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KY Lottery Warns Of Scams During Huge Jackpot Run

Posted at 9:29 AM, Oct 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-16 17:38:34-04

(LEX 18) – Kentucky Lottery officials are urging people to be aware of scams as the jackpot continues to swell.

Large jackpot runs like this bring scammers out in full force. The key to not falling victim is this – THE KENTUCKY LOTTERY, NOR ANY OTHER LOTTERY, WILL EVER CALL OR EMAIL YOU TO SAY YOU’VE WON A GAME’S GRAND PRIZE.

“I always remind people we don’t take your phone number or email address when you buy a ticket, so how would we know to contact you?”, said Polston.

Lottery staff encountered one such case just yesterday. They were contacted by a gentleman asking if he really had to open a second bank account in order to obtain his prize. “After we started peeling back the story, he told us he’d received a call that he’d won and was instructed to open a second account. We were able to quickly get him to contact his bank to close the account, and he lost no money – but was very close,” said Polston. “And the poor guy admitted he hadn’t even bought a ticket.”

Scammers typically work in one of two ways – they want players to pre-pay “taxes” on a prize before it’s delivered (which never happens), or they request access to bank accounts in order to “wire” prize money. Instead, they wipe the accounts of all available funds.

Polston said these groups can get incredibly creative. “I spoke with a woman awhile back who said the scammers told her they were in a van at the end of her street with her cash, and even described her house and neighborhood to her so she would believe their story. In fact, they were simply using Google Earth to see what her house and surrounding area looked like. They urged her to quickly withdraw and send funds to them, as they would be moving onto another person in 30 minutes,” Polston said. “Fortunately we were able to convince her it was a scam.”

“I’ve spoken with presidents of banks who have come close to falling for these ruses, as they’re very convincing,” said Polston. “Everyone wants to win.”