SCAMwatch is advising Australians to ignore recent lottery scam letters requesting $25, credit card details, or payment by cheque in return for a false $15,000 windfall.

How the scam works:

You receive a letter in the mail claiming that you have won an amount of money in a lottery you never entered, or asking you to enter. Recent reports show that the false winnings are commonly $15,000 or $25,000.

  • The letter will ask for an initial payment, commonly of $25, in order to claim the winnings or to enter. It may ask for credit card details or payment by cheque.
  • The letter may look official and may contain forms to be returned along with the initial payment via an enclosed prepaid envelope.
  • The letter may mention an international organisation based in the USA and provide postal address details for this organisation. These organisations often disappear and morph into others.
    Protect yourself
  • If you receive an unsolicited letter about a lottery you never entered destroy it. Never write back as this may lead to more scam letters being sent to you. Never send any money, personal or financial details.
  • If you aren’t sure whether a letter is authentic, do an internet search using wording from the letter. Many well-known scams can be found this way.
  • If you think you have provided your banking or credit card details or sent a cheque to a scammer contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

Report

You can report scams to the ACCC via the report a scam page on SCAMwatch.

More information

See our lottery and competition scams section for more information. SCAMwatch has also previously issued radars on lottery and fake prize scams:

Stay one step ahead of scammers, follow @SCAMwatch_gov on Twitter or visit http://twitter.com/SCAMwatch_gov.

Read more

Unexpected prize and lottery scams work by asking you to pay some sort of fee in order to claim your prize or winnings from a competition or lottery you never entered.