A RETIRED woman from Kempshott is calling on Basingstoke residents to be wary of scam letters after receiving a bogus postcode lottery letter.

Janet Fagg, who recently moved to Kendall Gardens, was forwarded a message from a company posing as the People’s Postcode Lottery which informed her she had successfully won £425,000 – despite never entering any kind of prize draw.

The letter told the 73-year-old that she had been selected through a computer ballot system drawn from more than three million names across Europe. 

It goes on to say: “Note that once your processing fee is paid, you will receive your winnings in the form of a certified cheque” – this despite not telling how much the fee is.

This is the first time Ms Fagg has received any kind of scam letter and she is now urging other, more elderly residents to keep a close eye on what they receive in the post.

Ms Fagg said: “When I received the letter, I understood it to be a scam within 20 seconds of reading it and just laughed at it with my partner – but for others it could look real.

“Some poor unsuspecting person might actually give over their bank details or pay some money to them and that is the most worrying thing.

“Looking through the letter, it could seem quite complex, I certainly know a few people who might fall for it – but this is just completely wrong and needs to be stopped.”

Unsurprisingly the company Blackhorse Finance Management, who Ms Fagg points out could be mistaken for being part of the Lloyds Banking Group, is not a registered company and its foreign services manager Anthony Mendez cannot be contacted on the number the letter provides.

A spokeswoman for People’s Postcode Lottery said: “People’s Postcode Lottery is aware that sometimes illegitimate individuals and organisations will attempt to use our lottery’s brand to gain access to information or details supplied by unsuspecting members of the public. 

“People’s Postcode Lottery takes such matters very seriously. 
“If you receive one of these letters, phone calls, SMS messages or emails, then we strongly advise the public to treat these communications as scams and they should be ignored. 

“To be clear – you cannot win a Lottery you haven’t entered. If you are a winner, People’s Postcode Lottery would never ask for payment to claim a prize.”

Consult Action Fraud UK on actionfraud.police.uk or the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06 if concerned about any potential scam. 

If you have been affected by a scam, contact clive.hammond@basingstokegazette.co.uk.