Health Lottery rip-off warning as ‘doubtlessly extraordinarily dangerous’ letters flow into
Britons are being warned of a surge in pretend Health Lottery letters in circulation, claiming households have gained lots of of 1000’s of kilos.
Consumer champion Which? reported that Google searches in regards to the letters have spiked in current weeks, and the Health Lottery has stated they’ve the potential to be “extremely harmful”.
According to Which? the brand new scam letters, addressed to individuals by title, declare they’ve gained staggering figures – some as much as £750,000. It additionally consists of bogus profitable numbers, in addition to a ticket quantity.
The letter additionally falsely claims to be despatched from an handle in Aberdeen, which isn’t affiliated with the Health Lottery.
People are informed they’ve been “randomly selected by Computer Ballot System” from a “database of the National Health Service and Residents in the United Kingdom.”
They are then given two cellphone numbers to name to say their winnings. However, calling these numbers will result in a cellphone rip-off the place the fraudster will try to collect private and monetary info.
A spokesperson for the Health Lottery informed Manchester Evening News that it was “incredibly frustrating” to see the fraudulent letter circulating once more.
They stated: “This potentially extremely harmful scam rears its head from time to time and spreads confusion and distrust in our much-loved brand.”
They added: “The letter itself is complete nonsense, describing huge jackpots which are not even legal under the terms of The Gambling Act.”
The Health Lottery was launched in 2011 to raise money for health-related causes across the country. Participants enter by selecting five numbers and prize draws take place five days a week. The top cash prize is £100,000.
How to spot a fake Health Lottery letter
The Health Lottery “never” sends letters to people who win. If someone receives one of these letters, they’re advised to report it and then bin it.
Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service alerted residents about the scam circulating locally in December.
According to Which?, Warwickshire residents received letters claiming they’d won as much as £420,000 in the Health Lottery.
People can report fraudulent post through the Royal Mail’s scam letters service form, which can be found right here.
People also can report any scams to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. More impartial recommendation and assist might be discovered by way of Citizens Advice’s client helpline on 0808 223 1122.