TRENTON– The New Jersey Lottery today announced that it is investigating several reports of altered tickets that have cropped up throughout the State in recent days, one of which was recently featured in a local news story.
The alleged scammer tells potential victims that he hasn’t been able to cash in a winning top-tier instant ticket, and that even if he was able to, State-sanctioned garnishments would probably take away most of his prize. Victims are then offered the ticket for far less than the apparent worth of the ticket. However, when the victims try and claim the ticket as a winner, scrutiny by the Lottery’s Security Department-as well as the State Police-has proven these alleged ‘winning’ tickets are nothing more than several non-winning tickets carefully pasted together.
“As news reports have shown, at this time of year, people need to be especially vigilant,” said William T. Jourdain, Acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Lottery, “This scam, unfortunately, is just one of the latest scams that our Security Unit has seen throughout the international gaming community. Please-at this time of the year or any other-make certain you purchase your tickets from a licensed New Jersey Lottery retailer, whether you are buying them for yourself or as gifts.”
Jourdain went on to state that the New Jersey Lottery’s reputation for integrity is paramount, and that the agency’s Security Unit is working with local and State Police officials and exploring all possibilities. To this end, Jourdain is asking the public to remember that if it sounds too good to be true-especially if someone is offering you a ticket to you for far less than the apparent face value of what appears to be a ‘winning’ ticket-it is most likely that someone is trying to run a scam on you. Also, the public is advised to log onto the Lottery’s website, www.njlottery.net, and under the “About Us” section, there is a sub-section entitled “Protect Yourself Against Lottery Scams”, where a visitor can find useful contact information and tips on how to spot a scam.
“Whether you experience this scam tomorrow or have experienced it recently, we want to hear from you,” concluded Jourdain, “If you have been contacted by this scam artist-or if he contacts you in the future-please call our Security Unit as soon as possible at 609-599-6100.”
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