People in the UK should be aware of an ongoing lottery scam, an elderly couple from Churchdown warns after being targeted by frauds. Terence and Sheila Bates where in shock to receive a letter from Euromilliones Loteria International based in Madrid, Spain.

The letter was an award notification directed to Mrs Bates, and said: “We are pleased to inform you of the released results of the ELI Promotion Programme held on June 12, 2009.” The letter went on quoting a ticket and serial number, saying Mrs Bates won the lottery and was eligible to collect her winnings of 915,810 Euro’s. Enclosed was a payment processing form, requesting Mrs Bates bank details to be send to Perfect Global Security Company SL. The couple was immediately aware of the fraud, since they never bought a foreign lottery ticket. There was a sentence in the letter, asking the couple to keep this award secret from public notice, which was very suspicious. The envelope in which the letter came was stamped Portugal, but the address indicated it was from Spain. An expert in the area said: “Legitimate lotteries will not ask an individual for their bank details. People receiving such letters are advised to call Consumer Direct on 08454 040 506. Gambling fraud, casino fraud and lottery fraud happens every day, to protect yourself, always make sure you entered a competition, the company exists and you do not have to pay to collect your lottery winnings. Other known lottery’s used for scams are International Lottery Board and Loteria.