Beware of Lottery Scams

The only lottery that is legally authorized to operate in Iowa is the Iowa Lottery. If you receive suspicious materials, telephone calls or e-mails or if you are ever in doubt about information that supposedly came from a legitimate lottery, call the Iowa Lottery and ask for our Security Department. Listed below are other tips to keep you safe from lottery scams.

• Never accept a collect telephone call from someone claiming to be a lottery official! Legitimate lotteries do not call collect.

• Never believe a letter, phone call or Internet message from someone who claims they can guarantee you a prize! Legitimate lotteries do not guarantee that you will win a prize and do not require people to join prize pools to play.

• Never purchase tickets from foreign lotteries by phone, mail or the Internet. The sale and trafficking in foreign lottery tickets is a violation of federal criminal law.

• Never agree to help a stranger cash a lottery ticket. If you do, more than likely you will become the victim of a "pigeon drop" scam. If you are approached by a stranger asking for help cashing a ticket, contact Lottery Security and your local law enforcement immediately.

• Unless you specifically entered an Iowa Lottery promotion, you will never be contacted by us informing you that you have won any prize.

• Keep your credit card and bank account numbers to yourself. Scam artists will often ask for them with the goal of accessing your accounts and stealing your money!

• Never pay processing fees, insurance or commissions to claim a lottery prize. Legitimate lotteries do not require winners to pay anything up front to receive a prize.

Click here for a PDF version of the Iowa Lottery Security Reminders that includes information on security tips at the retail level, security reminders on Iowa Lottery tickets, information on lottery scams and where to report lottery fraud.

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