Latest News
World Cup related scam
Published: 20/06/2014
Trading Standards teams across North Wales are aware that some residents have
received a letter claiming they have won a large sum of money e.g. £750,000
from ‘Euro Millions FIFA World Cup Super Lottery.’
Trading Standards officers are warning people, that if they receive a letter
like the one described, not to respond and instead to report it to Action Fraud
immediately.
Kevin Jones, Wrexhams Principal Manager for Trading Standards and Chair of the
North Wales Heads of Trading Standards group said: “This type of scam isn’t
new, there have been many similar examples; however, when someone receives a
letter through the door which claims to be linked to the World Cup it can be
very convincing.
“The letter includes many logos which attempt to give the letter some validity
and asks the recipient to make contact with the Foreign Service Manager. It is
likely that people who do ring the number will be asked to provide personal and
banking details. I would advise very strongly that residents do not provide
this information because of the danger of their bank accounts being emptied of
cash.”
Councillor Kevin Jones, Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Waste
Strategy, Public Protection and Leisure said: “We will take all necessary
precautions to warn our residents of any scams. Trading Standards teams across
the region are working together alongside other enforcement agencies and if
residents are not sure where a letter comes from, report it straight away and
never give out any details.”
People should remember these points to protect themselves against lottery
fraud:
· Never respond to any such communication. If you haven’t entered a lottery
then you can’t have won it.
· Official lotteries in other countries operate in much the same way as the
UK’s National Lotto. No official lotteries that we know of contact people to
tell them of their win.
· We don’t know of any official lottery operators who ask for fees to collect
winnings. Any request for a fee payment is a good indication that someone is
trying to defraud you.
· Never, ever disclose your bank details or pay fees in advance.
· If the contact details include email addresses such as @hotmail.com or
@yahoo.com, or numbers beginning with 07, then be very suspicious because these
are free to get hold of.
· Genuine lotteries thrive on publicity. If they ask you to keep your win a
secret it’s likely to be a fraud.
· Many fraudulent lotteries have bad spelling and grammar – see this as a
warning that fraudsters are at work.
· Do some research – if you have access to the internet then use search engines
to check other people’s experiences. Check with friends and family.
Residents wanting advice and guidance on any consumer issue should contact the
Citizens Advice consumer service on 08454 04 05 06 or 08454 04 05 05 for the
Welsh language service (www.adviceguide.org.uk ). Potential scams should be
reported to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (www.actionfraud.police.uk)