Don't fall for Spanish lottery scams

Despite repeated warnings, many people still fall for scams. Unfortunately, more people fall for scam lotteries than you may think and the originators of these scams go on overdrive in the festive season.

Here is a brief, 'unbelievable but true' article carried in the current Which? magazine - the UK's leading consumer magazine under the heading 'Doctor falls for Spanish lottery con':

A GP from Rotherham has been duped out of £93,000 by a bogus Spanish prize draw. The doctor, who did not want to be named, was tricked into believing he had won in the El Gordo lottery.

The con began when a letter arrived saying he had won €615,810 (around £400,000) in November 2005. He faxed back the release form with his bank details and was put in contact with a so-called 'bank manager', who persuaded him to send £2,000 commission to transfer the money to the UK.

The doctor was then repeatedly duped into sending more money after the gang told him he would lose his winnings. Over an eight-month period he transferred a total of £93,000. He said, "Every time I sent money they came up with different ideas.

"The gang threatened me that if I did not send money I would lose everything, until I said I couldn't send any more."

Thousands of people have been conned by bogus Spanish lotteries, making them the UK's top scams.

The doctor was tricked by the typical technique of the El Gordo scam, in which con artists ask for release fees and banking charges until the victim has no more money to send.

The Office of Fair Trading said it's the biggest amount lost in this con. There is a real El Gordo Spanish lottery that has no connection to this fraud. (Which? magazine, December 2006)

Beware of such scams! Don't fall for it. I too receive such e-mails informing me that I have won large sums of money, which I normally ignore. However, on one occasion I acknowledged receipt of the message.

As soon as they got my e-mail address, they promptly got back to me and asked me to pay for the "processing" of my winnings. Likewise, I replied promptly by asking them to take the money from my winnings whereupon they dropped me like a ton of bricks.