Elderly lose life savings in lottery scam

Monday, 21 December 2009 12:00

UK residents are being urged to beware of a new lottery scam which has seen a number of elderly victims conned out of their life savings.

Other people have lost thousands of pounds in the scheme in which fraudulent telemarketers from Jamaica make cold calls to residents telling them they've won up to £2.5 million in a lottery or sweepstake.

The tricksters pose as lawyers, bank officials or customs officers to make their fraudulent activity sound more convincing.

They demand the so-called lottery winners send money to them to pay for taxes, processing fees, insurance or custom duties in order to release their winnings.

But the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) are warning this money is being used to help organised gangs fund crime in Jamaica.

Heather Clayton, senior director for the OFT, said the Jamaican-based lottery fraudsters had a history of targeting US consumers, but were now starting to work in the UK.

She added: "What's despicable is that some victims have been threatened with violence to coerce them into handing over their life savings.

"A genuine lottery would never ask someone to pay taxes, insurance or any other fee before receiving their 'winnings'.

In the US an estimated $30 million has been swindled out of people by the fraudsters. Soca and the OFT are now working with international law enforcement partners to stamp out the scam.

Paul Evans, director of intervention at Soca, said: "The potential harm inflicted is not just financial, but physical and psychological. Law enforcement, advice groups, and all the public all have a part to play in preventing these crimes."

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