FBI Warns Georgians of Mega Millions Lottery Scam

ATLANTA, GA -- The FBI's Atlanta Field Office is warning residents of a lottery scam involving the use of the letterheads of two federal agencies.

The agency on Tuesday notes recent reports to law enforcement officials show the "re-emergence of an advance fee scam involving the Mega Millions Lottery."

This scam invokes the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as central to this scam.

"Individuals are being contacted, to include very convincing memorandum from the above entities, and advised that they’ve won the lottery," the agency added.

In this memo, the advance fee portion of the scam starts by requiring the recipient to wire thousands of dollars to a so-called lottery official to secure the winnings.

The documentation sent to the victim includes memorandum/stationary from the FBI and FDIC that serve as letters of authentication. In a recent scam targeting a South Georgia resident, a photo purporting to show three FBI agents was sent as further proof of its legitimacy.

"The FBI urges the public to remain vigilant to this scam and others like it that require advance fees via wire transfer or other means that make halting or even tracing a transaction almost impossible," the agency added. "In addition, the FBI nor FDIC provide authentication in such matters.

Anyone receiving such scam notifications are requested to file a report with the FBI at www.IC3.gov.

Images via Federal Bureau of Investigation/Shutterstock