Lynda, 68, received a letter from a company claiming to represent the Health Lottery, informing her that she had won £300,000. However, she was also told that she would have to pay £1,450 to ‘insure her prize’ before it could be paid out, and that set the alarm bells ringing. Lynda was also suspicious that the language ‘just didn’t flow correctly’ and, as a regular Health Lottery player, she noticed that her player’s card ID did not match with references on the letter.
Lynda called the number on the letter and outsmarted the scammers by offering to come to their Canary Wharf offices in person to collect the cheque, only to be told this was not possible. “I wasn’t born yesterday,” Lynda told the Birmingham Mail.
The plucky gran then looked for the telephone number of the Health Lottery to make sure the official company had not sent the letter. She said: “I contacted the Health Lottery and they said it was a scam. I think these other people are targeting the elderly. It’s a lot of money and I want to warn others what is happening. Someone could fall for it, so I want to get the word out there to be careful.”
The advice for anyone who is targeted by a lottery scam is to avoid all contact with the fraudsters. You should remember that you cannot win a prize for a draw or raffle that you have not entered, and never send any money or disclose your financial or personal information. A spokesman for the Health Lottery said: “The Health Lottery is aware that this letter has been circulating and has reported the matter to Action Fraud UK. The Health Lottery will never send letters to inform customers that they have won a prize.”
The Health Lottery is played five times a week, on Saturdays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and offers prizes of up to £100,000. It has been raising money for health-related good causes since 2011 and creates lots of winners in each draw, but you need to enter to have a chance of landing a prize.