Scam warning as criminals take advantage of massive Mega Millions Lottery prize

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The ABc7 I-Team has a scam warning as criminals look to take advantage of those playing the lottery.

The Mega Millions Jackpot is now more than $1.3 billion, with the next drawing coming up Friday night.

There are at least three main "Mega Millions" scams created by thieves and they are targeting players right now.

Instead of making you a winner, you could lose big.

The first Mega Millions scam you need to watch out for is fake websites selling fake lotto tickets.

Security expert Zulfikar Ramzan said the fakes offer tickets "... often at a discount, or often claiming some benefit from buying from that site. And of course, you know the real lottery is not gonna offer you a discount on the lottery ticket."

Experts at Aura, a digital security company, said to make sure you go into a store or the official Illinois lottery website.

The next scam comes after the drawing. Thieves cold call people claiming they won a "secondary prize " and all they have to do to get the money is pay a "fee" or turn over your personal information.

Ramzan said they're looking for "your sensitive data, your bank account, credit, card number, data, social security number, and so on. Or they may even ask you for like a prepayment or processing fee, to provide you with your actual winnings, and of course we know the legitimate lottery will never ask you for any type of prepayment or anything of that sort."

If you think you won, go to the store where you bought the ticket or the lottery office.

A third lotto scam is from people claiming to want to donate their winnings, usually to a charity. Scammers fool you into cashing their check and sending back a smaller amount. At first, your bank will clear the check but then days or weeks later, when it bounces, you're on the hook for what you sent back to the scammer and anything else you've spent.

"People want a miracle to happen. They do this for that miracle that one moment in life, and they don't realize they are being scanned, unfortunately," Ramzan explained.

The Illinois Lottery's website also warns player of similar scams saying there are never random prizes awarded by phone or email. You can only win by purchasing a ticket from a participating store in the United States or the official lottery website.