Ohio & Mahoning Valley - Ohio Lottery players are advised to monitor their accounts after a data breach back in December caused some of their personal data to be leaked.

This stems from a cybersecurity incident that occurred on December 24. According to a press release the Lottery has confirmed that information belonging to customers and retailers have been obtained and leaked by an unauthorized third party.

The Lottery is continuing to investigate this matter, but as the investigation continues, customers and retailers are advised to exercise extreme caution when it comes to their credit and be vigilant in monitoring their account statements for any fraudulent or irregular activity.

Customers can prevent any fraudulent transactions before they start by contacting any of the three credit bureaus below and place a fraud alert of security freeze on their credit files and monitoring a free credit report.

- Equifax (800-525-6285)

- Experian (888-397-3742)

- TransUnion (800-680-7289)

According to the release, the Lottery will notify affected individuals as quickly as possible in accordance with applicable laws if any consumer data was compromised.

The incident did not involve any Ohio Lottery games or the technology systems on which the Lottery operates, so it is still safe to continue to purchase tickets.

Winning tickets over $599 can be mailed to the Ohio Lottery Central Office in Cleveland for payment or by using the Ohio Lottery app.