Hi,

Following my previous hub about the experience my friend had regarding the bogus e-mail he received claiming he had won a prize on some lottery. I decided to do some research into the scam disease and I can tell you I was astonished at the amount of scams out there.

It is a global epidemic with the potential to infect everyone.

I have decided to "Do my bit" to try and make people aware of the huge scale of this problem through my Hub pages.

If I can prevent 1 person from falling prey to this scum it will be worth the effort.

If you have read my previous pages you will be aware I am a member of a Legitimate E-Lottery Syndicate so any scams involving this subject really make my blood boil!

The information below is legally reproduced courtesy of The Office of Fair Trading and is Crown Copyright

My first awareness article is: FOREIGN LOTTERY SCAMS

What are they?

Consumers receive a letter, telephone call or e-mail telling them they have won a major cash prize in an overseas lottery. They will often be told to telephone a sales agent who will ask the victim to send money to cover administration, customs and taxes. The winnings do not exist and are never received.

Size of the problem?

Foreign lottery scams cost the UK public an estimated £260 million a year.

An estimated 140,000 adults fall victim to these scams every year

The mean loss per victim is £1,900 (the median loss was £42)

Other key research findings

54% of people were aware of this scam

31% of people had been in contact with this scam, wether having been targeted, fallen victim themselves, or knew of a victim amongst their family or friends

Victim profile

53% of victims were men and 47% were women

58% of victims were aged between 35 and 64*

Nearly a quarter (24%) of victims were 65 or older*

* = based on small number observations

People who fell for this scam said that

It looked professional (24%) and seemed legitimate (19%)

It was considered worth a punt (12%)

They had been driven by their excitement of this unexpected windfall (11%)

They had received a request for money (4%)

3% of respondents with experience of this scam had reported it to the police and a further 2% had reported it to the local authority Trading Standards Service.

1% had reported it to either the Office of Fair Trading or Citizens Advice Bureaux

42% had mentioned this scam to others and mostly to family (23%) or friends (22%).

It just goes to show despite all the publicity, people are still falling prey to these thieves. The low level of reporting by victims only strenghtens the conmans position.

You may be embarrased to admit you've been duped but without information being passed on to the authorities you are making it easier for them to carry on scamming.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have been a victim of a scam and would like to share your experience please feel free to leave a comment.

I have information on other scams which I will post next time.

Thanks for reading