Lottery scams

The Commission is supporting the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) campaign to raise consumer awareness of the growing problem of lottery scams. Lottery scams use the promise of big money wins to con unsuspecting victims out of often thousands of pounds, through the payment of so-called administration fees. The winnings do not exist and are never received.

Approximately 140,000 adults fall victim to these scams a year and the average loss is £1,900 per victim.

There is some advice below about what you should do if you think you have recieved a Lottery scam. You can also find more information at the Consumer Direct website: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/lotteryscams

 

1. I have received an email/letter telling me I have won the UK National Lottery. Is it true?
It is probably not true. It is probably a 'scam' - a dishonest way to make money from people by making false promises.

A real email or letter is sent to people who buy a ticket online at www.national-lottery.co.uk or have a National Lottery subscription and win.  Only people who live in the UK can play online or by subscription. If you did not buy a ticket, then you have not won.

2.How can I tell if an email is a scam?
Below are some handy tips for identifying scam emails:

• Have you bought a ticket?
  In order to win the UK National Lottery, you have to buy a ticket, either interactively, via the National Lottery website, mobile phone or interactive television, for which you need a UK address, or at a National Lottery retailer. If you have not bought a ticket then you have not won.
  
• Does the email/letter ask you to pay money to receive your prize, or to tell them personal information such as bank details or passport information?
  If yes, then this is not from the National Lottery. The UK National Lottery would never ask you to pay an administration fee to collect your prize, or to disclose any personal information.
  
• Does the email/letter you have been sent tell you how much you have won?
  If the answer is yes, then it is not from the National Lottery. The National Lottery does not state the amount of a prize in an email.
   
• Does the email come from a yahoo or hotmail (or similar) account?
  If so, then it is not from the UK National Lottery.

3. How should I respond to an email I think might be a scam?
Delete the email and do not respond. Do not send money, personal or banking information, copies of your passport or other personal identification.

4. I have sent money to someone who has sent me an email. What should I do?
If you have sent money to someone who has sent you a scam email then you should report it to your local police.

5. What can I do to combat these scams?

• You can email the Internet Service Provider (Yahoo, Hotmail etc.) to report the potential abuse of its service. For more action on fighting spam, visit www.spam.abuse.net
  
• The International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network offers an online complaint form. This is part of a joint project by 17 nations and will allow consumer protection agencies to spot current fraudulent schemes. Visit www.econsumer.gov to find out more.
  
• You may wish to contact your local police to inform them of this individual or organisation so that they can investigate further.
  
• You can report the matter to Consumer Direct on:
  https:secure.consumerdirect.gov.uk/reportascam.aspx or by calling the Conusmer Direct helpline on  0845 4040506.

Please note that the National Lottery Commission is not responsible for the content of external sites.

6.Why aren't you doing anything to stop these scams?
We regulate the UK National Lottery and do everything in our power to ensure that players know how to identify a genuine email from us. However, we are not a law enforcement agency and cannot take action on potential criminal activity.

Related Links

About the National Lottery

The first National Lottery draw took place on 19 November 1994. Since then, the National Lottery has become an institution within the UK, and has raised over £24 billion for good causes.