Foreign lottery scams explained How to prevent foreign lottery scams

What to do if you're worried about a letter or email about a foreign lottery.

Remember, you can't win a foreign lottery when you haven't bought a ticket. If you win a genuine competition or lottery, you shouldn't have to pay anything to receive your prize.

Rip up these bogus lottery letters or delete them from your email. Never respond in any way.

Even if you don't send money to scammers, you could still be a victim of a foreign lottery scam – by simply confirming your name, email address or telephone number, you may be providing enough information for fraudsters to carry out identity fraud.

Ignore foreign lottery scammers

Never give out your bank or credit card details to people or companied that you do not know and have financial dealings with.

It is a good idea to use a spam filter on your PC to block unsolicited emails. See our security software report for current Best Buys.

Reduce the number of unsolicited mailings you receive by registering your name and address with the Mail Preference Service. You can do this online or by calling 0845 703 4599.

Stop receiving lottery scam mailings

To stop receiving many unwanted calls, register your phone numbers with the Telephone Preference Service online or by calling 0845 0700 707.

You can also cut the amount of unsolicited mail you receive by ticking the box that prevents your details being given to marketing companies when filling out your electoral roll application.

Be wary of ‘free’ offers and fabulous rewards – if it something looks too good to be true, it probably is.