Lotto fever is rising again, with the Mega Millions jackpot surging after a win-less weekend, making it even more important that you know what to do if you beat the odds and win.
The top Mega Millions prize for Tuesday night’s drawing is estimated at $875 million, the sixth-largest ever. Your odds of winning the Mega Millions are 1 in 302.6 million, but if you do, be prepared to keep your cool. As much as you might want to scream your win from the rooftops, the smartest thing is to shut your mouth and turn off your social media so you’re not tempted to post about it, financial advisers say.
Claiming that much money likely will draw taxes, scammers, and friends and family members looking for financial help, they say.
“If you’re lucky enough to win the lottery, keep it quiet,” says Rob Burnette, financial and investment adviser at Outlook Financial Center in Troy, Ohio. “Get organized and make a plan. Consider staying anonymous, if it’s a possibility.”
Why shouldn’t you tell everyone?
Scammers.
They may contact you to tell you you’ve won or if they know you’ve won, “the crooks usually try to get you to wire money for “taxes” or “fees,” or may try to get you to provide them with a bank account number, which they will then clean out,” Mega Millions warns. “No real lottery tells winners to put up their own money in order to collect a prize they have already won.”
Be suspicious of people who contact you out of the blue. No representative of Mega Millions…
