Scams

A lottery scam is when someone contacts you and fraudulently claims to represent a lottery or an agent of one. Such scams have become increasingly common and sometimes they are difficult to spot unless you know what to look for. Find out how to avoid scams, what to look out for, and what to do if you are the target of one.

If you have played Lotto China and think you may have won a prize, you can use the Ticket Checker to verify your winnings.

Avoiding Scams

Lottery scams work because people are very receptive to the idea of winning huge sums of money. Fraudsters, however, are only interested in taking your money so it is important to stay vigilant if you are contacted by anyone notifying you that you have won a prize in the lottery. Keep these rules in mind to avoid being scammed.

• You can only win a Lotto China prize if you have purchased an entry into the lottery. If you receive any correspondence to say you have won a prize when in fact you have not played, it means the message is from a scammer.
• You will never have to pay a fee to receive a Lotto China prize. If you are asked to pay any sort of fee before you can receive your prize, you are being contacted by a scammer.
• Lotto China does not select winners at random based on their email address or telephone number. The only way to win is to purchase an entry and match your numbers to the winning numbers.

How to Spot Scams

Some lottery scams can look convincing. However, they are easy to spot if you ask yourself the following questions:

• Did you enter the Lotto China draw or competition that is referenced in the message? If not, it is a scam.
• Have you been given a short deadline to claim your prize or respond to a message? This is the scammer’s way of putting you under pressure. If you’ve been told that you must respond immediately or lose out on the prize, it is likely to be a scam.
• Are there mistakes in the spelling or grammar of the message? The occasional error does not always mean it is a scam, but scam messages are often not written in the sender’s native language so consistent mistakes could be a sign that it is fraudulent.
• Are you being asked to keep the prize in question a secret? This is common to lottery scams and is to try and ensure that you will not share the message with someone else who might spot that it is fraudulent. Lotto China will never ask you to keep news of a win to yourself.

Types of Scam

There are various different types of lottery scam. The most common methods are email, phone, social media and post. Find out more about each type:

Email

If you receive an email scam, the fraudster might claim to be a representative of Lotto China and provide information which looks legitimate - such as a reference number or official-sounding job title.

You may then be asked to provide personal or financial information, pay an upfront fee, or follow a link to a website. These links may be to malicious websites which are designed to gather your information – this is known as a ‘phishing’ email. Do not click on any link within an email unless you are certain it was sent from a trusted source.

Here are some other signs that an email might be fraudulent:

• You are addressed as ‘Winner’ or another general salutation instead of by your name
• The spelling and grammar is poor
• There is a link to an unfamiliar website
• You are asked for your password or bank details upfront
• The email is sent from a free webmail address

Mobile Phone

If you receive a text or phone call saying you have won a prize because your phone number has been selected at random, this is a scam. Lotto China does not offer competitions of this kind and will only contact you by telephone if you have won the jackpot. Here are a few signs that a phone call or text is a scam:

• The caller doesn't address you by your name
• You are asked to provide personal information or bank details
• You are pressured to respond quickly otherwise you will not be paid your prize
• Automated messages are included in the phone call

Lotto China will never ask for personal information via text messages. You will be contacted by telephone if you win the jackpot, but if you do receive a phone call and remain unsure, you can put the phone down and get in touch using the details on the contact us page. You need to have played Lotto China and matched all the numbers to win the jackpot.

Social Media

Social media scams have become very common but you should remember that Lotto China will never use a social media platform to notify you of a win or ask you for personal details. If you are notified of a lottery win via any form of social media by someone claiming to represent Lotto China, it is a scam. The fraudster may have set up a false social media account using Lotto China branding. You should never respond to a suspicious message on social media. Look out for the following warning signs of a scam:

• The message says you have won a prize
• The spelling and grammar is poor
• You are asked for your login details or bank details

Postal

If you receive a letter in the post saying that you have won a Lotto China prize, it is a scam. Lotto China never notifies winners by post. Here are a few more signs that a letter is a lottery scam:

• It is not addressed to you by name
• The spelling and grammar is poor
• You are asked to provide personal information or bank details
• You are asked to pay an upfront fee to release your winnings
• The letterhead and images within the letter are of poor quality
• The letter looks like it has been repeatedly photocopied or reproduced

Lottery scams are continuing to become more sophisticated and new scams emerge all the time. However, if you remain vigilant and remember that it is not possible to win a Lotto China prize without playing the game, you should be able to avoid the scammers.

What to Do If You’re Targeted by Scammers

Whether you have been contacted by email, telephone, social media or post, you should take the following steps if you suspect that you have been targeted by a lottery scammer.

• Do not respond to any suspicious message. If you have received an email, do not open the email or click on any links or attachments sent with it.
• Do not pay any fees that you are requested to transfer, no matter how small.
• Do not reveal any personal information, as this could leave you vulnerable to identity fraud or theft.
• Do not send any copies of personal documents that may have been requested, such as your birth certificate, driver’s license or other photo ID.
• If you have already sent personal information to the sender of the message, you should contact your bank as soon as possible and consider calling your local police or a fraud agency for more advice.

If you wish to verify a message you have received or alert us to a possible scam, you can contact us. You can also go to the How To Claim page for more information about receiving your winnings.