He thought emails about lottery win were scams — and almost lost out on Michigan prize

A 70-year-old man in Michigan almost missed out on his lottery prize while thinking the email and phone notifications were a scam.

The player, who chose to remain anonymous, had earned entries into a “second chance” drawing by playing an online Monthly Jackpot game with the Michigan Lottery, according to a Nov. 3 news release.

In the Oct. 5 random drawing, one of his entries was selected for a $99,821 prize.

“When I saw the email notifying me that I had won the second chance jackpot, I thought it was a scam email, so I deleted it,” the Washtenaw County man told lottery officials. “After that I got a few more emails regarding the prize and even a voicemail from the Lottery, but I didn’t think much of it because I still thought it was a scam.”

A few days later, he said he was going through his email and again came across one of the lottery’s messages.

“I saw the deadline to contact the Lottery was approaching and if I didn’t claim my prize by the deadline, I would forfeit it, so I decided to reach out to the Lottery just in case the email was legitimate,” he said in the release. “When they confirmed the prize was real, I was so surprised and thankful that I decided to call!”

He claimed his prize “in the nick of time” — just one day before the winnings would have been forfeited, officials said.

The man plans to retire and pay off his home with his newfound cash.

This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 11:52 AM with the headline "He thought emails about lottery win were scams — and almost lost out on Michigan prize."