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TRADING STANDARDS WARN OF BOGUS SPANISH LOTTERY LETTERS 25 September 03 Consumers throughout the Highlands are being warned by The Highland Council’s Trading Standards Officers, not to fall foul of bogus lottery winning letters apparently from the legitimate Spanish lottery EL GORDO. They have received a number of complaints about this scam within the last couple of days. The fraudsters write winning letters on what looks like official ELGORDO headed paper stating that the consumer has won £750,000. A deadline is set for making the claim (typically around 10 days) and the consumer is given a telephone number in Spain to call to arrange payment. The consumer is subsequently informed that to receive the winnings an advance payment of approximately £5000 to cover revenue tax and another £1500 to cover bank transfer fees is required before the payment can be cleared. Bob Jones, Principal Trading Standards Officer with The Highland Council said: “Worryingly consumers are being telephoned by the fraudsters pressurising them to make a decision quickly or risk losing their ‘winnings’. We have already been informed of a Ross-shire man sending €7000 (Euros) by electronic money transfer to Spain. Another lady from Nairn had been asked for $200,000 but luckily she contacted this office before sending any money.” He continued: “Don’t be taken in by these lottery scams or even tempted to reply to them – you can only lose out. You should always keep in mind: ·
You can't win a prize in a lottery you haven't bought or been given a
ticket for. Consumers with any concerns whether a prize draw is a genuine offer can contact The Highland Council's Trading Standards Unit by telephoning The Highland Council Consumer Helpline 0845 600 4222 (local rate, mobile call costs may vary) or by e-mail to consumer.advice@highland.gov.uk Legitimate lottery company
El Gordo have published information on the scam on their web site TELEPHONE PRIZE DRAW CALLS SHOULD RING ALARM BELLS 18 September 03
Similar to the free scratch-card "prize draws" regularly found in magazines and newspapers, consumers are now being targeted by telephone. Householders receiving unsolicited phone calls are congratulated on being "specially selected" to win one of a number of "valuable" prizes, which must be claimed by telephone. However, claiming the prize comes at a price as the telephone calls are charged at a premium rate of up to £1.50 per minute and can last several minutes. Only at the end of the lengthy pre-recorded message will the "unique" prize code be disclosed to the caller to claim their winnings. Trading Standards officers at The Highland Council recently investigated a complaint from a Lairg resident who received an unsolicited phone call informing her she had "genuinely" won either £1,000 cash or, if she replied quickly, an award to the value of £2,000. Officers investigating discovered that in reality the woman had "won" £2,000 worth of discount vouchers, which offered various savings on holidays, flights, gym membership, 2-for-1 meals and accommodation. To claim all the available £2,000 worth of discount the consumer would have required to have spent as much again out of her own pocket. Nigel Mackenzie, Head of Trading Standards, said: “The companies behind these prize draws use premium rate phone lines to make their profits. The first sting in the tail is that callers are being charged in the region of £10 to claim their prize. The next shock is the prize itself, which could also turn out to be costly, often requiring the recipient to spend money to claim. A typical example is a holiday prize requiring the payment of administration fees, airport taxes and transfers, with the prize often turning out to be a holiday for only one person, and the consumer given little or no choice of destination, departure airport or travel dates. Prizes can often come in the form of discount vouchers which may end up being worthless as they are often only redeemable with businesses who do not have branches in the Highlands. "Our advice to anyone being informed they have won a prize is to find out if there are any charges involved in claiming and taking up the prize. A genuine competition winner should not have to pay for the privilege of claiming their prize.” Officers are also warning that these types of prize draw offers are also being received by mobile phone text messages and by e-mail. Trading Standards officers suggest the following checklist when considering whether to claim a prize being offered
Consumers with any concerns whether a prize draw is a genuine offer can contact The Highland Council's Trading Standards Unit by telephoning The Highland Council Consumer Helpline 0845 600 4222 (local rate, mobile call costs may vary) or by e-mail to consumer.advice@highland.gov.uk |
Highland consumers are
being warned not to fall for the latest telephone prize draws offers which
claim that a guaranteed massive cash prize, luxury car or dream holiday is
only a telephone call away.