EuroMillions players are warned over scam

EUROMILLIONS PLAYERS ARE WARNED OVER SCAM

EuroMillions lottery players in the UK have been warned over a scam purported to have been sent out by a former winner which tells the recipient that they are due to receive a donation from the lottery winner.The scam has been sent to residents of Northern Ireland pretending to be from recent Northern Irish EuroMillions winner Margaret Loughrey, who won £27 on the multi-national lottery last year. After winning, Ms Loughrey announced that she would be donating large amounts of her winnings to good causes; internet scammers have taken this fact into consideration when preparing their scam emails.The emails that have been received have suggested that the recipients have been chosen at random to receive a donation from the EuroMillions winner, and it asks them to provide their bank details in order for the payment to be made. The email also links to a legitimate news story in which Ms Loughrey was quoted as saying that she will be donating the majority of her winnings.Police in Northern Ireland, and elsewhere in the UK, have warned recipients of any emails purporting to be Ms Loughrey to treat it with deep suspicion and not to reveal any personal or financial information to anybody.As well as this scam, lottery players in Kent are also being warned of potentially damaging scams which have come to light recently. This letter, which has been sent by mail to residents in the email, purports that it is from a joint partnership between FIFA and EuroMillions and tells recipients that they have won £700,000 in a ‘postcode lottery’.The letter warns its ‘winners’ not to tell anybody about their claim in order to protect themselves against any chances of fraudulent acts. The letters appear to have targeted the older generation, with several pensioners coming forward to talk about how they were almost duped after receiving the letters.A spokesperson for Kent County Council’s Trading Standards said that they have received a large number of calls about the letters in recent weeks. The spokesperson reminded recipients that it is not possible to win a lottery that you haven’t entered, and warned people to be vigilant.When you purchase your lottery tickets online at Lottery24.com you receive a written notification confirming your numbers and all your winnings.