The Metropolitan Police have been made aware of a scam that is targeting London residents who have recently returned from a holiday abroad.

Whilst on holiday, tourists are tricked into completing forms, often for the chance to enter lotteries or sweepstakes. On their return, they receive a phone call or letter stating they have won money. The recipient will reply, whether directly through telephone, by post or e-mail and will be invited to send money, often to assist in the administration of the release of the winnings.

A London resident recently lost her life savings of £10,000 to this type of scam.

Others scams arrive in the form of of unsolicited e-mail, letters or telephone calls. They involve lotteries, prizes, awards, miracle cures, clairvoyants and other promises of good fortune.

  • Big winnings seldom exist. Occasionally items of little value may be sent as prizes.
  • Many are fraud and an attempt to elicit money from unsuspecting victims.
  • As the winnings on offer are substantial, so too can are the advance fees required to release the funds.

The cruel part of the scam is that suspects build up a rapport with victims to continue the flow of money.

Anyone can be a victim.

  • E-mails are sent to huge numbers of people and anyone can become a potential victim.
  • Letters are more specific and in many cases the vulnerable are most at risk.
  • The victim may respond and after sending a fee to the fraudsters may have telephone contact.
  • The fraudsters will gain the confidence of the victim, hence where the vulnerable are most at risk.

Communications are often sent to accommodation addresses. These are then collected by couriers or third parties and sent on to the fraudsters.

  • Payments are made through cheques, credit / debit card transactions or through sending cash via money transfer services.
  • Cheques can be cleared through international clearing services and the money will go through a series of further transactions before finally arriving in the pockets of the fraudsters.

What to do in the event of receiving an unsolicited communication:

If you receive these communications do not reply to them. If you are a victim of this fraud, report it!