COLUMBIA, SC (January 19, 2021) – With the Powerball® and Mega Millions® jackpots totaling more than $1.5 billion this week, the South Carolina Education Lottery is asking the public to keep their guard up against lottery scams.
Scammers can contact you by phone, mail, email, text message and even social media. They typically ask for money in advance to cover processing fees to claim a phony lottery prize. A legitimate lottery will never contact a player to ask for cash before awarding a prize. The only upfront fee required by a legitimate lottery is the price of the ticket.
If you are contacted by someone claiming you won a Powerball® or Mega Millions® prize, and you did not buy a ticket, it is a scam.
To report or inquire about a suspicious communication from someone posing as a South Carolina Education Lottery official, call the Lottery at 1-866-736-9819. If you are the victim of a scam, contact the Identity Theft Unit of the SC Department of Consumer Affairs at 1-844-835-5322.
Please, Play Responsibly.
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Scammers can contact you by phone, mail, email, text message and even social media. They typically ask for money in advance to cover processing fees to claim a phony lottery prize. A legitimate lottery will never contact a player to ask for cash before awarding a prize. The only upfront fee required by a legitimate lottery is the price of the ticket.
If you are contacted by someone claiming you won a Powerball® or Mega Millions® prize, and you did not buy a ticket, it is a scam.
To report or inquire about a suspicious communication from someone posing as a South Carolina Education Lottery official, call the Lottery at 1-866-736-9819. If you are the victim of a scam, contact the Identity Theft Unit of the SC Department of Consumer Affairs at 1-844-835-5322.
Please, Play Responsibly.
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