Published on:
21
June 2006
Stirling & Clackmannanshire Councils' Trading Standards Service is warning residents to be on their guard about letters they may receive, which give the impression that they have either won a lottery or a prize draw - without even having entered!
To claim their prize, recipients are often asked to provide their bank details, next of kin & personal details. Some also ask for an administration fee or for payment of taxes and consumers across the country have lost money, in some individual cases, over £30,000, to such scams.
In other cases, people are told to ring a premium rate 090 number to claim your prize - the longer they stay on the line, the more the call costs. If someone does receive a prize, it is usually worth very little and may not be what they were promised.
Trading Standards' advice is to be particularly cautious of foreign lotteries that ask for a fee in advance. Don't dial an 090 number, unless you are sure how much you will be charged and are willing to pay for it. Bin junk mail and register with the Mailing Preference Service on 0845 703 4599 (local rate) to cut down the amount of junk mail received from within the UK. And remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Further advice regarding scams may be found on the Office of Fair Trading website at http://www.oft.gov.uk/Consumer/Scams/default.htm.
Residents concerned about maildrops may also contact the Consumer Advice Centre at Municipal Buildings, 8 - 10 Corn Exchange Road, Stirling FK8 2HU, tel. 0845-277 7000, email: tradingstandards@stirling.gov.uk.