Huge lottery prize winners kept deleting emails saying they'd won thinking it was spam

A couple who won a huge lottery prize kept deleting the emails that said they'd won because they thought it was a scam.

To be honest, it's worth having your guard up when you get an unexpected message about being rich.

Whether it's a story from a 'Nigerian prince' or a sophisticated mock-up from a legitimate company, there is a seemingly endless amount of trickery going on online.

James Briggs was sure the emails coming into his account were fake.

It said he and his wife Sally had won £10,000 per month for a whole year.

After a month and four emails from Camelot, James finally decided to open the message to see what all the fuss was about.

It was only then did he realise his winner numbers had been picked.

“I buy my Set For Life tickets one month in advance via the National Lottery app," the 42-year-old said.

SWNS

"I received an email about the draw on August 3 but ignored it as there was so much going on. I was busy with work, including an international trip to a conference.

"Then we had a holiday to Berlin to celebrate Sally’s birthday.

"There was home stuff to do, so it was only after seeing the fourth email when we got back from holiday that I actually got around to reading it.

"I wasn't sure if it was spam or proper actual emails.

“It was a Sunday night and Sally and I were getting bits and bobs sorted before returning to work the next day.

"I was checking my emails while watching the TV.

"I didn’t say anything to Sally but decided I’d call the National Lottery line the next day and see if all these emails were true.

“I called the following morning, still wondering whether it was real but, after chatting to various people and seeing everything on the app it finally dawned on me that it could actually be true.

"Having had the confirmation call with The National Lottery, I messaged Sally at work and said I had some news for her when she got back home.”

Sally thought something negative had happened and braced herself for some bad news.

"Then James told me, and I just kept on repeating, ‘you what?’, I was in total disbelief," she recalled.

They are planning on spending the money on a holiday, a 'she shed' for Sally, a new front door and a laptop.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

@stewartperrie