Rotherham old folk lose thousands in lottery scam

The 86-year-old made payments to locations in Madrid, Spain and Ottawa, Canada, after she was told that, in order to collect her winnings, she would have to send cash to cover taxes and fund processing fees attached to her claim.

Police have now stepped in to investigate the case and have already been able to link this case to numerous other victims across the UK.

In another case, a 91-year-old Rotherham man was contacted by telephone and informed he had won a substantial sum of money, but that he would need to send £4,000 to release his winnings.

Fortunately, due to suspicions about the nature of the call, he did not send any banking or personal information to the fraudster.

This week a police spokesman said: “People have lost thousands of pounds through such schemes.

“The prize doesn't exist, and the ‘winner’ never receives any winnings in return for their cash.

“Often, the elderly are targeted with this scam and advised not to tell family and friends about their alleged ‘win.’”

Police are now urging anyone who believes that they have been a victim of telephone lottery fraud to contact them on 0114 2202020.

Alternatively, report the scam to Action Fraud via www.actionfraud.org.uk or on 0300 123 2040