Strongly urge players to be aware of and protect themselves against lottery scams
On the heels of reported lottery scams, officials from the New Hampshire Lottery Commission strongly urge players to be aware of these scams, and to protect themselves. Reported as a variety of telephone, email and mail scams, con artists have been reported using and referencing the NH Lottery, the Federal Trade Commission, Powerball, and similar organizations to lend credibility and authenticity to their scam.
In most instances of lottery scams, the telephone caller, e-mail or mail sender poses as a lottery official trying to obtain personal and financial information from targets in exchange for small “processing fees.”
“The best consumer protection is widespread public awareness,” The Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau said.
The New Hampshire Lottery Commission urges its players to be aware of following when playing the lottery:
- You cannot win a legitimate lottery if you have not entered it
- In almost all cases, you must purchase a ticket to enter a legitimate lottery
- You never have to pay first to collect winnings from a legitimate lottery
- If you hold a winning lottery ticket, you must notify the lottery; the lottery will not notify you – not by email, phone, or mail
- It is illegal under U.S. federal law to play ANY foreign lottery from the United States. Many other countries have similar laws. For example, you must be a resident of Spain to play Spain’s El Gordo lottery.
- If it isn't conducted by a government or government-authorized charitable organization, it cannot be a legitimate lottery
“The New Hampshire Lottery Commission is an agency that prides itself on the trust of its players and these con artists are jeopardizing our integrity,” said Executive Director Charlie McIntyre. “We wanted to make our players aware of the types of scams, by offering key points for avoiding them in the future.”
“Consumers are urged to carefully read everything they receive in the mail, via email or get called about before taking advantage of these "too good to be true" offers,” said Michael Delaney, Attorney General in the State of New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Lottery Commission along with the Attorney General urge players to call The Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau of New Hampshire at 1.888.468.454 with any questions or concerns. It is staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist consumers with questions related to identity theft and other consumer-related issues. You may also call the lottery to report a lottery scam at 603.271.3391.
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