My lottery win was STOLEN by mystery thief – I’m still waiting on payout 2 months later.. it’s got to be an ‘inside job’
A DISTRESSED man had his £1,500 lottery prize stolen by a mystery thief and suspects it may have been an “inside job”.
Andros Kyriacou, 62, won the prize almost two months ago after matching three numbers playing EuroMillions HotPicks on October 4 2024.
Just a day later, he “successfully” filed his claim with the lottery and waited for his winnings to arrive.
However, after 10 days of no news, Andros, who works as a baggage handler at Stansted Airport, began to realise something was not right.
When he contacted the lottery about this, Andros was informed that on October 8, the winnings were posted.
Then, he was told that the winning cheque had been cashed via a banking app a day later on October 9.
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Shocked, Andros got in touch with the lottery to contest the claim, as he hadn’t been the one to cash the cheque.
However, emails seen by The Sun show his claims being repeatedly ignored, with him later being told that the cheque was cashed to a specific account number.
The lottery confirmed the ending three digits of the account, and it did not match with any that were in Andros' name.
When he contacted his bank, HSBC, he was told action would have to be taken on the lottery’s end.
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He has repeatedly requested the National Lottery to check with the bank to who the cheque was sent, and has described his ordeal as “stressful” and “saddening”.
He said: “They are not responding, they are not cooperating, they are not doing their jobs properly.”
Andros has been a loyal National Lottery player, taking part since it launched in 1994.
However, his first-ever win has been “ruined” by this controversy.
He also suspects someone within the National Lottery may have been responsible for the “inside job”.
Andros described how it would be almost impossible for somebody outside of the lottery to claim the winnings.
He said that while the lottery could have been able to cancel the payment with enough warning, the fact it was claimed so quickly meant he was unable to.
Andros said that the only way someone could have therefore taken it that fast would be if they were on the "inside".
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He said: "It's either that [an inside job] or the postman."
The baggage handler added that when he contacted the lottery, it told him that this was the "first time" an incident of this kind had ever occurred.
In addition to this, he said the support teams "never helped" him, claiming they repeatedly falsely claimed to escalate his request to the winner's services team.
However, after finally threatening to raise the story with the press, Andros' case was finally escalated.
When he asked if this had been mentioned before to the team, he claimed the operator told him this was the "first time" it had been registered.
This indicated to the baggage handler that his previous claims had gone ignored.
Now, Andros has been in free fall, unable to claim his winnings from the lottery and seemingly "fobbed off" by the operators.
Despite also reaching out to Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, he is still without his winnings.
The ordeal has left Andros constantly "stressed and confused".
The 62-year-old added: "I can't sleep properly.
"I love my job and this is ruining it for me, with the stress.
"My stomach is shaking."
Andros' doctor has also advised him to take time off work and sent him for blood tests as the 62-year-old's health has deteriorated in the situation.
The baggage handler hopes to not only be awarded his winnings but also for the individual who stole his cheque to be prosecuted.
A spokesperson for Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: "We're looking into Mr Kyriacou's claim and can confirm that a cheque was issued to the player on the same day the claim came into us, which was subsequently cashed.
"We are now working with the relevant bank to get to the bottom of it.
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"We are in touch with the player and will continue to update him.
"We’re sorry for this inconvenience, but please rest assured that all players receive any prize entitled to them."
