CLEVELAND — The old saying “no good deed goes unpunished” can now, unfortunately, be applied to the Vax-a-Million giveaway as scammers try to capitalize on the event.
According to the folks at Scamicide.com, Ohio and other states with similar vaccine-incentive giveaways are seeing scammers contacting unsuspecting victims. The criminals are calling, texting, emailing or getting in touch with people through social media, claiming they’re from the lottery commission, and they want to sign you up for the drawings.
They ask for your social security number and/or bank account info so they can supposedly deposit the money into your account.
Don’t be fooled, even if your phone’s caller ID says “The Ohio Lottery” or something similar.
“It isn’t the Lottery Commission,” said Steve Weisman, who is the Editor of Scamicide.com. “It’s a very simple technique called spoofing by which the scammer can make your caller ID read whatever they want. So, BS: be skeptical.”
Just remember, the Ohio Lottery won’t be calling you to sign you up. You can only sign up through the official Vax-A-Million website or through the toll-free number 1-833-427-5634.
With four drawings left, be careful.
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