course, the reality is that there is no prize. It is just an attempt to extract personal or financial information. Scammers can latch onto any type of lottery - sometimes they use the name of a real one such as Powerball or Mega Millions, or sometimes they are entirely made up.
They might also use Cash for Life as it is such an exciting game that offers payouts for an entire lifetime. Find out more about scams on this page and how to make sure you avoid getting caught out.
Spotting a Scam
The golden rule to spotting a scam is to remember one simple fact. It is not possible to win a lottery prize if you have not played the game. If someone has contacted you to say you have won on Cash for Life, or some other game – when you have not bought a ticket – it is a scam.
* If you have played and are not sure whether you have won, take a look at the latest results online or use a number checker. Alternatively, take your ticket to a retailer so that it can be scanned.
Some scams are very basic and easy to spot, but others may look or sound much more authentic. They could take the form of an email, letter, phone call or social media message. Stay vigilant, do not open any suspicious email links and look out for these signs:
- State lotteries do not contact you if you are a winner. They do not know who has won prizes - you need to notify them.
- You never have to pay tax or a processing/handling fee before you receive your winnings. Tax is withheld when prizes are paid out. If you are asked to hand over money first, it is definitely a scam.
- Winners are not selected at random based on their email address or phone number. You must enter a draw in order to win, and then match the numbers.
- If you have been contacted and asked to provide bank account details or your Social Security number, it is a scam.
Another common hoax is for a fraudster to pretend to be a previous winner, perhaps a famous Cash for Life winner or someone who made headlines by saying they would give lots of their money to charity. The scam would be that they have picked you at random to receive a portion of their winnings. In these cases it is best to remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.
How to Respond to a Scam
The best response to the scammer is no response at all. Do not provide any financial or personal information, do not pay any fees that have been requested, do not reply to any messages or follow links to unfamiliar websites.
If you have already sent financial information before realizing it was a scam, you should contact your bank immediately.
There are several routes you can go down to report a lottery scam. You may wish to contact local law enforcement, specifically by filing a complaint at your state’s Attorney General’s Office. You can also get in touch with your state lottery via email or phone - get help from the initial customer support team or speak to the lottery’s security unit.
Security units are committed to investigating these types of frauds and stamping them out as quickly as possible. Keep any scam material you have been sent or the instructions you have received, as it could help to bring the criminals to justice.
You can also report any attempted scam to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or via the FTC Consumer Information website.
If it is an online scam, another option is to report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). This is run by the FBI, the lead federal agency for investigating crime.