by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
INISHOWEN residents have been warned of another
lottery scam. A Clonmany woman contacted the
Inishowen Independent last week having received a
letter from Loteria Primitiva addressed to her late
husband stating that he had won €615,810 in a
Spanish lottery.
The letter was posted from Malaga in southern Spain
at the end of last month, and seeks bank account
details and other personal information.
While the letter looks professional, it is
undoubtedly a fake. In an effort to isolate those
who received letters, they fraudsters insisted that
the winners not go public.
“My husband passed away two years ago so I was
immediately suspicious,” the woman, who did not wish
to be identified, said. “I showed it to my children
and other family members to show it is a scam.”
“I don’t know how these people got our address,” the
woman continued. “A similar letter addressed to me
arrived three weeks ago and I destroyed it, but this
was addressed to my late husband and that upset me.”
As ever, Garda advice to members of the public who
received unsolicited mail suggesting they have won
money in lotteries abroad should put them in the
bin.
“People need to be especially aware of any letters
which look for bank account or credit card details
and should never disclose those in any
circumstances,” a Garda spokesman said.
“I’d like to see the Garda raise this scam with
their colleagues in Spain,” the Clonmany woman
concluded. “It is attempted fraud and the people
behind it should be prosecuted.” |
