Recently, the Louisiana Lottery has received an increased amount of calls regarding lottery scams illegally utilizing the Mega Millions name. Through telephone calls originating outside of the continental U.S., scammers are promising players cash and prizes. Players are instructed to pay a fee before claiming any cash or prizes.
Players should know that the Louisiana Lottery will never contact individuals to solicit money for any purpose. Unfortunately, illegal lottery scams have become prevalent worldwide. Thus, players are encouraged to protect themselves by following these tips:
1.
Never pay processing fees, taxes, insurance or commissions to claim a lottery prize.Legitimate lotteries do not ever require up-front payment of any kind from winners to claim a prize. Any withholdings, such as taxes, owed by the winner are deducted from the prize funds.