A man in China just learned the hard way why you should never post your lottery ticket online. What started as a moment of excitement quickly turned into a nightmare.
He had proudly shared a picture of his winning ticket in an online group chat. It seemed harmless—just a happy moment. But when he went to claim his prize on November 12, he got a huge shock: someone had already cashed out his winnings.
Police were called in right away, and that’s when the truth came out.
A group member, identified only as Zhao, had quietly saved the photo and passed it to a lottery official he personally knew. Zhao claimed the ticket was his and pretended he was out of town, asking for the winnings to be sent through an online transfer.
Because:
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Zhao was a regular customer
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The prize wasn’t huge
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Nothing seemed suspicious
…the lottery official went ahead and processed the transaction.
Things only clicked when police showed up. The official realized he’d been tricked, and Zhao, suddenly aware of how serious things were, returned the money immediately.
In the end, with police helping both sides talk it out, the victim got his winnings back and chose to forgive Zhao.
Takeaway:
Think twice before sharing anything sensitive online—especially something worth cash.
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