Man travels 1,000 miles to claim lottery prize only to find he has been scammed

Jimmy Nsubuga metro.co.uk A man that thought he had won £292,000 on a BBC lottery was told it was a scam after travelling 1,056 miles to claim his prize. Ratan Kumar Malbisoi left his rural village in Orissa, India, and journeyed to Delhi after apparently being sent a cheque by a ‘BBC official’. But when the 41-year-old arrived at the British broadcaster’s office, he was told he had been the victim of a phishing scam. ‘The (text) message said I had won the BBC’s national lottery for 20 or 30 million rupees ($319,000-$478,000; £194,000-£292,000),’ he told the BBC. Unemployed Malbisoi was asked to pay 4,000 rupees (£39) to process the payment when he received the text two years ago but couldn’t afford it. Despite not being able to pay, the scammers said they had sent the father of three a cheque. When he didn’t receive it he decided to embark on his journey to Delhi last month. After returning home, Malbisoi was still convinced the lottery had been real despite his fruitless journey. He added: ‘I never felt he was trying to cheat me. I liked speaking with him, he was always very nice. ‘If they don’t want to give me the money, I can’t force them. It’s their money.’