Scammers have been targeting households by claiming they have won on the People's Postcode Lottery. The scam involves homeowners receiving a letter saying they have been randomly selected to win money from an unclaimed prize pot.
The letter says they have been picked using data from the electoral roll. It uses this as a way to convince people who are not People's Postcode Lottery customers that it is genuine.
But according to consumer champion's Which?, there are some giveaways the letter is a fake. Firstly, it reportedly uses an address not on the People's Postcode Lottery website.
The second tell tale sign, Which? says is that the letter says you need to contact a specific person at a made-up financial services firm. It has seen examples including Coral & Reed Financial Services’ and 'Ultimate Financial Services', neither of which are on Company House.
The letter also asks you to call a number to claim your prize. It is at this point where you are likely to be asked to provide personal information, including banking details.
The People's Postcode Lottery told Which? the letter was not genuine. The company says it posts details of winners on its website each day.
The People's Postcode Lottery says scammers do occasionally pose as the business. On its website it says: "Periodically, fraudsters will run lottery scams. Sometimes, these scams can involve an individual posing as People's Postcode Lottery. The scammers contact members of the public by letter, email, phonecall or SMS message.
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"The scammers will then claim that their target is a winner of a special lottery award or similar. To ensure that any prize mentioned is a real win with People's Postcode Lottery, check out all wins for your postcode in our Postcode Search. The fraudsters will often then ask for payment or your bank details before they will transfer any 'winnings'."
The People's Postcode Lottery says it encourages anyone who has encountered a scam to report it to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre. This can be done by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk
