The California Lottery is warning residents to be cautious of scammers attempting to steal money through fraudulent lottery schemes, particularly as tax season approaches.Daniel Kelly, spokesperson for the California Lottery, sa id the organization has noticed an increase in reports of people being targeted by criminals using various deceptive tactics."We'll have scams that follow along the holiday season. We just got done with those. And now, as we head towards tax time, that's another time when scammers become more active," Kelly said.One common scam involves suspects approaching victims in person, claiming they cannot cash a lottery ticket for various reasons. The scammer offers to give the victim the ticket in exchange for a small amount of money, promising they can collect the cash prize."They give you the ticket, and then they're gone, right. Because the ticket isn't cashable," Kelly said.Beyond in-person approaches, Kelly said other scams begin with text messages, emails, or phone calls congratulating recipients for supposedly holding winning lottery tickets.While these messages may sound official, Kelly said they reveal their fraudulent nature by requesting money upfront."They'll say 'oh you need to deposit a thousand dollars to pay for the taxes to release your million-dollar prize, or what have you," Kelly said.Kelly emphasized that the California Lottery does not contact people unexpectedly and never asks winners to pay fees or taxes in advance. In fact, lottery winners are not notified of their wins."You can't win if you don't play. And no one is going to tell you if you win. If you lost that ticket behind your bed and it's still within the claim window, you should check it. You may have won the lottery and you just don't know," Kelly said.Kelly said residents should also be aware that legitimate lottery games are not sold online or through mobile apps. People should never share banking, credit card, or Social Security information with anyone claiming to offer them a prize.Anyone who believes they have been targeted by a lottery scam can report it to the California Lottery's customer service line at 1-800-LOTTERY.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere: Download Our Free App for Apple and Android Sign Up for Our Daily E-mail Newsletter Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Instagram Subscribe to Us on YouTube ...read more read less