Lottery scam arrests

THE GUARDIA Civil have arrested three men in Calpe who are accused of defrauding €17,000 from their victims.

The three Spaniards, aged 33, 43 and 47 years of age, were provisionally released following a court appearance in Denia.

They are accused of carrying out a traditional scam known as the 'tocomocho'.

It usually takes place in the street, when the scammer approaches their victim stating that they have a winning lottery ticket.

They give a seemingly genuine reason that they cannot claim the prize.

The scammer offers to sell the victim the ticket for much less money than the apparent prize.

The Guardia Civil verified that the accused committed three of these cons in September.

In Xàtiva, two incidents of €7,000 and €5,000 were reported by victims who fell for the swindle.

The third scam was committed in Calpe, where a resident in their 80s was cheated of another €5,000.

The arrests in Calpe were made when the Guardia Civil noticed three suspicious looking men in the port area who were pestering pedestrians, especially the elderly.

They stopped the men and asked for identification, and it was at that moment they discovered the trio had numerous criminal records for robbery and scams by means of the 'tocomocho'.

They then searched their vehicle and found several receipts with the logo and seal of the issuing lottery entity with winning numbers.

These coincided with the tickets they held, but the receipts confirming the wins were fake.

One of those charged had also been found to have used another person's identification papers, as a search and detention order was outstanding on his true name.

The Guardia Civil asked the public to apply common sense to avoid being victims of these scams.

The three will face trial at a later date.