Lottery telephone scam
Last Updated: Friday 1st October 2010, 23:01
Police in the UK are warning of a telephone lottery scam where victims are informed over the telephone that they have won a large lottery prize on an overseas lottery draw. The warning is currently being given out by South Yorkshire Police force but everyone should beware, especially pensioners and the vulnerable who seem to be the main target for this despicable lottery scam.
Victims are called on the telephone and told they have won a big lottery prize, but before they can claim their prize they are told that they must send money for taxes and processing fees. In one instance an 86 year-old woman from Rotherham was contacted and told she had won over £400,000 on a lottery, the unfortunate lady parted with over £32,000 before the lottery scam was discovered.
It’s worth knowing that all lottery draws in the world work in the same way as our own National Lottery. If you haven’t bought a ticket then you can’t have won a prize and no lottery draw around the world would ever ask for money before you can claim your prize.
If you feel you have been the victim of a lottery scam and you are told – by telephone or email – that you have won a lottery prize when you haven’t bought lottery tickets for the draw then the police are asking you to contact Action Fraud on www.actionfraud.org.uk to report the scam and not to reply to the scammers.
The main thing is, to keep using your common sense, if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is!