I agree with Dan that it does seem a little extreme and as such most likely is not a true story.
Then again, there are some people who are very quick to believe almost anything written by almost anyone... just look at the internet and social media.

Once I got an email that my number had won one million dollar and I had to send them my details. I did! Then I got a phone call from a unknown number(apparently an international number) and then a guy suddenly started speaking in English. Hmm, I thought okay, I really own million dollar as the caller might be speaking from the US. Then he asked me to send some amount to an account number then only he could send me the million dollar. Well, I had not a penny in my pocket, so I told him that he could deduct the money he wanted me to send from that million dollar and send the rest to me. He knew that he was dealing with a troglodyte who might be an uneducated, but definitely not a fool. And he ended the call...:D 

My opinion is that I doubt that it is a true story. If it is, could you provide a link to it so that I can understand more of the details?

It was stupid of him. Nothing has changed in his life. If he was wiser he could have thought that it could have been just a fake lottery win message. It happens. I once got a message saying that I won a green card but after a while, it turned out to be a computer glitch. Always remember: there is no such thing as a free lunch.