Cover image via China Press
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A man in China learnt a harsh lesson about Internet safety after his lottery winnings were stolen because he posted a photo of his winning ticket online
According to China Press, the victim excitedly shared news of his windfall in an online group, including an image of the ticket.
When he went to claim his prize last Wednesday, 12 November, he was shocked to discover that the winnings had already been cashed out by someone else. He immediately lodged a police report.
Police investigations revealed that an opportunistic group member, known only as Zhao, had saved the photo of the ticket
Zhao forwarded the image to a lottery official he knew personally, falsely claiming the ticket was his.
Zhao told the official he was out of town and requested the prize be transferred via an online transaction.
As Zhao was a regular customer and the winning amount was not substantial, the official did not suspect anything amiss and processed the transfer
The lottery official only realised the deception when police arrived to investigate.
After being contacted by the authorities, Zhao reportedly realised the severity of his actions and quickly returned the stolen money to the rightful owner.
With the police mediating, the two parties managed to reach a peaceful resolution, with the victim choosing to forgive Zhao after recovering his winnings.
