The Michigan Lottery is warning the public to be aware of scams telling people they’ve won a big lottery prize but need to pay a fee or provide sensitive personal information to collect it.

The Lottery processes all prize claims for free, and players must have a valid winning ticket to claim a prize. If a player hasn’t bought a ticket, they can’t win a prize.

To check if a lottery prize, offer, or promotion is legitimate, members of the public may contact the Lottery’s Public Relations Division at 844-887-6836, option 2, or via email at milottery@michigan.gov.

During periods of uncertainty there may be increases in attempts to defraud individuals.

The scam works like this: A person gets a letter, email, or phone call to inform them that they’ve won a big lottery prize but must pay a fee or provide sensitive personal information to collect the prize. If the person agrees to pay a fee, the scam artist convinces them to mail a cashier’s check, make an electronic funds transfer, or even arranges a meeting to get the money in cash. If the person agrees to provide sensitive personal information, the scam artist may be able to commit identity fraud.

In some cases, after getting money from the victim, the scam artist comes back asking for more for unexpected processing costs or fees or uses some other excuse to try to get more money from the victim.

Unfortunately, the more money the victim supplies, the longer the scam will continue.

If you believe you have been the victim of such a scam, please contact your local law enforcement agency.