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Learn to Spot Lottery Scams

Posted: Wednesday, Apr 03,2019 | Time: 06:21 am | Edited by: The Lottery Lab Staff

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We received this post on their Facebook profile and we strictly criticize such false alarms

When you find something like this in your inbox (on any social media platform), what is your first thought? It’s too good to be true, right?  When your intuition starts warning you it is best to listen to it!

One of the interesting things about these claims is how they blend truth into their story to increase their believability.  The author of this post claims to have been recommended to the “spellcaster” by a woman named  Mavis L. Wanczyk.  Mavis Wanczyk was a real Powerball winner who won $758 million in August of 2017.  But she doesn’t attribute her win as an online spell caster. Instead, when Mavis claimed her winnings, she told the media that her numbers are based on family birthdays and an assortment of random selections. So, one of the first indicators of fraud is a misrepresentation of actual winners.

Read more: Lottery Scams You Should Be Aware Of!



Next, you will notice that the author is not saying that she hit the jackpot. Instead, she claims to have won a smaller amount.  This claim does two things for the scammer.  First, it offers an outcome that is tempting enough to get you to read the whole message. Second, it makes it difficult for you to check whether her name appears in the records of winners.  In this case, the author doesn’t give her name or the date of her win. 

One of the first things that con-men attempt to do is gain your trust.  The author of this post concludes with a blatant appeal to “just trust him”.  Anytime someone says that you should “just trust me”, you have to ask yourself why they would say such a thing.  Why are they unable to earn your trust by demonstrating their skills?  Why do you need to trust them immediately?  All too often, the reason is that the very first thing that the con-man is going to do is ask you for money.  People are more likely to give that money if they already “trust” the person they are dealing with.  

Another feature of this post that suggests that it is a scam is the fact that the same person who provides winning lottery numbers also can cure herpes.  In effect, the author is saying “No matter what your problem, we can fix it”.  This suggests that the author is seeking anyone who is desperate or vulnerable and that they really don’t care why the target feels this way.  For the con-man, the weakness of the victim is more important than the solution they are seeking.

Another technique used to gain trust is the contact number and email address given in the message to tempt you to actually contact the person (the online spellcaster). One nice thing about living in the digital age is that it is easy to search for information about these people.  Before contacting the person, do a little research.  Type the name of the person (online spellcaster) or the sender  (who claims to win $700,000) into a search engine along with the word “scam”. This is a quick and easy way to save yourself some trouble, time, and money. Whenever you are in doubt about any messages you receive, we recommend you to do some research online before acting.

To know more signs, read: Tips to Avoid Lottery Scams

At The Lottery Lab, we are strictly against such scams. We believe that by providing information and tools to our users, we can help them make better decisions.  But we do not guarantee results.   We hold to the same standard as US Securities and Exchange Commission which requires stockbrokers to point out that “past performance does not guarantee future results”.

The message at the beginning of this blog came to us as a Facebook post under the guise of a recommendation. We reported it right away and we suggest that you do the same. Whenever you encounter anything like this, report it and forward it to the Federal Trade Commission and notify the Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) of the FBI by lodging a complaint. It will prevent users who are not as well informed as you from falling for such scams.

Be alert and spread awareness about scams to help people avoid them. Treat the lottery as a source of entertainment and fun. Never as a sure-thing.  Do not let yourself and other people get fooled by these fraudsters and scams.

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