Fraudsters Using Local Powerball Winner’s Name in an Effort to Cash In

The inevitable has happened.

Scammers are now using a local Powerball winner’s name to attempt to bilk people out of their money.

A text message claiming to be from Edwin Castro — the Altadena man who won a $2.04 billion Powerball prize in 2022 — was sent out on Friday. In the message, scammers claim they are giving out $900,000 to 10 people.

The error-filled message in part reads:

“I’m donating the sum $900,000 to 10 peoples. So once you receive this text message , you’re among the lucky winners.”|

The message concludes with a phone number. Typically these types of scams require an upfront payment to receive “the funds,” which of course are never delivered.

The California Lottery told The New York Post it was aware of the swindle attempts and is urging players to be wary of schemers offering free money.

Castro purchased the victorious ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena the day before the Nov. 8 drawing.

The $2.04 billion ticket is the biggest win in Powerball history.

The scam has been going around in different iterations since Castro won.