The Washington State Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has issued a warning about scammers taking advantage of the state’s vaccination lottery drawings, “Shot of a Lifetime.”
The AGO says, in a press release, that it has received
some reports from citizens of callers attempting to use the program to scam
Washingtonians.
The weekly drawings are being held on Tuesdays through
July 13. The Washington State Lottery contacts winners primarily by phone. It emphasizes
that Lottery representatives will never ask for personal information such as bank
account information or Social Security numbers over the phone. Lottery
representatives will clearly identify themselves. They will ask to confirm contact
information, such as home address and email, so that they can send an official
prize claim form to the winners.
The Lottery may also contact winners via email, or
text message.
The AGO recommends that if you are suspicious of a phone
call, voicemail message, email, or text that you think might be a scammer
trying to take advantage of the vaccine lottery, to call the Washington Lottery
directly at (360) 810-2888 to verify if the communication was authentically
from the Washington Lottery.
A lottery such as the “Shot of a Lifetime” is a
natural for scammers to try to take advantage of the public. Hearing that you
might have won $250,000, or even tickets to a Mariners or Seahawks game, an
Xbox, or other lesser prize will get you excited. With all of the talk of scams
that we have heard in the last few years, many people will naturally be skeptical
if they receive a call purporting to be from the Lottery. Calling (360)
810-2888 can help you confirm if you indeed are a winner and help tip off the
Lottery on scams that are using its name.
Here are some other things to look for if you receive
a Lottery related call, email, or text:
·
A call or text that claims to be from the
Lottery that comes from an out-of-state phone number is a scam. The Lottery will
use a phone number from the 253 or 564 Washington area codes.
·
An email prize notification will come from
an email address that ends in “@doh.wa.gov.”
·
If a caller is rude or pushy, can’t or won’t
answer detailed questions, demands your Social Security number or banking
information, or says you need to pay a fee to claim your prize, that is a
scammer. HANG UP!
·
An email or text that requires you to
click on a link, that is a malicious email or text.
·
The communication tells you that you are a
COVID Lottery winner even though you know that you have not been immunized. The
winners are taken from a database of individuals who have been vaccinated held
by the Washington State Department of Health.
Washington State Attorney General’s Office:
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