If you are new to playing scratch cards, then it is wise to make sure that you check hard to see if you have won. Sometimes the games are set out, so that it can be quite complicated to work out whether you have won a prize.
It can be possible to win on a card and then not notice you have done so. People have been known to throw away a winning card. Therefore it is wise to check it very carefully. You can take the cards back in to the shop and ask them to check for you and this could be a safer way of doing it, especially if you are not completely sure whether you have won or not. It could also be a sensible thing to do if you have never played a card of this type before.
There are a surprisingly large number of unclaimed scratch cards and once they are thrown away, they are gone forever. It is therefore sensible to make sure that you carefully check your card before throwing it away or ripping it up. You need to be completely sure that you are not throwing away money.
Obviously you do not want to get completely paranoid about it, but you want to make sure that you are claiming prizes that are due to you. Make sure you read the card carefully and if you are at all unsure, take it in to the shop where you bought it and ask them to check it for you. They will not mind scanning it and seeing whether you are due a prize.
It might be hard to believe that people could accidentally throw away a winning scratch card, but it is easily done and you should make sure that it does not happen to you. Losing a winning ticket can be annoying enough but knowingly throwing one away because you did not realise you had won, can be even more ridiculous. You will never know that you have lost money and so it will not be annoying but you have thrown away your chance to be better off. Do not let it happen to you.