The Office of Kansas State Treasurer says a government imposter has successfully defrauded a resident as part of a lottery scam.
Deputy Assistant Treasurer Tom Treacy says a scammer called the victim claiming to represent the Treasurer’s Office and saying the victim had won a large amount of money through the lottery, but the victim had to pay a currently unlisted amount to claim the winnings. The victim was told to wire funds and load money onto a gift card, with Treasurer Steven Johnson or a representative appearing in person at the victim’s home to present the winnings once those steps were taken.
The Treasurer’s Office reminds residents that scammers might call, text or email to start the scam process, and if they call, they can “spoof” or mask the incoming call so it lists as coming from the Treasurer’s Office. The office also reminds residents that any request or demand to pay in order to receive a payment is likely a fraud and any request for payment using gift cards is never a legitimate process, especially when coming from a government entity.
If residents want to know whether they have unclaimed property or winnings, they can go online to unclaimedproperty.ks.gov. Residents wanting to know more about fraud prevention can go online to consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/fraud.
