Watch out: Scammers may call you pretending to be NC vaccine lottery
Did you answer more phone calls than usual last week, hoping it was news you won the COVID Vaccine Summer Cash drawing? Maybe the call was actually a scam.
Scammers know that people are answering more calls right now, so watch out.
Two lucky winners already got the call, and neither believed it was real.
"I was overwhelmed. I still don’t believe it," said Shelly Wyramon, winner of the state's first of four $1 million prizes.
"She wasn’t convinced until she got on a video call with Dr. Cohen," said Gov. Roy Cooper.
Plenty of people are telling 5 On Your Side they’re answering calls that are fake.
One WRAL viewer said he answered more calls this week that he otherwise would, and is wondering how to tell if the call is real.
There’s no way to stop scammers from calling, but you can help protect yourself by knowing how the drawings work.
According to spokeswoman Bailey Pennington, winners will be called by the state Department of Health and Human Services from a 919 area code.
You can let the calls go to voicemail and if you’re a winner, NCDHHS will leave a message.
It’s possible, you’d also get an email, again from the department of health.
Know, if you win, you will not have to give any personal information over the phone or pay any money.
If you’re concerned you’re speaking to a scammer, hang up and call NCDHHS at 919-855-4800.
They’ll connect legitimate winners to the appropriate person.
"As the former attorney general of this state – it’s good that Shelly had her guard up to avoid scams," Cooper said on Monday.
Make sure you:
- Never give out personal information pay money any time you get a phone call out of the blue.
- Always find the number yourself, for the entity that "called," and call back to verify.
Americans lost more than $29.8 billion to scammers on the phone, according to new report. One in 3 Americans say they are victim of phone scams.
The report found that younger Americans are more susceptible to phone scams.
