LINCOLN - The Nebraska Attorney General's Office has cautioned consumers about participation in foreign lottery scams.

If you have received a phone call from someone claiming to be a representative of a foreign lottery, and if you have been promised that you are almost certain to be a big winner, you can be sure a crooked business is trying to get your money!  Once you have agreed to participate in the foreign lottery, the caller may request your credit card number so that a "small fee" may be charged to your credit card account.  The "small fee" may turn out to be anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 charged to your next credit card statement.

It is illegal for a foreign or out-of-state lottery to solicit lottery sales in the state of Nebraska.  If you receive a phone call or a mail solicitation asking you to purchase lottery tickets or to enter into a lottery "pool," it is a scam.  The Nebraska Lottery will never call you on the telephone to ask you to buy Nebraska lottery tickets and they will not solicit ticket sales through the mail. 

Foreign lottery scams are big business.  These criminal operations take millions of dollars illegally from American citizens across the nation each year.  It is often difficult or impossible to get money back from the people who operate these scams. 

Here are some suggestions to protect yourself from foreign lottery scams:

• Never give your credit card or bank account number over the phone to a caller promising you a lottery jackpot.
• Never send cash or a personal or cashiers check to pay "taxes" or "fees" to an unfamiliar or foreign business promising you a large sum of money in return.
• Never accept a collect phone call from someone claiming to be a lottery official.  A legitimate lottery will never call you, and certainly not collect.
• Never join a "lottery pool."  A legitimate lottery will not ask people to join a "lottery pool."

There is no such thing as a national Canadian, Australian, or German lottery.  Anyone representing himself on the telephone as calling from a foreign lottery is a scam artist.

For more information about illegal lottery scams or any other consumer issue, contact: