Warning over lottery letter scam (From Wiltshire Times)

Warning over lottery letter scam

7:38am Thursday 18th October 2007 in News By Benjamin Parkes

A NORTH Bradley family who received a scam letter purporting to be from the Spanish lottery are trying to raise awareness to prevent anyone falling foul of the con.

Former teacher Russell Birch, 81, got the official looking letter in the post last week. Postmarked Malaga, the letter supposedly notified Mr Birch of a lottery win in Madrid.

It requested him to fill in a form, including his name and full bank details before faxing it to an address in Rome to claim the winnings.

Mr Birch suspected something immediately and discussed it with his daughter Vivien. They agreed it was too good to be true and contacted trading standards officers at Wiltshire County Council.

Mrs Birch, a former market researcher, said: "I looked at it and thought don't touch this with a barge pole. These fraudsters target elderly people who they think they can con.

"Fortunately my father is still sharp and he spotted it a mile off. Not everyone is so sceptical though and we wanted to make a fuss about it to warn other people about a potential influx of these scam letters."

Christine Wells, of Wiltshire Trading Standards, said: "Trading Standards along with the Office of Fair Trading are constantly trying to make the public aware of these scams.

"Locally we issue press releases and offer talks to groups and organisations as well as promoting the material issued by the OFT as local events.

"Persistent offenders are referred to the authorities in the originating country where appropriate action is taken.

"The official operator of the Spanish El Gordo lottery, Loterias y Apuestas de Estado has issued a warning about fraudsters using the name El Gordo and forging documentation and bank forms to obtain money under false pretences.

"Mailings and emails are being sent to UK consumers claiming they have won the Spanish lottery. In order to claim their prize', recipients are asked to provide their bank account details and told that 5-10 per cent of the winnings will be retained for costs.

"However the winners' are later contacted and asked for various fees in order to release their alleged prize, and they never receive a penny. Genuine Spanish lottery prizes are always free from taxes."

If you receive fraudulent El Gordo material you can help the investigations of Loterías y Apuestas de Estado by sending a copy to the following address, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado Legal Advice Service C/ Guzmán el Bueno n 137 28003 Madrid, Spain.