The savvy pensioner immediately became suspicious as the letter asked him to send a processing fee and bank details in order to receive his winnings. As the retiree never plays the lottery he knew the letter was not legitimate and reported the scam to Cheshire Police and his local Trading Standards office.
According to the victim, the letter looked very genuine as it contained a London address and stated that he had been selected from a pool of three million people to win the £825,000 prize. Although the People’s Postcode Lottery does exist, Trading Standards have been quick to advise that the lottery never sends out letters to inform players that they have won. Instead, participants in the Postcode Lottery draw who have won a prize are informed via the email address or telephone number they registered when entering the draw.
This isn’t the first time the People’s Postcode Lottery name has been used in a scam this year as, back in March, a telephone based scam was in operation in which members of the public were cold called and persuaded to divulge sensitive information.
In light of the latest Postcode Lottery scam, we advise our readers to be extra vigilant if they receive a letter claiming to be from this particular lottery. If you are concerned about falling victim to a lottery scam, we would like to remind you that the only way to win a lottery prize is to have purchased a valid ticket and matched a winning combination. In addition, lottery officials will never ask for a payment in order to release your winnings.
Further information on the People’s Postcode Lottery can be found on Lottery.co.uk.
Written by Grace Mee