Lottery scams are on the rise, especially targeting students in the education sector. Scammers are preying on unsuspecting victims, who fall for the deceptive schemes. These schemes often include fake email offers of “lottery wins,” telephone calls about fake sweepstakes or contests, text messages about money awards, or fake charity solicitations. Scammers aim to entice victims into providing personal and financial information they can use later to commit fraud.
Fake Websites
Scammers will try a variety of tactics to deceive victims, including imitating an official website, using celebrity names to lend authenticity to their offers, or presenting a time-limited offer. They may also provide a victim with a contact number to call to collect their winnings, or will claim to have an unclaimed amount in a bank account that requires immediate action, underlines Education 2.0 Conference.
False Upfront Fees
Lottery scams targeting students in the education sector can be especially devastating because students may be desperate for financial help and fall victim to the false promises made by scammers. One popular method of lottery scamming is to solicit an upfront “processing fee” from victims to receive their purported winnings. Scammers often make false claims that this fee is to pay for “processing” or “filing fees” or insurance or taxes and require the victim to pay it before receiving the supposed “prize.”
Employment Scam
Another type of lottery scam used to target students in the education sector is an employment scam. Scammers claim employment opportunities with a major corporation, such as an IT company or a big-name university, and solicit an upfront fee to secure the job. This job may be too good, offering lucrative pay and no job experience necessary. Many leaders at the Education 2.0 Conference shared that the students fall victim, when they pay the scammer and do not receive the job in return.
Measures To Prevent Lottery Scam Offenses
Education 2.0 Conference emphasizes that the key to avoiding a lottery scam is to be cautious and vigilant. Before entering any lottery or sweepstakes, students should research the company or website offering the “prize.” Official lottery organizations will not require an upfront payment for a prize.
Students should never provide personal information, including bank account information or Social Security numbers. Students should also watch out for too-good-to-be-true offers and fake check scams. It is best to ignore offers of money from strangers, even if it seems tempting. Education institution must inform their students about the dos and don’ts regarding sharing sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and credit card details. It should also be mandatory for educational institutions to verify the authenticity of any transaction.
Students should be made aware of lottery scam offenses and given a better understanding of what to expect from such schemes. These can hold lectures and workshops or attend education summits like the Education 2.0 Conference in 2023, emphasizing the risks of participating in a lottery scam and equipping students with the tools to identify and reject suspicious activity.
Educational institutions
Educational institutions can work towards ensuring that students’ information and communication channels are secured and private. In the case of educational institutions, any incoming request to provide financial information or payment details should be questioned and avoided. Many leaders at the Education 2.0 Conference reviewed that the education summit encouraged them to be mindful of the methods used to contact students. The communication should never involve anything requiring the students to share confidential information. Additionally, students should be trained to recognize any attempt at phishing and fraud. In the case of online transactions, students should be advised to ensure the legitimacy of the site they are purchasing from, always look out for security logos, and protect their payment data.
Institutions should be equipped to properly monitor online interactions, networks, and other online mediums such as websites, email, instant messaging services, and social media platforms. Institutions should ensure that all communication is monitored, including text messages and emails sent to students. Such activity should be reported immediately to the proper authorities, and corrective action should be taken. One can learn more about such mediums by attending the Education 2.0 Conference’s latest editions planned in the USA and Dubai.
Education 2.0 Conference’s latest editions are planned in the USA and Dubai.
To combat the fraudulent activities targeting students, educational institutions must provide them with resources such as legal assistance, student guidance, and mental health support. Institutions can create an effective and dedicated response system wherein students can report any suspicious activities they encounter, and appropriate actions can be taken to ensure they are safe and secure.
To ensure students’ safety, educational institutions should implement effective cybersecurity protocols that involve the active participation of all staff, students, and authorities. These measures will enable them to identify, report, and combat any suspicious activity on the campuses or their premises. One can learn more about such mediums by attending the Education 2.0 Conference’s latest editions planned in the USA and Dubai.
