Scam Alert: ‘European Union Lottery Promotions’ mail scam

Flintshire Trading Standards say they have received information regarding scam mail, which is in the form of a foreign lottery prize.

The letter appears to be from a Spanish lottery named ‘European Union Lottery Promotions’.

Its states the winner has won a large amount of money. The letter contains all the hallmarks of a scam:

• Firstly the recipient never entered a lottery – if you haven’t entered you can’t be a winner!!
• The letter asks for money to be paid in admin and charitable donation fees
• The letter advises that you keep your big win a secret
• It gives a short deadline to claim your prize
• Makes bogus claims of having large sponsors

Trading standards are reminding residents to be wary of mail which appears suspicious.

Scam mail comes in various forms it can appear to come from a legitimate company asking for you to contact them regarding a financial matter, for example, claiming a monetary prize or inheritance.

This is an “advance fee” scam. The idea is simple. The scammer sends out letters/e-mails (typically to thousands of people at a time) informing them of an unexpected lottery win, usually of thousands of pounds worth of money.

The only catch is that the recipient must pay various advanced fees in order to receive the funds.

These fees are described as taxes, legal fees, bank wire fees, or something else, and their justification will always sound very legitimate and official.

But make no mistake, in this scam there is no prize and the scammers are simply trying to get you to pay money up front, after which they’ll vanish never to be heard from again.

This is a scam! Whatever you do you must not send any money, as there is no prize, the individuals are not who they claim to be, and you will lose your money once it is wired.

Also remember if you haven’t entered a competition then you can’t win a prize.
For further information contact Trading Standards on 01352 703181 or Consumer Advice on 03454 040506