Reference: Australian Lottery scam

The Portsmouth Police Department has been made aware of a lottery scam known as the ‘Australian Lottery’. This lottery scam is a mass mailing of letters with what appears to be official letterhead from the Australian Lottery. This letter purports that the recipient has won part of a $3,700,000 European lottery. They claim it’s a tax-free draw and that all participants were selected through a computer ballot system. They request that you contact an agent and supply a telephone number for that agent. In this case, the agent’s name is ‘Alex Cook’. It also advises that the recipient has only fourteen days to claim this prize.

We would like to warn residents of the surrounding seacoast towns that if you have not entered a lottery, but you receive information that you have won something, this is always a scam. Other indicators of fraudulent lotteries include grammatical errors and a greeting such as ‘Sir/Madam’ or other non-specific greeting. They also typically ask the recipient not to show the letter or to keep it secret or away from the public. Should you receive this letter or any other lottery scam letter in the mail, you are asked to simply throw it away without any response to their requests.

If you have any questions or would like to speak with a fraud investigator to schedule a crime prevention presentation, please contact Detective Christopher Roth of the Bureau of Investigative Services at the Portsmouth Police Department at 436-2511 or 610-7419.