How to identify and avoid lottery scams

Lottery scams are the one menace really bent on conning a winner out of his lottery prize. They usually pose using legitimate lottery names which may get one confused. Many lottery players become the prey of these scammers and it is such a pity they do. This is because these scams are actually avoidable and a careful person should not be caught unawares no matter the circumstances.

Get to identify one when you see it – they usually present with an unexpected e-mail announcing that you have won big in a lottery game. The features that clearly define that they are a sham include:

• A note you receive telling of how you need to keep the winning a secret due to some incomprehensible mix-up in names and numbers.
• A request to communicate with a particular agent for further details
• A demand to pay certain charges in order to process your prize money.

Things you need to ponder on before accepting an imposition that you have won:

• There is no way of winning a prize without having bought a ticket. You need to actually realize that it is a shame when you apparently win a prize that you never played for.
• A real lottery does not ask for any payments whatsoever from their winners. If they have any charges, they subtract them from your prize money instead of asking you to pay up.
• Most of the time, notifications of fake prize winnings are sent via free mail accounts. These include the popular Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail among others.
• Scammers sometimes say that your email address won in a random e-mail drawing. No person can use your mail address without authorization from you.
• True lotteries are not sponsored by individuals and when the notification you get says it is, that is a lottery fraud.

Tips on avoiding lottery scams:

• Purchase your tickets only from authorized and legitimate lottery agents.
• Take as fraud any notification of being pronounced a winner in a game you never bought tickets for.
• You are responsible for cross-checking your numbers against the winning one. Real lotteries do not look for their winners; they need to present themselves to the lottery.
• No upfront payment is made by the winner in order to receive a true prize. So never fall for such extortion.

Check out The threat of Jamaican lottery scams now.