ST. CHARLES PARISH, La. — If you are vaccinated against COVID-19, you can still sign up for the "Shot at a Million" lottery through the Louisiana Department of Health. The first drawing is Friday.
The St. Charles Parish Sheriff's issued a warning to make sure you sign up for the legitimate lottery and don't fall for a scam. The sheriff's office received complaints of citizens receiving phone calls from people claiming to provide assistance in registering for the lottery.
"We were able to obtain a telephone number from one of our citizens and the number was registered to a company that does not appear to have any involvement with the 'COVID Lottery,'" the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office Facebook post said. "This most likely is done with a criminal practice known as 'spoofing' where a criminal calls you using a telephone number that they can clone to resemble any telephone number of their choosing."
Cynthia Albert with the Better Business Bureau in New Orleans warns it is typical for scammers to use your area code even if they may be calling from somewhere else.
"You have to realize a lot of these scams are coming from out of the country," Albert said. "That has happened many, many times."
Gov. John Bel Edwards Office said they are not aware of any scams surrounding the lottery.
"We’re not aware of any scams. The Dept. of Health had contract with a media vendor that is making outbound calls to residents to let them know about Shot At A Million, but they are not scheduling vaccine appointments or registering anyone for the lottery," a spokesperson with the Governor's Office said. "They are simply pointing residents to the website and to the vaccine hotline. If someone asks for personal information including financial or bank information it is not the Department of Health."
According to the Shot at a Million website, LDH may contact you to verify your vaccine status, but will never ask for money.
When answering a call, never give out your personal or financial information like your social security number or credit card number.
"We want to stop robocalls and make it easier for consumers to safely answer the phone," said Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
The Federal Communications Commission hopes robocalls will soon be blocked. Last week was the FCC deadline for major phone providers to adopt new technology to stop robocalls. It's called "Stir/Shaken." The goal is to validate a call to make sure the number you see is legitimate.
"I am promising that we are not going to stop until these calls stop. We are going to try to be as creative as possible with the laws we have," Rosenworcel said.
Until then, remain cautious and alert when picking up the phone.
The Shot at a Million lottery weekly drawings start Friday. You can sign up if you are vaccinated at www.shotatamillion.com.
If you do not have access to the internet, a call center is available to assist you with submitting an entry by phone, toll free at 1-877-356-1511.
Remember though, only sign up over the phone if you make the call, not if someone calls you.