The Florida Lottery is warning people of a lottery scam involving the Mega Millions game in which scammers are sending emails to the public indicating they may have won $1 million.
Lottery officials say it's a scam which is an effort to obtain personal and financial information ... in other words, a phishing scam.
Officials are warning people not to respond to these emails.
The Lottery department makes it clear that, if you have not purchased a Mega Millions ticket, you cannot win a prize.
The email making the rounds looks fairly official and features the Mega Millions logo as part of the letterhead; and it states that the recipient was among a group of randomly selected people to participate in an ongoing Mega Millions drawing.
In the email, individuals are asked to provide general information about themselves in order to participate.
The email goes on to warn the recipient not to share this information with other people in order to avoid impersonation and a double claim.
Lottery officials say they never send emails remotely like this one; nor to they ask for any personal information via email.
Officials with the Florida Lottery also emphasize the fact that players will never be required to transfer funds to secure their winnings for Mega Millions or any other Florida Lottery game.
They're advising people to be wise to emails like this one and to make sure they don't hand out their personal information.
The Lottery department is providing information on how people can protect themselves and keep their information secure at www.flalottery.com.