The Hoosier Lottery has been busy warning potential victims about an elaborate scam that utilizes recordings taken from their helpline to trick people into believing they are talking to genuine lottery officials.
Initial contact is made by letter or e-mail and states the recipient has won the lottery and provides a toll-free number. If the recipient calls the number they are treated to a recording of the real Indiana Lottery hotline before being pumped for personal information and coerced into paying money to pay release fees for a bogus prize.
The scam is not restricted to Indiana. The American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries has already issued a nationwide bulletin that warns about the scam.
Kentucky Lottery officials first became aware of the scam in June. Lottery spokesperson Chip Polston said: "This one is really taking it up a notch and I think that's why a lot of us are really concerned with this because they are stealing material from the Hoosier Lottery to give it a certain air of legitimacy."
It is believed the scammers have recently replaced the recording with one taken from the Minnesota Lottery helpline.
