How to Report Phone Lottery Scams

Have you been the target of a phone lottery scam? Similar to Nigerian email scams, the lottery phone call scam involves a cash reward that cannot be claimed until you pay a fee or wire a portion of your prize money back to the company running the sweepstakes (a sweepstakes that you never entered in the first place, in case you were wondering).

If you realize that you were the potential victim of a phone lottery scam, fight back! Just because they didn't fool you doesn't mean that they won't strike again- and it could happen to one of your loved ones. Protect your friends and family from scammers by reporting those jerks!

• Write down the number if you have Caller ID.  If you do not have Caller ID, ask for a number where you can call them back. 
  

• Immediately jot down any details you remember about the scam phone call.  Did you speak to a male or a female?  Did the caller have an accent?  Was a company name or any identifying information given?
  

• Contact your local police department.  When you have an officer on the phone, tell him that you would like to report a phone lottery scam.  He will assist you in filing a report.
  

Here are some signs that the call you just received might have been a scam:

• You don't recall entering any contests recently.
  

• You recently joined a paid survey site, or signed up for travel information.  Some of these sites sell your information to phone scam artists.
  

• The caller offers to send your payment via Cashier's Check.
  

• You are asked to pay a recovery fee, prize claim fee, shipping fee, insurance fee, or any other type of fee.
  

Don't be.  Trust your instincts, and report the phone call scam.  If it turns out the call was real, your lottery check should arrive any day now.  If not, you just helped the police get one step closer towards stopping those sneaky phone lottery scammers.  You should sleep well tonight.