What to do to avoid being 'ripped off' when winning the lottery jackpot

The fact that the owner of a winning lottery ticket worth 1.5 billion VND in Kien Giang spent nearly 5 years pursuing a lawsuit to claim the prize money raises concerns about the risk of the winner being "ripped off" if they do not know how.

Mistake of not going to the lottery company to redeem the prize

In 2011, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet (Chau Thanh district, Rach Gia city, Kien Giang province) won a jackpot of 1.5 billion VND. Instead of going to An Giang Province Lottery Company Limited, which issued the lottery ticket, to redeem the prize, she went to Trieu Phat lottery agent.

Instead of going to the lottery company to redeem her prize, Ms. Tuyet went to a lottery agent and from there, her ticket was swapped, leading to a lawsuit that lasted for 5 years. Photo: AX

Initially, the owner of the agency, Mr. Ngo Xuan Phuc, announced that she had won the jackpot and agreed to pay the prize. But then, Mr. Phuc asked Ms. Tuyet to show her ID card, so she went back to the car to get her bag. When she returned, she saw that Mr. Phuc had turned the lottery ticket over, used his ID card to write down the information, and asked her family to sign. When he finished, Mr. Phuc put the lottery ticket in a plastic bag and put it in the closet.

A few minutes later, Mr. Phuc called his nephew out to check again. After looking at it with the naked eye, he said that the lottery ticket had been cut and pasted unevenly in the first and last numbers of the 6-digit series, so he refused to exchange the prize and called the local police.

Since then, Ms. Tuyet and her family have spent 5 years pursuing this lawsuit before winning and claiming 1.5 billion VND.

From the story of Ms. Tuyet, a representative of a lottery company analyzed: "Many people often do not want to reveal themselves and let others know that they have won the jackpot, so they often ask agents to redeem their prizes. However, if you win a big prize, you should try to find the company that issued it to redeem your prize, to avoid being taken advantage of by others."

At some lottery companies, for large prizes, they also require the lottery ticket owner to come to the headquarters to claim the prize. Here, if the winning amount is too large, the lottery company may have to pay the prize through a bank, instead of paying in cash.

Create proof that you are the lottery ticket owner

If you are unable to arrange to come to the company to claim your prize, lottery officials advise that when handing over your ticket to an agent or authorized person, a sufficiently independent third party should be present as a witness.

In addition, when handing over lottery tickets through an agency, a handover record is required.

Some lottery experts around the world advise that as soon as you know you have won the jackpot, you should take a photo of yourself holding the lottery ticket next to a newspaper published that day, with the results announced. This photo should be kept by you and in some cases, will be a basis to prove the owner of the lottery ticket. Similarly, mSome people even recommend taking a video.

Learn tax regulations carefully

Not long after the joy of winning the lottery, lucky lottery winners soon realize that they also have a big financial obligation to pay taxes on this income.

Therefore, you need to carefully study the regulations, tax rates and methods. In the Southern region, there are also cases where lottery agents cite complicated tax procedures as a reason to "entice" winners to receive money on their behalf. According to the general director of a lottery company, these procedures are not as complicated as some people think, so do not be tempted and risk having your money "intercepted" unnecessarily.

According to VNE