Prize and lottery scams are big business

An investigative study of prize and lottery scams found that between 2015 and 2017, more than 500,000 scams resulting in more than $344 million in losses were reported in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Better Business Bureau.

Included in the BBB’s findings was the case of a St. Louis-area man in his 80s who lost nearly $8 million in a Jamaican lottery scheme.

The scams typically involve direct paper mail, calls or texts, or misleading pages on websites and social media promising unclaimed lottery winnings or giveaways. Scam targets, which are overwhelmingly elderly Americans, are typically asked to provide personal information and payments including shipping and security fees.

Although Costa Rican callers and Nigerian social media users were large originators of scams, callers from Jamaica were some of the most active, according to the report.

Scammers will typically imitate a professional organization or company in a call or piece of mail. Once a victim gives up their personal information, they’re put on a “sucker list,” which is sold to other fraudsters.

BBB International Investigator Steve Baker said that on Facebook, one of the more popular social media channels for lottery fraud, scammers often impersonate Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg or even create imitation profiles of the target’s friends to lure them into sending money.

Anyone who suspects that they have been the victim of a mail scam can contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455, and say “fraud” when prompted.