Saturday, April 04, 2009

Man loses house in lottery scam

The Force Fraud and Financial Investigation Unit of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary are urging members of the public to be extra alert of the dangers associated with bogus letters.

The unit confirmed that despite repeated warnings being issued to the public regarding this type of scam, three local members of the public recently entered into correspondence with the individuals behind these scams.

Two of these individuals have been repeat victims and despite receiving personal police visits and advice they have again succumbed to this scam believing that they are genuine winners.

The third individual thankfully realised the scam before actually losing any money. The two victims who have lost significant amounts of money through these scams are both elderly and one has also lost his home as a result.

Detective Sergeant Billy Thomson from the Fraud and Financial Investigation Unit said: "These scams are usually operated from outwith the UK and are nearly always impossible to investigate.

"We are stressing to the public to ignore these lottery scams and report them to the police. On no account should personal bank details be released to these individuals."

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