UK citizens have currently been targeted by unscrupulous con men claiming that they had won the Canadian and Spanish lotteries. Regrettably, many people fell for the scam and lost thousands of pounds as they responded to more and more phone calls requiring money to deal with expenses before their ‘winnings’ could be given. The cash is sent but the winnings do not exist.

It appears that things are getting worse rather than better with the UK National Lotto and EuroMillions being targeted in addition to successful syndicates such as e-Lottery. Also, the scams appear to be getting ever more advanced with people being called not simply through e-mail and telephone calls but by letter and text messaging too.

These scams succeed simply because they’re run by highly organized criminal gangs who are really professional. Both e-mail and direct mail pieces are really convincing and phone operators are very confident and reassuring. On the other hand, they target essentially the most weak, often the elderly. These people want 2 things:

Your Cash Your identity

So how does the lottery scam function?

THE PITCH:

They provide you with something for nothing – such as:

you have won a big prize in a draw or a lottery (despite the fact that you have not gotten into one)

THE STING

They’ll request you to:

send money in advance – an administration fee or tax, the list is endless but it is constantly a trick to get you to give them money.

give them your bank, credit card or other personal details.

How to prevent turning into a lottery scam victim:

make use of your common sense! If you did not enter a lottery, ie purchase a ticket at the start, you cannot possibly win it.

Keep in mind no legitimate lottery will request you for any money so as for you to receive winnings.

If in doubt, check with the official operators (all of them have warnings regarding this scam on their websites.)

If you have gotten an email, text, letter or telephone call that you believe to be untrue, erase it, throw it away or put the phone down. Do not reply in any shape or form. This will only confirm your details and leave you open to further targeting and harrassment. Don’t be lured to bank any monies that may have be sent as upfront payment. You will be liable.

In no way reveal any personal, bank or credit card details.

DO discuss with family, friends and other professionals.

Call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06

Lottery scam warning signs consist of:

The use of difficult to trace contact details like free email addresses (yahoo, hotmail etc) and PO Box numbers.

the approach, regardless of whether in writing, by phone, email or text, is unsolicited

A very short time frame in which to respond to claim winnings.

A request for a ‘processing’ or ‘administration’ fee to obtain the winnings.

A request for personal, credit card or bank account details.

They request you not to tell anybody with regards to the deal.

Always keep in mind that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Nevertheless, despite the publicity surrounding the lottery scam, it doesn’t appear to be disappearing.

If you are looking for more information on best lottery software, then I suggest you make your prior research so you will not end up being misinformed, or much worse, scammed. If you want to know more about how to win lotto, go here: how to win lotto