The following is general information on foreign lottery scams:
The basic elements of a lottery include: the consideration, or payment; the chance; and the prize offer.
The province of Alberta offers a series of lotteries to its residents, as does the country of Canada.
Anything to do with the advertising, selling, buying or participating in a foreign lottery is considered illegal according to section 206 of the criminal code of Canada.
BBB offers the following tips to watch out for when deciding on the purchase of lottery tickets:
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Legitimate lotteries will not send you mail or call you on the phone asking you to send money.
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Never give out your credit card numbers over the phone to a business promising lottery jackpots.
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Never send cash to an unfamiliar or foreign business.
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Never accept a collect phone call from someone claiming to be a lottery official. Real lotteries do not call collect.
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Never believe a letter or phone call from someone who offers you a guarantee of winning a prize. Real lotteries do not guarantee you will win a prize.
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Never join a lottery pool. Real lotteries do not ask people to join prize pools.
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Never trust someone who says you can win the lottery by purchasing a set of "winning numbers", instead of a ticket. Real lotteries require you to buy a ticket to win a prize.
Check out any suspicious lottery offer with your BBB. Remember, if an offer sounds too good to be true, it usually is.