A new round of scams is making the rounds on Facebook, and we want you to know about them so you can protect yourself. Stay away from them -- and don't click the links involved!
The scammers are using some glitzy graphics to catch your attention, mocking up what appears to be an oversized, ceremonial check for $1 million, with a headline promising that Powerball® or Mega Millions® is “giving away a free $1 million jackpot online instantly.” We’ve seen a few different versions of the scams linking to various website addresses. In any case, they’re fake. It’s a scam, so please don’t fall for it.
We haven’t clicked on the links involved because we were afraid of what the outcome would be, and it appears we were right to have those doubts. We’re seeing a lot of posts on Facebook from those who did click on the links and they’re reporting that doing so caused their accounts to be hacked. And that, in turn, keeps spreading the scams to more and more accounts.
You’ve likely seen warnings from us through the years about scams, but this latest version is a good reminder that we all need to stay vigilant and protect ourselves. Remember that in order to win a prize in Powerball or Mega Millions, you have to buy a ticket.
The scams may morph again before they’re done and target even more lottery games. So arm yourself with information. Please take a moment to visit our reminders about Player Security, which we keep as a permanent item on the lottery’s website.
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