SMS lotto scam hits WA

West Australians have been alerted about a Powerball lottery scam circulating through mobile phone text messages.

Lotterywest and the Department of Commerce's Consumer Protection say there have been more than 100 reports of fake text messages this week.

Consumer Protection commissioner, Anne Driscoll, says the message claims to come from Powerball, but Lotterywest never notifies prize winners via SMS or email.

"The text is likely to be in block capitals, claiming that your mobile number has been awarded five hundred thousand dollars," she said.

"There will also be a contact email address for you to respond to in order to claim your prize.

"We strongly recommend that you do not contact the sender."

Driscoll said the scam was widespread and involved the sender of the SMS requesting a fee to cover the release of the prizemoney.

WA ScamNet says people should never pay money in advance to claim a prize, use wire transfer to pay a stranger, reveal personal information like banking details to unknown parties, or respond to uninvited text messages and emails proclaiming a lottery win.

To report a scam, call Consumer Protection on 1300 30 40 54.

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