Lotto scam warning

10:06am Wednesday 12th September 2007

Comments (5)   Have your say »

JOAN Attwooll is warning people to be on their guard after getting a letter from Spain telling her she had won a fortune.

She is convinced the letter is a scam. But she fears it could trick people into giving out their bank details and having their accounts cleared out.

Mrs Attwooll, of Alton Pancras, said she first thought the letter with its Spanish stamp was from someone on holiday in Spain.

But she soon saw it was a con, trying to get bank details and written consent to pay money over to a company claiming to be Winterthur Seguros.

She said: "At first sight it looks quite convincing but it's got to be a scam.

"It's possible someone could respond to this and give their bank details and lose their money.

"I want to let people know about this. It clearly isn't genuine.

"It looks all right at first glance with a picture of a nice smiling man but I don't want people to be fooled by it."

The envelope had her name and almost all her address correct though her name is not included on the letter itself.

The letter claimed she had won 615,810 euros in the Spanish EuroMillones lottery. But Mrs Attwooll had not even got a ticket.

The letter urges people to respond by October 27, returning a form that calls for bank details and consent to pay the Spanish company ten per cent of the winnings.

Divisonal trading standards manager for Dorset County Council, Paul Carter said: "This is typical of letters that are coming in from Europe, and have been coming in for a number of years.

"Unless people have bought a ticket for these lotteries, don't expect to win anything that's coming in through the post.

"It's likely to be a scam - put it in the bin.

"The bottom line is you never get anything for nothing.

"A lot of these are going around and it's important not to pay any money in response to these letters or release your bank details."

He added: "We produce a leaflet called 'scams, don't get caught out' and people can call 01305 224012 or write in and we'll send you a copy."