Scam Alerts

Lottery Scam Alert

2006-12-18

Press Release No. ABM-2004 – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto wishes to advise the Filipino-Canadian community concerning a scam report involving fraudulent announcements of “lottery winnings” or “awards” allegedly originating from a lottery based in Madrid, Spain. Upon verification made by the Consulate, the Philippine Embassy in Madrid reported that the so-called “Loteria Primitiva” is a bogus lottery. As part of its modus operandi, these fraudulent lotteries usually extract advance fees from unsuspecting victims.

If you receive one of these fraudulent notification of “lottery prize winnings”, please remember the following general rules:

You can’t win a prize in a lottery you haven’t bought or been given a ticket for.
Legitimate lottery tickets can only be purchased from authorized tickets sellers.
Legitimate lotteries don’t ask for funds in advance of paying the prize money. Their operating costs are not deducted from individual prizes
Never provide personal identity information to a company or person you do not know.

( originally posted on October 28, 2004 )

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