Spanish Embassy warns against lottery scams

Last sunday we carried an article warning readers under the heading "Lottery scams - don't fall for it". Subsequently I received the following message from the Spanish Embassy in Malta:

Following some recent cases which occurred in Malta, the Embassy of Spain would like to inform readers about the money scams which have been carried out illegally by thieves misusing the institution known as the Spanish "El Gordo" lottery.

The Embassy of Spain and the Spanish authorities have long warned about these illegal practices in which many non-Spanish citizens are involved and who currently use the Internet and other means of information to circulate false lottery awards throughout the world aimed at unaware citizens and making reference to the prestigious institution of the Spanish National Lottery.

Therefore, the Embassy of Spain in Malta would like to warn and inform you, as on previous occasions, that should you receive any such information regarding supposedly awarded lottery prizes you report it first to us, before giving any sum of money away.

In this context one of the problems is that generally the victims of various scams find it rather embarrassing to admit that they fell for it. This is one of the factors exploited by originators of various scams. Therefore, as far as this issue is concerned, we ought to adopt a policy whereby, in such cases, we will not divulge the contributor's name.