Lottery scams
Lottery scams are designed to persuade people they have won a huge prize that does not exist.
How it works
The fraudster will contact people—by post or email—and claim they have been allocated winning numbers.
If the individual contacts the fraudster, they will be asked to send a "fee" to cover administration costs before their winnings are released. They may be asked to give details about their identity. The winnings do not exist, and their identity may be hi-jacked.
To convince people, reference is made to recognised lotteries, such as,
- the UK National Lottery,
- European or International Lottery,
- Canadian Lottery,
- Toyota or BMW Lottery,
- Royal Heritage Mega Jackpot Lottery, or
- Yahoo/MSN Lottery Incorporation.
In some cases, names of
lawyers or those working with them
are used to make the claim more credible. The firms identified may be
genuine law firms that have no idea their name is being used.
The scams tell people they have won, even if they have not entered a
competition. The fraudster may send a foreign cheque to convince the victim
of their win. Banks in the UK are likely to accept the cheque. Under the
impression they have banked their winnings, the victim is then asked to
send fees to the fraudster, for example, to cover taxes. They will then
discover that the cheque is not genuine and that it will not be honoured
at its destination overseas.
Learn more by reading examples of lottery scams (PDF 27K).
What you should do
If you believe you are a victim of a lottery scam, or your name has been used in a lottery scam, report it to your local police.
If you are regulated by us and have information that may implicate a
regulated person or firm, report it to us using our Red Alert line
on 0845 850 0999 or 01926 439673 or email redalert@sra.org.uk.
If you are a consumer or a member of the public, please follow the reporting instructions provided in Recognising fraud and dishonesty.