Police warn of lottery scam after Windsor resident loses $24K

Police in Windsor are warning residents to be on the lookout for lottery scams after a Windsor resident lost $24,000.

The scam typically involves a call, email, text or pop-up screen telling people they're a winner, but must pay to claim their prize.

"This should immediately raise your suspicions and doubts as you cannot be chosen as a random winner if you haven't placed an entry," explained Const. Andrew Drouillard in a media release. "They try to entice you with a prize and trick you into giving banking and other personal information to claim your prize."

One Windsor woman was told she won $2.5 million, but she had to pay for shipping and taxes. After paying, she was told her winnings had increased, but she had to pay final delivery fees and for a briefcase to carry the cash, according to Drouillard.

Only after speaking with a friend, did the woman become aware of the scam.

 "You should not have to pay money to receive money or a prize and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," wrote Drouillard.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming spokesperson Tony Bitoni agreed, saying if someone gets a call about the lottery alarm bells should go off.

"OLG does not conduct phone calls to people that potentially could be winners, and we don't make offers or ask for money over the phone," he said. "We never have done that."