BOSSES of a postcode-based lottery have warned residents to be on their guard against a scam after a Bradford man became the latest person to be targeted.

The con, which involves householders receiving a letter wrongly claiming to be from the People's Postcode Lottery, has previously been reported in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and the West Midlands.

But people in Bradford are now being warned to beware after an Eccleshill resident raised the alarm.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Steven Hudson, 66, of Bolton Road, received a letter claiming to be from the People's Postcode Lottery which said he had won the £285,000 top prize.

The letter sent to Mr Hudson claimed to be from the desk of the EU vice-president international lotto promotions/prize award department and featured a false postal address.

It stated that Mr Hudson had won as part of the People's Postcode Lottery Program, held on February 7, but did not say where the draw took place. The letter was signed by the vice-president of the company.

It also said it was a tax-free draw and all participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from more than three million individuals worldwide.

 

To process the claim, Mr Hudson was asked to contact the foreign service manager of Prime Finance Company and was told that his 'winnings' must be claimed no later than March 8.

The letter also said if Mr Hudson did not claim his 'winnings', the sum would be returned to the European Union Treasury.

It stated: "The program was designed and promoted by European Union, European Lottery, and other major international lottery institutes to promote humanity."

Now Mr Hudson has warned Bradford people to be on guard if they receive a similar letter.

The retired company director said: "I have never had anything like this before.

"I've never even done that lottery before, I have only done the one for the Air Ambulance.

"I didn't believe it straight away. I have a cynical and suspicious mind.

"It's an unpleasant crime if it targets the more trusting people.

"If somebody offers you something that is too good to be true, then it will be too good to be true.

"Now people know that these scams don't just happen on the computers and the internet, they happen with letters through the post as well."

Online message boards also claim other people have received letters in a similar scam, with some dating back to February 2011 and February 2012.

The legitimate People's Postcode Lottery charity said such attempts to replicate their name for such scams were rare.

A spokesman 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 a prize.

"If you are at all suspicious, then contact our customer service team on 0808 1098765."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed they were aware of the scam letters and urged anyone who received one to contact Action Fraud, either on 0300 123 2040 or to report it at actionfraud.police.uk.