The holidays can be an interesting time of the year for many people as they are trying to figure out how to get all their family in one place, how to afford all the gifts they need to buy, and everything else in between. For some people, the holidays are a time they dread because they are reminded of how they aren't where they want to be in life.
Winning the lottery would be a dream come true for many people and would make the holidays far less stressful than they are. Some people actually ask their family to buy them lottery tickets or give them cash to play the lottery. It sounds like a great Christmas gift to me, but it comes with some concerns.
Scammers seem to be working the hardest during the holiday season knowing that many people are spending money or looking for miracles to happen. In fact, many people play the lottery leading up to the holidays hoping to hit the jackpot in time to make them special. Lottery officials in Michigan are warning players to beware of two scams occurring during the holiday season.
MLive reports:
There are two different scams that officials warn of. In one scam, the caller tells the target they have recently won the lottery and are willing to share part of the prize if the target will send them some money right away. If the target agrees, they’re directed to send the caller a cashier’s check, make an electronic funds transfer, or even meet in person. The other scam involves the caller pretending to be a Lottery official attempting to contact the target to alert them that they have won a lottery prize. However, in order to collect the prize, the target must pay a large fee. If the target agrees, Lottery officials say the scammer will continue to contact the target to extract more money out of them. These scams can go on for a long time, costing the victim repeatedly.
Scammers will reach out to residents via email, text message, phone call, or even a letter in the mail. Lottery officials remind all players that it is free to process all winnings, and you need to have a valid winning ticket to claim any prize. As of right now they are only after the money of their targets, but it could quickly become more dangerous.
Gallery Credit: JR