The Illinois Lottery works diligently to ensure players are protected.
The Lottery will never send emails asking for passwords or other personal information. When you play the Lottery, make sure to be vigilant and watch out for potential scams. Here’s what to keep an eye on:
Warning Signs and Tips
You receive a request for your personal information — such as a bank account or credit card number.
Never reveal your credit card or bank account numbers to anyone unless you are certain the contact is legitimate and from a reputable company.
You are requested to pay cash up front to cover a processing or claiming fee to redeem a winning ticket.
You will never be required to give money or any valuables to redeem an Illinois Lottery prize.
You are offered a chance to buy a “winning” ticket from an individual who is claiming to be in the country illegally.
Never purchase a “winning” ticket from any individual. Undocumented U.S. residents are permitted to claim their own Illinois Lottery prizes.
You receive a telephone call from a direct marketer who promises lottery prizes.
Hang up! That’s not how the Illinois Lottery operates.
You are contacted on social media by someone who says they are from the Illinois Lottery and requests your personal information to claim a prize.
The Illinois Lottery does not reach out to you on social media to let you know you have won. If you believe you have won, please contact the Illinois Lottery hotline at 1-800-252-1775 or login to your account to view your transaction history.
Warning Signs |
Tips |
You receive a request for your personal information |
Never reveal your credit card or bank account numbers to anyone, |
You are requested to pay cash up front to cover a processing |
You will never be required to give money |
You are offered a chance to buy a “winning” ticket |
Never purchase a “winning” ticket from any individual. Undocumented U.S. residents are permitted to claim their own Illinois Lottery prizes. |
You receive a telephone call from a |
Hang up! That’s not how the Illinois Lottery operates. |
You are contacted on social media by someone |
Other than social media sweepstakes in which you entered, |
A Special Note — Watch Out for Phishing:
Phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by pretending to be a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
Most methods of phishing use some form of technical deception designed to make a link in an email and the website to which it leads appear as if they belong to a legitimate organization. Misspelled URLs (for example http://www.ilinoislotury.com/) or the use of subdomains are common tricks used by phishers.
If you have opted in to receive emails from the Illinois Lottery, we will inform you about jackpots, results, games, and promotions. We will never ask you for your username, password, or credit card information via email.
How to Get Help:
Report any attempted scam to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP
Notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) by filing a complaint on their website.
Contact the Illinois Lottery at 1-800-252-1775.
- Contact your financial institution immediately if you suspect you might have entered any financial information on a phishing site and change your passwords on any impacted accounts.
- Visit the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) website to learn more about how to protect yourself.