Can you win a lottery without even entering?

Lottery Award Winning Notification

We are pleased to inform you of the results in the International MegaOnline Lottery drawn on the 26 January 2006 and that your numbers have won a share in the first division prize pool of US$32,000,000!!! You have therefore been approved for a winning payment of US$4,000,000 to be either transferred into your bank account or sent by personal cheque.

The above will be familiar to many Australian consumers and is typical of the letters and emails sent out by scammers in what is known as the Overseas Lottery Scam.

Agencies involved in the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce* list it as one of the most reported scams in Australia.

"The lottery scam has been around for a number of years but has been increasing at an alarming rate in recent years", ACFT Chair, and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Deputy Chair, Ms Louise Sylvan, said today.

"The scam relies on the consumer becoming excited by the thought that they really have won the 'big one'", she said. "A consumer might consider a relatively small fee to be a risk worth taking when they compare it to the size of their winnings.

"A large number of Australian consumers have reported sending significant sums of money to these overseas scammers. Many of these had lost in excess of $10,000.

"The tragic aspect of this scam is that ACCC analysis of reports to its Infocentre show the consumers who are most vulnerable to the scam tend to come from poorer financial positions and are therefore least able to afford it.

"Scammers will invent plausible reasons for how a consumer can win an international lottery without entering the draw", she said. "They may claim the consumer has been selected by email address, that they were entered by a third party or that there has been some kind of error with the names/tickets".

Initially the scammers are likely to require the consumer to provide extensive personal details in order to prove that you are the lucky 'winner'.

"In providing such details, the consumer is opening themselves up to the possibility of identity fraud or having their bank account cleaned out. At best they are identifying themselves as being potentially vulnerable to the scam and they are likely to be bombarded with many similar scam offers.

"In order to 'hook' consumers into the scam, the fraudsters often nominate a small amount to enable the winnings to be released. But in the end, the consumer will be required to pay a sequence of fictitious fees and charge such as insurance costs, government taxes, bank fees or courier charges. Money sent to these scammers will never be seen by the consumer again".

Destroy it, delete it or hang up!

The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce advises consumers that the best defence against lottery scams is to destroy or delete them without responding.

"Scammers cannot succeed without consumers who respond", said Ms Sylvan.

If you have spotted or been caught out by a lottery scam, you are urged to visit the ScamWatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 795 995 to report it.

Background

This campaign initiative is part of a range of strategies that will be undertaken throughout Consumer Fraud Prevention Month. This month-long strategy is being co-ordinated by the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce, a recently established network of 18 government agencies at the federal and state/territory level and in New Zealand.  All agencies have an interest in enhancing the role of government and the private sector in reducing the impact of consumer-related frauds and scams. The Taskforce aims to help consumers throughout the campaign to recognise scams upfront and to not respond to them.

This nation-wide campaign has been timed to coincide with the Global Consumer Fraud Prevention Month which is being co-ordinated by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), a membership organisation consisting of the consumer protection law enforcement authorities of more than 30 countries including Australia. The international campaign aims to raise awareness of the problem of consumer fraud for consumers, business and government alike.

Agencies speaking on lottery scams include:
Consumer Affairs Victoria, the New South Wales Office of Fair Trading, the ACT Office of Fair Trading, the Western Australian Department of Consumer and Employment Protection, the Tasmanian Office of Fair Trading and the Northern Territory Office of Consumer and Business Affairs.

Taskforce partners

Taskforce members are joined in communicating with Australian consumers about scams by a range of community, non-Government and private sector organisations. Visit http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/scams/partners.asp for a list of Taskforce partners.

Consumers who think they've spotted a scam can check it out the ScamWatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au which has lots of information about scams and a number for reporting scams: 1300 795 995.