Fall Security Insights – Lottery Scams

You get a call, email, or letter saying you won a sweepstakes, lottery, or big-ticket prize. You just need to pay the taxes up front or give your account information to receive your winnings. It sounds too good to be true...and it is.

• If you are asked to wire money, send cash, or pay with gift cards or cryptocurrency to get your prize, don’t do it!  Scammers use these payments because it’s hard to track who the money went to, and it’s almost impossible to get your money back.
• Don’t believe someone who tells you paying increases your odds of winning. Real sweepstakes are free and winning is by chance. It’s illegal for someone to ask you to pay to increase your odds of winning.
• There’s absolutely no reason to ever give your bank account or credit card number to claim any prize or sweepstakes.
• If you do need to pay taxes on a prize, you will receive the proper forms to include with your annual tax returns.

Every Wednesday this Fall, the credit union will highlight a new scam to help you stay one step ahead of the Fraudsters. Improve your financial health by regularly visiting the APCI Federal Credit Union Financial Resource Center.