COLUMBIA, SC (April 15, 2015) – A Charleston woman found out she won $1 MILLION in an email.
“I thought it was fake,” she said after reading it at work.
But before she could call the Lottery to check it out, the Lottery called her.
As luck would have it, a non-winning ticket she entered in the $1,000,000 Fortune Second-Chance Drawing was selected from the more than 600,000 entries received to win the $1 million grand prize.
The truth moved the millionaire to her knees to pray.
“This puts me closer to retirement,” she said.
The South Carolina Education Lottery notifies second-chance drawing winners by phone, email and certified letter based on the information provided when entering the promotion.
While the Charleston winner wasn’t the target of scammers, how she handled an unexpected email promising money is a lesson to others.
To protect yourself, never give out personal information like credit card numbers, bank account numbers or social security numbers to strangers over the phone or online. Never send money to someone promising a prize you don’t know how you won.
In most cases, lottery scammers ask for money to cover processing fees to claim a bogus prize. Lotteries never ask for money in return for a prize.
And when in doubt, pick up the phone and call the Lottery toll-free at 1-866-736-9819. The Lottery is open during regular business hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.
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“I thought it was fake,” she said after reading it at work.
But before she could call the Lottery to check it out, the Lottery called her.
As luck would have it, a non-winning ticket she entered in the $1,000,000 Fortune Second-Chance Drawing was selected from the more than 600,000 entries received to win the $1 million grand prize.
The truth moved the millionaire to her knees to pray.
“This puts me closer to retirement,” she said.
The South Carolina Education Lottery notifies second-chance drawing winners by phone, email and certified letter based on the information provided when entering the promotion.
While the Charleston winner wasn’t the target of scammers, how she handled an unexpected email promising money is a lesson to others.
To protect yourself, never give out personal information like credit card numbers, bank account numbers or social security numbers to strangers over the phone or online. Never send money to someone promising a prize you don’t know how you won.
In most cases, lottery scammers ask for money to cover processing fees to claim a bogus prize. Lotteries never ask for money in return for a prize.
And when in doubt, pick up the phone and call the Lottery toll-free at 1-866-736-9819. The Lottery is open during regular business hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.
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