A scam involving STARS was flagged by the Oyen RCMP earlier this week.
"Recently, there have been reports of unknown callers saying they are calling on behalf of the STARS Lottery." shared the Oyen detachment in a Tuesday release. "The caller tells the intended victims that they have won a prize and must send a payment to claim the prize. The caller ID even displayed STARS Lottery” to add legitimacy to the call."
The prompt of a lottery win could be tempting, but RCMP and STARS came together to issue a statement that this is in fact a scam. STARS is aware of scams like this involving their popular lottery and try to do their best to keep the public informed.
"Lottery ticket purchasers will never be asked to send money to claim a STARS LOTTERY prize. If you are being asked to send a cheque, money order, or payment of any kind to claim your lottery prize, it is a scam. Hang up the phone or delete the email." shared the police release.
STARS lottery winners are always asked to verify with STARS directly, as the winners are listed on an official lottery website. Scammers may try to provide their own information, but know that STARS can only be contacted officially through the phone at 1-844-782-7775, by email at info@stars.ca, or online at www.starslottery.ca
Ticket purchasers can also call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 to help keep tabs on situations.
STARS tends to be even more active on this topic when they have campaigns running.