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Jun 05

You’ve Been Victimized by Lottery Fraudsters!? Don’t Panic and Do These Things!

Lottery fraudsters

There’s no shame in placing your bet in the lottery. After all, you’re not alone in dreaming of winning it big in the lottery. A lot of people place their bets with a short prayer, hoping that they’ll win. You probably have a list of things to buy and things to do when you do win the lottery. Don’t deny it. You’re probably thinking of buying a new house and a couple of new cars.

You Just Won One Hundred Million Dollars!

What will you do when you wake up to an email saying that you just won an insane amount of money in the lottery? You don’t care if you don’t remember betting on the lottery. You’re too busy spending the money that you don’t have yet. This is why you immediately follow all the instructions in the email on how to claim your “prize”. Here’s the bad news – you just fell victim to lottery fraudsters.

How Does this Type of Fraud Work?

It’s basically a type of advance fee fraud. You’re promised with a huge amount that you can only get if you pay “fees” that are needed to facilitate the transfer of funds. You can’t tell anyone, though, because this is all hush-hush. There’s just been a mix-up and that’s why you won. You have to act fast or else, you’re not going to get the money.

So yeah, a lot of people send in the money, only to find out that they just fell victim to lottery fraudsters.

What to Do when You’re Scammed

First of all, remember the saying – “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Understanding this is a good way to avoid falling victim to fraudsters. If this is moot and academic now because you’ve already fallen victim, here are the things that you can do:

• Stop replying.

These lottery fraudsters are very greedy. They’ll try to milk you dry. They’ll initially ask for something like $10,000. After you send them the money, another “department” will send you an email asking for a higher amount before they can send you the money. After that, another department will contact you. You get the idea.

Hey, you can’t blame them for trying. They’ll even try to blackmail you. Don’t give them additional ammo that they can use against you. Stop replying. Whatever you do, don’t beg them to return you the money. You’ll have better chances of winning a real lottery than these lottery fraudsters suddenly developing a conscience.

• Secure all your important information.

What information have you given? Contact your bank if you gave your bank details and ask them to secure your account. Change your email password. They already have your name. Secure all accounts linked to it.

While you’re on the phone with the bank, ask to be connected to the fraud department. Ask them how you can set up a fraud alert on your credit reports.

If you feel that any of your accounts have been accessed already by the lottery fraudsters, close them immediately.

• Report the fraud.

You can report the crime to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. You’ll be asked for details about the fraud and you may need to forward the email trail to them. Cooperate fully.

• Watch out for future scams.

Again, these fraudsters are very greedy. They’ll even try to contact you again offering to help you because you fell victim to a fraud. Of course, you have to pay them a fee. You guessed it; no help is coming even if you send them a fee.

Also, these lottery fraudsters like to share information around. They’ll give your details to other fraudsters so they can try. They’ll come for you again so watch out for them.

• Make sure to review all your accounts regularly.

Review your bank statements and credit card statements. If there’s anything in there that shouldn’t be there, contact your bank immediately.
As you can see, there are things that you can do after being victimized by lottery fraudsters. It’s very important that you do these things now.

As you can see, there are things that you can do after being victimized by lottery fraudsters. It’s very important that you do these things now.