Lottery scam alert
If someone tells you that you have won a prize and asks you to pay anything, it is a scam. Always. No exceptions, whoever they say they are and whatever documents they send.
Four things that are always true
- Distrust any prize notice that does not come from your own ticket. If you get a call, a WhatsApp, an SMS, an email or a social media message saying you have won, and you did not buy that ticket, it is not real. A lottery ticket bought over the counter does not carry your name, so nobody knows who has won until the winner comes forward with it.
- Nobody can sell you winning numbers. Every draw is random. Any page or person offering "sure wins", "guaranteed 49's numbers" or certain prizes is deceiving you, however professional it looks. Before you pay for anything, check with the operator's official channels.
- You never have to pay to receive a prize. No fee, no "tax" in advance, no admin charge, no transfer, no deposit. If you are asked for money before a prize is handed over, it is a scam.
- The operator's official result is the only proof. A screenshot, a message with your name, a stamped certificate or any website can be faked in five minutes. Compare your ticket yourself with the operator's official results.
What the messages usually look like
- A WhatsApp or SMS says your number was picked in a draw you never entered. A draw you did not enter cannot pay you a prize.
- An image or a PDF with your name next to a large sum of money, and an "agent" to call.
- The caller knows something about you and uses it to sound official. Names, ID numbers and addresses are easy to copy.
- Telegram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube accounts that pose as an operator and sell "fixed" 49's or Lotto numbers, or promise results in advance.
- Someone asks you to hand over your ticket and wait for the money later. Never let go of your ticket until you are at an official claim point.
- Anyone who asks for one-time PINs, banking passwords, card numbers or a payment up front.
What to do
- Do not send money. Not a rand, not "to test", not "we will refund you".
- Do not give out one-time PINs, passwords, card numbers, account details or photos of your ID. A real prize is claimed in person, with the ticket in your hand.
- Do not open links or install apps they send you.
- Stop replying, take screenshots and block the number or the account.
- Check the result yourself against the operator's official channels. If you did not buy a ticket, there is nothing to check.
- Warn older relatives. These messages go after people who are on their own.
Where to report it
Your bank. If you have made a payment, call your bank's fraud line straight away to try to stop it; the first hours count the most.
The South African Police Service. Open a case at your nearest police station and hand over the evidence you kept. You can also report the account or number to the social network or app where they contacted you.
Take screenshots, the payment references and the scammer's phone number with you.
Lotto49s never contacts winners. We do not know who buys tickets, we sell nothing and we never ask anyone for money. Any message that claims to be from us and asks for money is not from us. Tell [email protected] if you receive one.