Tips For Avoiding Holiday Lottery Scams

Despite widespread warnings many people still fall victim to various lottery scams. A recent report from the UK says that despite the wide availability of information available about lottery scams 140,000 people a year in the UK are victimized by lottery scams. Lottery scams are also widespread in the US but yearly figures are not available. Probably the oldest lottery scam is the advance fee scam where the scammer asks for money in advance for 'taxes', processing fees' or other bogus reasons to get the victim to send money. The holiday season is almost here and with it comes the usual increase in the number of lottery scams.

In the UK scammers bilk the public out of approximately £260 million pounds ($432,583,345 USD) every year. The report says the typical victim pays about £1,900 pounds ($3,161 USD) to the scammer for various bogus fees before they realize that they have been the victim of a scam. In the UK it has been estimated that only 6% of scam victims report the scam to law enforcement or government regulatory agencies. Many scammers target the elderly because of their trusting nature.

The typical lottery scam begins with an unsolicited email saying the victim has won the National Lottery, El Gordo lottery or similar lotteries. Should the recipient respond the scammer will usually ask for up front fees or banking details. Once the scammer has the victim's banking details the account is looted and the money usually disappears offshore.

There are several common sense actions that can be taken to avoid being victimized.

1. Probably the most important thing to know is that no one can win a lottery they have not entered. No legitimate lottery solicits via email. If you did not purchase lottery tickets you can't win it's that simple.

2. No legitimate lottery will ever ask for advance money.

3. Never reveal banking or credit card information. Legitimate lotteries do not ask for these details.

4. Legitimate lotteries never reveal jackpot amounts via email. If you have received an email saying you have won a specific amount it's a scam.

5. Do a quick Google search about any suspicious lotteries.

6. Lottery scammers usually want you to wire the advance fee. This makes the money impossible to trace.

7. Do not respond to any unsolicited email saying you have won any lottery. If you do you will be inundated with spam from other scammers. Simply delete the emails without opening them.

8. Apply the old adage 'if it's too good to be true then it probably is.'

9. Most legitimate lotteries will require you to purchase a lottery ticket in person. There are several legitimate online lottery services that provide the opportunity to purchase lottery tickets online. It is always wise to check the reputation of the website offering these services.

One way to avoid most lottery scams is to purchase lottery tickets online. In the US some states now allow players to buy online lottery tickets. Players can also check for winning numbers for most lottery games. The holiday season is almost upon us and lottery tickets are popular gifts. Don't let scammers ruin your holiday season or prevent you from playing your favorite lotteries.