The charity Citizens Advice is warning consumers to be wary of lottery scams that inform people they have won, then trick them into paying money for prizes they will never receive.

The charity explains that scamsters contact people through mailshots, faxes and cold calling by phone to explain that their ‘lucky numbers’ have come up and they have won an exclusive prize or exotic holiday. Many people are so excited about their win that they respond by giving their bank details to claim what they have been led to believe is theirs. But the prizes do not exist, people are conned out of their money, and are left feeling vulnerable and all too often in a difficult financial position.

Citizens Advice is seeing increasing numbers of people who are parting with cash in the hope of receiving a large prize:

A Suffolk man received a letter from a lottery in Spain saying he had won 615,810 Euros. In order to receive the prize money he was asked to send £9,000. After receiving the £9,000, the lottery company rang the man and asked if he could send a further £27,000 to cover the cost of certificates for money laundering and anti-terrorism payments. In order to come up with the cash he had borrowed £9,000 from friends. He is now in debt and has never received his cash prize.

In another case a woman in Essex was informed over the telephone that she had won a holiday. She gave her credit card details to secure the win. She later found that £575 had been taken from her account. She tried to ring the company but just got a recorded voice message.

And a Hampshire woman received a letter from a European lottery telling her that she had won 667,975 Euros. She was then asked to send two payments of £606 and then £897 to receive her prize money. She sent off the payments but has never received the prize. The woman is unemployed with two dependent children and could not afford to lose the money.

Citizens Advice spokesperson Susan Marks warned:

“People should be very wary of lottery scams. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. The crucial fact is that you cannot win a competition you have not entered. So, if you are contacted and told that you have won a prize for a competition you have not taken part in, alarm bells should ring. Avoid responding at all costs, do not send any money up front and do not get tricked into sending your bank details. These scamsters are trained to groom the unsuspecting public, when they ask for money to free up the prize it can sound plausible - even though it is a con. Genuine lotteries never ask for payments from winners."

References

Citizens Advice