This particular scam is usually operated from Canada, although there are instances
of it being operated from Spain and other countries. The target of the scam
is mainly the elderly: over 80% of victims are over 65.
It is a form of advance fee scam; the recipient of the prize has to pay before
they receive the prize.
The Method.
- The set up.
The victim is telephoned and asked if they wish to be entered into a free
prize draw or are informed that they have been entered. This is the clever
part of the scam: the victim is not asked for money at this stage, the call's
purpose is to convince the victim that they are entered in to a legitimate
draw.
- The win.
A few days later, the victim is contacted again and congratulated on having
won the prize which is often claimed to be the Canadian lottery. All the victim
has to do, they are told, is to pay for processing fees and/or taxes that
have arisen and the big prize can be released to them.
If they willingly pay this first fee, it is not uncommon for further hitches
in the process to arise which, naturally, require further fees to ease the
process along.
- The sting.
Of course, the prize draw never existed. The tax payments and processing fees
are pocketed by the scammers.
A nasty twist to this scam is that the victims may be contacted again by a
scammer claiming to be a Canadian official who has recovered the stolen money.
He can return it to them, but, of course, there's a processing fee in order
that he can do so.
This scam is well thought out and can be very convincing. More than one contact
is made and the scammers pose as officials to add a sense of legitimacy to
the process.
The tell tale sign that it is a scam is the fact that money is required up
front before the alleged benefit is received.
The office of fair trading has a telephone hotline to gather evidence from
anyone affected by this scam: 020 7211 8111
