Curious Nelly
17 April 2008, 02:38
http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/News_+_Research/Press%20Releases/Spanish%20lottery%20scam%20warning.html
National Consumer Agency/ODCA warns about multimillion euro Spanish lottery scam
"Remain Alert and Never Share Your Financial Details" - Ann Fitzgerald
31 January 2007 - The National Consumer Agency/ODCA has issued a public warning following complaints about a multimillion euro Spanish Lottery scam which is becoming increasingly prevalent. Several consumers have contacted the Agency's helpline.
In recent times householders have received letters from a number of entities including La Primitiva, International Spain and Euromillions Spain informing them that they have won a lump sum of several hundred thousand Euro in an international lottery. To claim the prize, the letter asks for an attached payment processing form, convincingly labelled from a Spanish financial services company, which requires extensive bank account details to be filled out and sent to an international fax number.
"We have received several calls to our helpline from concerned consumers who have received these letters," said Ann Fitzgerald, Chair of the National Consumer Agency and Director of Consumer Affairs. "We want to warn anyone who receives similar offers by letter, email or phone that they are scams and should not be responded to. Consumers who complete and return the form are asking for their bank accounts to be wiped out by these fraudsters. In addition, their names will be sold on to other criminals who will, in time, try and repeat a fraud on them."
Consumers should be especially vigilant about not sharing their financial information and should never respond to requests to send money in order to receive a prize, especially for a competition or lottery they didn't enter.
The NCA asks anyone who is approached in this manner to report the scam to the NCA immediately. Details on how to deal with such scams and top tips for remaining alert and spotting scams are contained on the NCA website, ConsumerConnect.ie, which is the most comprehensive of its type and contains extensive information on areas of interest to consumers.
Read the Spanish lottery scam letter (MS Word, 2MB) (link is on website)
National Consumer Agency/ODCA warns about multimillion euro Spanish lottery scam
"Remain Alert and Never Share Your Financial Details" - Ann Fitzgerald
31 January 2007 - The National Consumer Agency/ODCA has issued a public warning following complaints about a multimillion euro Spanish Lottery scam which is becoming increasingly prevalent. Several consumers have contacted the Agency's helpline.
In recent times householders have received letters from a number of entities including La Primitiva, International Spain and Euromillions Spain informing them that they have won a lump sum of several hundred thousand Euro in an international lottery. To claim the prize, the letter asks for an attached payment processing form, convincingly labelled from a Spanish financial services company, which requires extensive bank account details to be filled out and sent to an international fax number.
"We have received several calls to our helpline from concerned consumers who have received these letters," said Ann Fitzgerald, Chair of the National Consumer Agency and Director of Consumer Affairs. "We want to warn anyone who receives similar offers by letter, email or phone that they are scams and should not be responded to. Consumers who complete and return the form are asking for their bank accounts to be wiped out by these fraudsters. In addition, their names will be sold on to other criminals who will, in time, try and repeat a fraud on them."
Consumers should be especially vigilant about not sharing their financial information and should never respond to requests to send money in order to receive a prize, especially for a competition or lottery they didn't enter.
The NCA asks anyone who is approached in this manner to report the scam to the NCA immediately. Details on how to deal with such scams and top tips for remaining alert and spotting scams are contained on the NCA website, ConsumerConnect.ie, which is the most comprehensive of its type and contains extensive information on areas of interest to consumers.
Read the Spanish lottery scam letter (MS Word, 2MB) (link is on website)