RELEASE DATE: 4/24/2022
Increasingly aggressive scam operators fraudulently using the Mega Millions® name and logo are promising big prizes to people who receive official-looking emails or texts, or through random phone calls. As with all lottery scams, these scammers are trying to lure consumers into thinking they have won a big “prize.” They are in no way connected to the real Mega Millions game despite their using our name and/or logo.
One recent effort making the rounds is using WhatsApp to send “Cash Gift” award notifications to random phone numbers around the world – see the sample image below. It is promising a $700,000 cash prize, and the scammers hope that an unsuspecting recipient will pay a large fee to claim a “prize” that does not exist.
There have also been increasing reports of callers claiming to represent Mega Millions reaching consumers by phone, promising cash and other “prizes” such as cars. They can sound very convincing on the phone, but are simply trying to steal your money. They do not represent Mega Millions.
Mega Millions warns consumers that there are no random prizes awarded anywhere in the world simply on the basis of phone numbers or email addresses. Our game is sold only in the United States and only by our participating lotteries. The only way to win Mega Millions is to first purchase a ticket from an American lottery; if you haven’t purchased a ticket, you haven’t won. And there is never a fee to claim a real lottery prize.
Once again, we warn consumers that these scams are not connected in any way to the real Mega Millions game despite their use of our name and/or logo. Lottery officials strongly warn people not to respond – the scammers just want to steal your money. If you have any questions about the legitimacy of any website, email or text using the Mega Millions name and logo, please
contact us or the lottery in your jurisdiction.
Read more about lottery scams.
