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OFT sends out fake prize scam mailing to raise consumer awareness

27/07    19 February 2007

Bogus lottery, prize draw and sweepstakes, sent out by mail, e-mail or telephone in their hundreds of thousands by scammers, inform consumers that they have won a major cash prize. To claim their prize consumers are asked to send money upfront to cover so-called administration, processing fees or taxes. The major cash prize either does not exist or the recipient only has a tiny chance of winning the promised payout. The OFT estimate that more than 500,000 people fall victim to these scams every year, collectively losing £320million. Victims are often repeatedly targeted.

To fight back against the scammers, the OFT this week sent out thousands of fake prize draw scam mailings together with advice to residents in the Midlands, South East, North East and Wales.

The mailing under the false name of 'SuperMegaLotto' promises a £15,000 win, has been personalised to make it appear exclusive to each recipient, and urges the recipient to act quickly to claim their prize by looking inside. However, the mailing makes clear that it has in fact been sent by the OFT as an educational tool to help consumers spot similar scams. Detailed advice is also enclosed with the mailing such as:

• a genuine prize draw or lottery would never ask you to pay a fee to claim your major prize, and
• always stop, think and think again if an offer sounds too good to be true.

The mailing also includes a free phone number to find out more about scams and to request a free information booklet. The OFT mailings have been sent to UK residents who have previously responded to prize draws as they may be more likely to be targeted by the scammers.

Christine Wade, OFT Assistant Chief Executive, Consumer Advice and Trading Standards, said:

'We all dream of winning a big money prize draw or lottery and scammers exploit that to their advantage. We hope that our innovative approach will help educate consumers about these sophisticated scams.'

Bill Hughes, Director General of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, said:

'The cost of these scams is huge. We are committed to working with partners both in the UK and abroad to tackle this problem, but at the same time it is vital to raise awareness of these scams so that people can help protect themselves.'

NOTES

1. Scams Awareness Month, is part of an international initiative organised by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network. The OFT has enlisted the support of local authority Trading Standards Services, Consumer Direct, the Advertising Standards Authority and other consumer and industry bodies.

2. The deceptive prize draw and lottery scams awareness campaign is also supported by Camelot which runs the National Lottery and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Case studies of bogus lottery and prize draw victims are also available for media interviews.

3. The key message of the campaign is to 'stop, think and think again' if you think you may have received a scam offer. The campaign also exposes the key myths about scams, that they are victimless, that victims only lose money, and that only the vulnerable become victims.

4. Recent research commissioned by the OFT involving 11,200 interviews found that scams costs UK consumers an estimated £3.5billion every year. Download Research on impact of mass marketed scams (pdf 299 kb).

5. Scams are an OFT priority. The OFT launched a Scambusters team and set up the Scams Enforcement Group with partner organisations focussing on law enforcement; consumer education; and cooperation with private sector businesses to disrupt scammers' routes to market.

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