Lottery scams are old. What's new is the polish. A caller can now sound like a calm, well-spoken lottery official, or even like someone you know, because voice-cloning software needs only a short clip of real audio. Emails and texts no longer give themselves away with clumsy English. According to the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report, people filed 5,623 complaints about lottery, sweepstakes and inheritance scams in 2025, reporting $194 million in losses. About $136 million of that was lost by people aged 60 and over.
What has AI changed about lottery scams?
Mostly the surface. The Federal Trade Commission has warned that a scammer needs only a short audio clip of someone's voice, often taken from videos posted online, and a voice-cloning program to imitate them on the phone. Text generators can produce a tidy, personalised "congratulations" email in seconds, and scam texts often put "Powerball" or "Mega Millions" in the sender name or the first line.
That means the old tips, like looking for spelling mistakes or a generic greeting, don't catch much anymore. What still works is checking the structure of the approach: who contacted whom, and whether money has to move before a prize does. A scammer can fake a voice. They can't change how real lotteries pay winners.
What are the red flags of a lottery scam?
They contacted you first
Powerball's official FAQ is direct about this: lotteries will never contact you by email or phone to tell you that you've won, unless you specifically entered an official lottery promotion or contest. The FAQ says the same about Facebook. A lottery has no way of knowing who holds a ticket bought at a store; the winner has to come forward by visiting a claim office, mailing the ticket or using the state's own claim process.
If you did enter a second-chance contest or use a state lottery app, check your status by opening the app or typing the lottery's web address yourself. Don't use a link or phone number from the message.
You never bought a ticket for that drawing
There's no automatic entry. If you didn't buy a ticket for the drawing they say you won, you didn't win it. Watch for "international" or "global" Powerball and Mega Millions prizes: both games are sold only by US lotteries, and neither runs a worldwide draw. Unsolicited notices about foreign lotteries are a classic opening for advance-fee fraud.
You have to pay something first
Real lotteries take any required tax withholding out of the prize before they pay you. Powerball's FAQ says lotteries will never ask you to pay a fee to collect a prize, and the FTC's guidance puts it simply: real prizes are free. Scammers call their charges processing fees, taxes, insurance, legal costs or transfer fees. The first request is often small, and the next one is bigger.
They want gift cards, crypto or a wire transfer
No genuine prize or government payment is settled with gift cards. Scammers prefer them, along with cryptocurrency, payment-app transfers and wires to overseas accounts, because the money is hard to trace and hard to get back. Being asked to pay this way is enough on its own to end the conversation.
You're being rushed
Real claim deadlines are long. Powerball says ticket expiration dates typically run from 90 days to one year depending on the state that sold the ticket, and the deadline is usually printed on the back. A caller who says you have 48 hours, or that you must pay now while they wait on the line, is trying to stop you from checking.
How can you tell if a phone call is an AI voice clone?
Often you can't, at least not by listening. A good clone can hold a conversation well enough to pass on a single call. So stop trying to judge the voice and test the claim instead.
Ask which drawing you supposedly won, the date, and the winning numbers, then look them up yourself on the official game site or on the Powerball and Mega Millions results pages. Say you'll bring your ticket to the state lottery's claim office in person. A real lottery has no problem with that; a scammer will push back or change the subject. The FTC's advice for every voice-cloning scam applies here too: hang up and call back on a number you found yourself.
What should you do if you've already paid a lottery scammer?
- Stop sending money. The next payment won't release a prize, however it's framed.
- Call your bank, card issuer or payment service right away. Some card payments and transfers can be disputed or stopped if you move quickly; gift cards, crypto and cash are much harder to recover.
- Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. You can also tell your state attorney general and the state lottery whose name was used.
- If you shared your Social Security number or bank details, place a credit freeze. The FTC explains how credit freezes work; they're free at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
- Expect follow-up calls. Victims are sometimes contacted again by people offering to recover the lost money for a fee, which is another scam.
If you have a real ticket and want to know whether it won, check the numbers against the official results or the Lottery Atlas results pages, and read how to claim a lottery prize for what a legitimate claim looks like.
Lottery scam questions
Does Powerball or Mega Millions ever call winners?
No. Powerball says lotteries will never contact you by email or phone to tell you that you've won unless you entered an official promotion or contest. Winners come forward themselves, so an unexpected "you've won" call is a scam.
Do you have to pay taxes or fees before receiving a lottery prize?
No. Lotteries withhold required taxes from the prize before paying it, and Powerball says lotteries never ask for a fee to collect a prize. The FTC says anyone who wants money up front to release a prize is a scammer.
Is a text saying I won the lottery real?
Almost certainly not. Lotteries don't text people to say they've won a drawing. Don't tap the link or reply; check your own ticket against the official results.
Can scammers fake a voice on the phone?
Yes. The FTC has warned that voice-cloning programs can imitate someone from a short audio clip. Don't rely on the voice: hang up and call the lottery or the person back on a number you looked up yourself.
How much do Americans lose to lottery scams?
The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report counted 5,623 lottery, sweepstakes and inheritance complaints with $194 million in reported losses. People aged 60 and over reported about $136 million of those losses.
Sources: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center 2025 annual report; Federal Trade Commission consumer guidance; Powerball official FAQ.
