Postcode lottery letter scam warning

Postcode lottery letter scam

Police are warning residents of Rochdale about a new scam letter, which claims the reader has won a prize in a lottery.

The letter is billed as being from the ‘People's Postcode Lottery’ in blue font and features a contact phone number and seemingly-official head office address.

The letter will falsely claim your postcode is attached to a lottery ticket and has entitled you to a win of a large sum of money. ‘Winning numbers’ will be displayed in colourful balls.

One unsuspecting resident from Rodney Street in Rochdale received two letters addressed to him, dating 10 and 16 September.

The resident called the phone number and became suspicious when he was asked to send money to the scammers. He rang GMP instead.

A spokesperson for GMP said: “Don’t ring the phone number and don’t send them any money.

“You won’t have won a prize in a lottery you didn’t enter.

“Please make elderly relatives or those who don’t have access to computers aware of this.”

The scam is not affiliated with the legitimate People’s Postcode Lottery which operates across the UK.

Rachel Ruxton, Head of Communications at People’s Postcode Lottery said: "People's Postcode Lottery is aware that sometimes illegitimate individuals and organisations will attempt to use our lottery's brand to gain access to information or details supplied by unsuspecting members of the public. People's Postcode Lottery takes such matters very seriously. If you receive one of these letters, phone calls, SMS messages or emails, then we strongly advise the public to treat these communications as scams and they should be ignored.

"Legitimate lotteries, such as People's Postcode Lottery, will not under any circumstances request a payment in order to receive your 'winnings'. If you are at all suspicious, then contact our customer service team on 0808 1098 765. Thankfully incidences where the public is affected by an illegal lottery using the People's Postcode Lottery brand are rare, but we would encourage anyone who has encountered a scam to report it to the national fraud reporting centre.

"To be clear — you cannot win a Lottery you haven't entered. Also, if you are a winner, People's Postcode Lottery would never ask for payment to claim a prize."