Scams can take many forms: through e-mail, unsolicited mail or telephone calls. Many typical scams take the form of 'lotteries'. Schemes are usually based outside the UK although they may use PO boxes.
What should I look out for?
If you have received an e-mail, telephone call or letter congratulating you on winning a large cash prize in a National Lottery, such as the Spanish, German and Canadian, but subject to payment of 'taxes' or a 'processing' fee up front, then you could be one of many millions of people across the world targeted on a daily basis by scammers seeking to con you.
Anyone can become a victim but especially those who have property, savings and investments. It is impossible to estimate the total amount of money frequently obtained by scammers, but it is a worldwide fraud worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Typically schemes do the following:
- Offer access to a winning ticket or the prize in an overseas lottery, in return for a 'processing' or 'administration' fee
- Require a purchase of some kind to receive a prize
- An offer of jewellery
- Suggest that there are government funds available to be claimed by individuals
- Unsolicited telephone calls informing a person they have won a prize in an overseas National Lottery on payment of so-called taxes and 'processing' fees
More often than not, there is no prize or reward on offer at all. Anything that is 'won' is usually sub-standard, overpriced or misleadingly described (for example, jewellery offered is quite likely to be a microscopic chip of industrial diamond of negligible value).
Some of these lottery schemes say that the
Gambing Commission (or its predecessor the Gaming Board for Great Britain) has approved them, but this is not true. The Gambling Commission has a list of these companies and lotteries on its web site. It warns people not to take part in them.
Below are examples of some scams received by DCMS:
What is being done to stop them?
It is illegal to promote a foreign lottery in the UK or to run a lottery here for private gain and those guilty of these offences can be fined or imprisoned. It is for the police to investigate and decide if a prosecution can be made. But the truth is, it is very hard to crack down on scams and the fraud they perpetuate as most are based abroad. They are illegal and deceitful, preying on the vulnerable. For every scam that is stopped, there exist dozens more.
The
Office of Fair Trading has responsibility for enforcing action against deceptive mass marketing scams. Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the OFT has powers to stop businesses at home and inside the EU from breaching a wide range of UK consumer protection laws. The ultimate sanction is an 'Enforcement Order', which will be used against those parties that will not change their behaviour.
The OFT has been increasingly successful at combating these harmful practices by using its cross border powers and collaborating with key international partners. Working to develop these links is a priority for the OFT.
The OFT also has close links with other non-EU countries, such as Canada, to help in the fight against fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices.
The OFT can be contacted at:
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London
EC4Y 8JX
Enquiries Telephone: 08457 224499
Enquiries Fax: 020 7211 8877
Switchboard: 020 7211 8000
Other enforcement agencies:
If you believe you might be being set up as a target for fraud, or if you are an investigator and you think you might be dealing with this type of activity, then please contact the
Fraud Squad at the address, e-mail or phone number below:
Wellington House, 67-73 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6BE
What can I do?
The best defence is to avoid being taken in by these scams in the first place and to recognise them for what they are:
- If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is
- Ask yourself: "How can I win a lottery prize if I've never purchased a ticket?"
- Normally, if you win something you don't have to pay anything to get your prize such a 'taxes' or 'processing fees'
- Once you respond to a bogus promotion, your name and address is likely to be placed on other lists for similar scams
- If asked to use premium rate telephone numbers, be very cautious as these can be expensive and part of the scam
Are there any other types of scams I should be aware of?
Lottery scams are just a small proportion of those that are in circulation. We cannot cover them all in this fact sheet, but the Department of Trade and Industry has some very useful information on a number of them such as. The Fraud Squad of the Metropolitan Police also have information about what to do if you are a victim of the Nigerian advance free fraud scheme.
Useful links:
The following websites provide useful information about overseas scams:
E-consumer.gov (European on-line cross border internet fraud and e-commerce reporting site)
Last updated 6 April 2004
