Mississippi Lottery Corporation reminds people to not fall prey to holiday scammers

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The Mississippi Lottery Corporation is reminding people to be mindful of scammers this time of year.

Scammers have a tendency to call people claiming they won the lottery, and to get the ticket they need to provide confidential information and bank account numbers.

The lottery corporation will never call a winner because they don’t know who the winners are before they claim their money.

Here are some other tips that the corporation wants people to keep in mind:

• The Mississippi Lottery does not contact the winner.
• In online games such as Powerball®, the lottery knows only the winning numbers drawn and where the ticket was sold. The winner must keep their ticket and confirm to lottery officials the numbers on the ticket. If a winner does not step forward with the winning numbers, no one wins the prize.
• A legitimate lottery never asks winners to pay taxes upfront. All federal and state taxes are paid before the lottery releases the money to the winner.
• Lotteries of foreign countries are illegal in the United States. No legitimate foreign lottery sells tickets in the United States. If you have been contacted by a lottery claiming to be affiliated with the government of another country, it is a scam.
• Finally, if you did not buy a ticket, you cannot win a lottery prize. If you have been contacted by a “lottery” claiming you won a prize, but you have never purchased a ticket, it is a scam.

Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.