PHOENIX — "Possible scam, or too good to be true"? It's a question asked by Let Joe Know viewer Marna.
She reached out to the team after receiving a suspicious message. The message claimed to be from Becky Bell, a Powerball jackpot winner in Washington.
The message states Bell wants to share her wealth by donating to others. To claim the money, Marna was asked to text a given number with a specific code.
Could a stranger really be that nice?
"Unless you have some specific affiliation with that person, then it's highly unlikely," warned Todd Terrell, Deputy Director of the Security and Regulatory Division at the Arizona Lottery.
He says scammers may try to mix in some truths to make their fraud appear legitimate.
The message Marna received is part of a scam dubbed the Lottery Winner Donation Scam.
Here's how it works:
- Scammers will find real lottery winners whose names and details have been made public.
- Scammers will create social media and other accounts using the real winner's name and likeness.
- Victims can receive messages on different platforms from someone posing as a lottery winner stating they're giving away part of their winnings.
- Victims are asked for their personal or financial information in order to receive the promised money.
In Marna's case, there is a real person named Becky Bell who did win the Powerball in Washington this year and her name was published. While Becky may be a generous person, she is not the person who contacted Marna.
Terrell warns there may be other ploys invoking a lottery which scammers may use to trick victims.
"I've seen physical letters, even letters that come with our logo on them, claiming that they have won some foreign lottery," he said.
Alec Thomson, Executive Director of the Arizona Lottery, says as jackpots grow scammers may try to take advantage of people who dream of striking it rich.
"Anytime those jackpots get hit, I think you'll see kind of an influx of those kinds of scams. People are capitalizing on the emotion," said Thomson.
It's important to know that the Arizona Lottery will never reach out asking for your personal or banking information. The only time you would need to give information is when you go to the lottery offices and start a claim for winnings.
If you receive a suspicious message, report it.
Contact the Arizona Attorney General's Office to file a claim on their website. You can also contact the Federal Trade Commission to file a report with them as well.
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