Oyen RCMP is warning residents of a phone scam involving the STARS lottery. Recently, there have been reports of unknown callers saying they are calling on behalf of the STARS Lottery. The caller tells the intended victims that they have won a prize, and must send a payment to claim the prize. The caller ID even displayed “STARS Lottery” to add legitimacy to the call.

RCMP and STARS is ensuring the public that this is a scam and STARS would like to stress the following:

• STARS is aware of ongoing scam attempts involving lottery tickets and actively works to inform the public, especially during campaign periods.

• Lottery ticket purchasers will never be asked to send money to claim a STARS LOTTERY prize. If you are being asked to send a cheque, money order, or payment of any kind to claim your lottery prize, it is a scam. Hang up the phone or delete the email.

• Check with STARS directly to verify if you are a winner. Winners are listed on our official lottery websites. Always use our official phone numbers and websites, shown below, and not the ones a scammer may provide. Our official contacts are: 1-844-782-7775, info@stars.ca, and www.starslottery.ca 

• In addition to notifying us, ticket purchasers can also call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 and share the information you collected.