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It's become too familiar: You get an email, phone call or letter saying you've won a jackpot, often a foreign lottery. But there's a caveat: To receive your winnings, you're told, you have to first pay taxes, or fees for insurance or other expenses. It's usually requested via a wire transfer or Green Dot prepaid Money Pak card. You send off the money, and guess what? No payout ever arrives.

Reported losses from these "winnings"? More than $1 billion a year. And you can be sure the figure's much higher, because most victims — particularly older ones — are too embarrassed to admit to getting duped by a scam that reigns among the most prevalent.

So when lottery fever hits, know these ten facts to prevent getting burned.

1. Any lottery or sweepstakes requiring upfront fees is a scam. The one exception involves "skill contests" (solving puzzles, submitting recipes, etc.), where participation may legally require a small entry fee or purchase.