Jackpot town targeted by lottery scammers

Townsfolk warned to be wary of scam lottery winning letters asking them to provide their banking details

An Angus town that hit a £3 million lottery jackpot has been targeted by scammers who claim lady luck has come back to stay.

Two neighbours from Brechin won £239,663 each after their postcode was picked by the People’s Postcode Lottery this year.

They joined 243 others in the DD9 6 postcode area, with each ticket being worth £8,816, at the House of Dun near Montrose to celebrate the win on April 1.

But organisers and the police have asked people to be vigilant after it transpired a bogus scheme is claiming the same lottery is back looking for winners in DD9.

The letter, purporting to come from Ladbrokes Imperial House in London, informs the recipient they have already won an amount – to be drawn next month – but must ring a number with bank account details to confirm their identity.

The lottery’s organisers say they treat such fraud “very seriously” and ask for these claims to be relayed to them.

One woman, who asked not to be named, said she wised up to the scheme quickly but wants others to be aware.

“It said I would win up to £355,000 from the next draw on June 30 so they needed to confirm who I was,” she said.

“As soon as it mentioned account details, I became suspicious.

“I asked my friend who won a lot of money and she said she just got a golden envelope through the post.”

The family of another recipient contacted the local authority with their concerns.

Mark Hodgkinson, Angus Health and Social Care Partnership’s adult protection and review officer, said: “The Postcode Lottery scam is typical of the sort of scam mail we see all too often.

“In this case the family of the potential victim spotted the scam early so, thankfully, no harm occurred.

“However, many people do fall victim and lose thousands of pounds.”

A spokeswoman for the People’s Postcode Lottery said its brand is sometimes used to earn people’s trust in order to get personal information or bank details.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Officers would like to remind members of the public that fraudsters are extremely convincing in their approach, taking steps to engage with the victim and win their trust.”

Anyone who has received a scam letter is encouraged to report it to the national fraud reporting centre by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.

The Postcode Lottery scam is typical of the sort of scam mail we see all too often. MARK HODGKINSON

Picture: Iain McLean. Brechin’s People’s Postcode lottery winners with their cheques.