A Word of Advice

15 February 2002

Windfall or wind-up ? Beware overseas lottery scams

A letter arrives in your mail box - congratulations, you have won $315,000 !! All you have to do is make a call to Spain and the money will soon be deposited into your bank account. But you're asked to keep your win quiet because "due to a mix up in names and numbers" the prize winner information cannot be made public.

Seems strange. You don't remember buying any tickets in this lottery and how can a lottery operator be so careless as to mix up names and numbers.

You are right to be suspicious of such letters. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs warns that these letters have the hallmarks of an advanced fee scam. On contacting the lottery operator, consumers are asked to provide details of bank accounts and confirmation of their identity. Once the consumer shows interest in collecting their winnings the lottery operators will ask for money in advance to pay administration costs. This request should send alarm bells ringing as legitimate lotteries do not ask for funds in advance of payout - operating costs do not come out of individual prize allocations.

Most of these letters refer to winnings in the El Gordo Spanish Sweepstake Lottery but consumers have also reported receiving similar letters and emails from Netherlands sweepstake lotteries. The Scamwatch service operated by the Ministry has posted a warning about these schemes on its website and we urge recipients of such letters to throw them away and not respond.

The El Gordo Spanish Sweepstake lottery relies on people confusing it with the state authorised national lottery nick-named El Gordo (the Fat One) for its huge prize draws. El Gordo lottery tickets can only be purchased from authorised ticket sellers in Spain.

Remember the following rules if you receive a notification of prize winnings so you won't be caught out:

• You can't win a prize in a lottery you haven't bought or been given a ticket for.
• Legitimate lotteries don't ask for funds in advance of paying out prize money.
• Never provide personal identity information to a company or person you do not know.
• Check out the Ministry of Consumer Affairs Scamwatch service online (or contact the Ministry for the Scamwatch list if you do not have internet access - phone 04 474 2750, fax 04 473 9400 or email mcainfo@mca.govt.nz ).