It is hard to win any lottery. It is impossible to win one that you have not even entered and yet scam artists, the only criminals we refer to as artists have found that it is extremely lucrative to scam people by convincing them that they have won various lotteries. Reproduced below is a unique lottery scam using President Trump as the hook.
As with many effective scams, the pitch of the scammer seems legitimate. Income taxes are due on lottery winnings, but with legitimate lotteries they are either deducted from the lottery winnings before you receive your prize or you are responsible for paying the taxes directly to the IRS. No legitimate lottery collects taxes on behalf of the IRS from lottery winners. Other times, the scammer tell the “winners” that in order to collect their prizes, they need to pay administrative fees. No legitimate lottery requires you to pay administrative fees in order to claim your prize. Additionally, some phony lotteries ask for personal information which is then used for purposes of identity theft.
This particular phony lottery scam is filled with indications that it is not legitimate. It is sent by email, but not addressed to you personally in any salutation. It also proclaims “congratulation” rather than “congratulations.” Finally, it is being circulated now although it refers to the “autumn competition.”
TIPS
As I have often told you, it is difficult to win a lottery you have entered. It is impossible to win one that you have not even entered. You should always be skeptical about being told that you have won a lottery you never entered. In regard to taxes, while it is true that income taxes are owed on lottery winnings, legal lotteries never collect tax money from winners. They either deduct the taxes from the winnings or leave it up to the winners to pay their taxes directly to the IRS. You also should never pay a fee to collect a legal lottery prize and you certainly should never click on links unless you have confirmed that the communication is legitimate in order to avoid downloading malware.