Lotteries
The scam
Great news! You receive a letter, phone call, text message or email telling you that you've won a huge sum of money in a lottery - without even having entered. You just have to telephone an agent to make arrangements to receive your winnings.
Once you contact the agent, you're told that, to claim your winnings, you just need to send money to cover 'processing' or 'administration' costs or taxes. You're told you have to respond quickly. You may also be asked for personal or financial information for 'identification'.
This is a scam. The crooks behind it will take your money and you will get nothing in return. And if you send one payment, they will contact you again and try to con you out of even more.
Every year, thousands of people fall victim to these kinds of fake lotteries.
Protect yourself
- Be sceptical. Ask yourself how you could win a lottery prize if you haven't bought a ticket.
- Remember that, if you have won something, you shouldn't have to pay anything to receive your prize.
- Never reveal credit card or bank account details unless you're sure who you're dealing with.
If you think you've been a victim of this scam, call Consumer Direct for advice on 08454 04 05 06.
Example scams
The Canadian lottery
Thousands of people in the UK have received unsolicited phone calls and sent thousands of pounds to fraudulent lottery schemes based in Canada. Some victims have lost nearly £300,000 as they respond to more and more phone calls demanding payments in order to receive their winnings. The winnings don't exist, and they never receive anything in return.
El Gordo lottery
Fraudsters are sending letters and emails to UK consumers stating that they have won the El Gordo Spanish lottery. El Gordo is the name of the official Spanish lottery, which can make these approaches seem convincing. In order to claim their prize, recipients are asked to provide their bank details and told that some of the winnings will be retained to cover administration costs. The documentation and bank forms they receive are forged. 'Winners' are later asked for fees to release their prize, but never receive a penny.
UK National Lottery
Fraudulent letters and emails are being sent to consumers telling them they have won the UK's National Lottery. To receive their prize, recipients are told they have to pay a fee or reveal personal information such as bank account details. The genuine National Lottery never asks winners to pay a fee or disclose personal information. Another giveaway sign of this scam is that the email or letter states the amount of the prize. The National Lottery never does this in its emails to winners.
Mock-up mailing
You can view a mock-up of a typical lottery scam mailing from the link at the end of this page. When you hover your mouse over the text, pop-up boxes reveal the techniques that the scammers use to con you. If you click the warning sign at the top of the page, you can see where all of the pop-up boxes are located.
To view the example in the link below you will need to have Flash player installed on your computer. If you do not have Flash, you can download the software free from the Adobe Website.
Alternatively, view a text-only version of the lottery scam mailing.
Interactive lottery scam mailing (417 k flash file opens in new window)