News writer
Be warned: if you won the Powerball, someone from the Lottery isn't going to call you to claim your winnings!
A new phone scam is going around
The Maryland Lottery has put out a warning to the public about a new phone spoofing scam that is going around. This new scam is telling people that they have won the Powerball game and now they need to claim their prize.
According to the Maryland Lottery, which they announced on social media, the calls actually come from the number 208-334-2600. This phone number is actually linked to the Idaho Lottery. However, the scammers are spoofing the phone number, and the Idaho Lottery has no involvement in these phone calls to people.
Lotteries don't make these types of calls
If you happen to get one of these phone calls and start thinking it's true, don't believe it. The Maryland Lottery states lotteries do not make phone calls of this nature.
In fact, state lotteries have no way of knowing who is holding onto a winning ticket until that lucky person comes forward to claim their prize. They know where the winning tickets are purchased but have no way of knowing who bought the ticket. Because of that, there is no way the Maryland Lottery office could call you to tell you you won.
The Maryland Lottery is advising people to now answer these calls if they happen to see the phone number above show up on their caller ID.
If you have any questions, the Maryland Lottery said you contact them at 410-230-8800 or by emailing them at ask.lotteryandgaming@maryland.gov.
No scam here
There were no scams happening for a Montgomery County man recently, who became the third top-prize winner in the $250,000 Cash Windfall scratch-off game from the Maryland Lottery. The home improvement contractor happened to scratch the “WINALL” moneybag symbol in the scratch-off game, which helped him secure the $10 ticket's top prize of $250,000.
The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, recently cashed in the winning ticket at Lottery headquarters and said he was confused at first when scratching the ticket. He said each of the prizes for his numbers was for $10,000, but then none of the numbers actually matched the game's five winning numbers. He thought he had a losing ticket, but then he had it scanned at a lottery retailer, and the worker revealed great news.
The $250,000 winner said with a huge smile:
I scanned it and it said that I won. I had to scan it again. I couldn't believe it.
The lucky winner didn't see the “WINALL” words or the moneybag symbol at first, but that is why he won $250,000, with each of the 25 numbers showing a $10,000 prize. With the winnings, the father of two college students said he plans on using the money to pay bills and his kids' college tuition.
The winning ticket was purchased at Glen Echo Pharmacy, located at 7311 MacArthur Boulevard in Bethesda. For selling the winning ticket, the Lottery retailer will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Maryland Lottery.
This was the third top-prize winner claimed for the instant game since it went on sale in February. There are still two prizes of $250,000 still unclaimed, as well as four $10,000 prizes and others ranging from $20 to $1,000.
Enjoy playing the Maryland Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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