The OFT says that 500,000 people a year lose £320 million to
people who run fake lotteries. The typical scam involves a person
receiving 'notice' that they have won a lottery, with thousands of
pounds in cash or with dream holidays as the supposed prizes.
The recipients of the mail are then told that they must pay
administration costs, processing fees or even taxes before
receiving any money. Once they have done that they never hear from
the company again.
In order to alert people to the dangers of such enterprises, the
OFT has been sending out leaflets that appear to be from just such
a fake lottery.
"The mailing under the false name of 'SuperMegaLotto' promises a
£15,000 win, has been personalised to make it appear exclusive to
each recipient, and urges the recipient to act quickly to claim
their prize by looking inside," said an OFT explanation of the
scam.
"The mailing makes clear that it has in fact been sent by the
OFT as an educational tool to help consumers spot similar scams,"
it said. "A genuine prize draw or lottery would never ask you to
pay a fee to claim your major prize. Always stop, think and think
again if an offer sounds too good to be true."
"'We all dream of winning a big money prize draw or lottery and
scammers exploit that to their advantage," said Christine Wade,
assistant chief executive of the OFT. "We hope that our innovative
approach will help educate consumers about these sophisticated
scams."
"The cost of these scams is huge," said Bill Hughes, director
general of the Serious Organised Crime Agency. "We are committed to
working with partners both in the UK and abroad to tackle this
problem, but at the same time it is vital to raise awareness of
these scams so that people can help protect themselves."
The OFT said that consumers should be particularly vigilant
about emails and letters saying that they have won the Canadian or
Spanish lotteries, two that are currently popular ruses with
scammers.
