In a reminder that we all need to be vigilant and double-check the information we find online, we’ve just had a fake “Terry Rich” account shut down on Facebook. We’ve unfortunately seen this type of thing before, but the good news is that in most instances, it’s easy to report imposter pages or accounts and get them shut down.
In this latest instance, a Facebook page popped up in our feeds that appeared to be an account for Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich, but several of the details involved were wrong. The page, for example, stated that Terry lives in Washington, D.C., which obviously isn’t the case. It would be a tad difficult to live in D.C. and come to work every day at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive!
So we followed Facebook’s process to report a fake page and ask that it be shut down. And we’re glad to say the process worked: That account is no longer live.
A few years ago, there also was a fake “Mary Neubauer” page out there, and it was pretty blatant in its scam attempt. Whoever had set up that page was sending direct messages on Facebook using my name. The message stated that the recipient had won a lottery jackpot and that in order to claim the prize, they needed to get a money card and then give “Mary Neubauer” the numbers on the card. (I suppose the further explanation was that the prize money would be sent to the money card. But in reality, I believe that the scammers planned to bilk the victim by cleaning out any money on the card.)
We also reported that page as fake at the time and got it shut down.
We've given reminders for years about the dangers of lottery scams. And, scam attempts through the years have unfortunately involved the names of several different lottery officials.
The lottery scammers are nearly impossible to trace or stop. In most instances, they operate from outside the United States using mobile operations that spoof I.P. addresses, telephone numbers and physical locations. The best thing that any of us can do is to remain vigilant and protect ourselves. NEVER send someone money who promises you a lottery prize, and NEVER share online personally-identifying information such as your Social Security number or bank account information.
We keep reminders that can help on the Player Security section of our website. Please check out those details and share them with anyone who wonders whether something they see is real or a scam.
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