The Maryland Lottery and the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) want to help all Marylanders to avoid any scams that may arise in connection with the $2 Million VaxCash 2.0 Promotion.
Announced by Governor Larry Hogan on Feb. 8, VaxCash 2.0 is awarding $2 million in cash prizes to 12 Marylanders — 18 years of age or older — who have received their initial COVID-19 shots and booster shots in Maryland. Drawings will be held each Tuesday from Feb. 15 through May 3. One vaccinated and boosted Marylander will win $500,000 in the Feb. 15 drawing. The next 10 weekly winners will each receive $50,000, and the winner of the final drawing on May 3 will receive a $1 million prize.
To avoid scams, the Lottery and MDH remind all Marylanders of the following:
- MDH will make the first contact with each winner, not the Lottery.
- MDH will make multiple attempts to reach winners by phone and email, but will NOT be informing winners via text message or social media. If you receive a text message or social media message telling you that you were selected as a winner, it is NOT an official communication regarding the VaxCash 2.0 Promotion.
- Phone calls to winners from MDH will be from a Maryland State Government-issued phone and will show “MD Health” on the caller ID.
- All emails to winners will be sent from official Maryland State Government email accounts with addresses that end in “maryland.gov.”
- An MDH employee will ask winners to sign and complete the “VaxCash 2.0 Promotion Authorization Form” and return it to MDH. The form will allow MDH to release the winners’ contact information to the Maryland Lottery, which will guide the winners through its standard prize claiming process.
- After winners have returned the “VaxCash 2.0 Promotion Authorization Form” to MDH, they will be contacted by a Maryland Lottery Communications Division staff member who will assist winners with making the claim. At that time, winners will be required to provide the Lottery with a photo ID and proof of their Social Security number as part of the Lottery’s standard prize claiming process.
- VaxCash 2.0 prizes must be claimed at the Lottery’s headquarters at 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 330 in Baltimore.
- It is not possible to receive a prize in the VaxCash 2.0 Promotion unless you have signed and completed a “VaxCash 2.0 Promotion Authorization Form” provided to you by MDH and you have submitted a Lottery claim form to the Lottery’s Customer Resource Center along with the required identification documents.
If you suspect that you are being scammed, please contact the Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division immediately by calling 410-528-8662. The Lottery offers additional information on scams and fraud protection on its website.
