Lottery Fraud
Lottery fraud is an increasingly common offence, both in the United Kingdom and across the world.
The crime works in the following way. An innocent individual, whose e-mail address has been obtained by a criminal network, will be contacted on that address and informed that they have won a high value prize, usually cash. The criminals will use the names and emblems of genuine lottery companies when sending their e-mails. To claim the prize, the victim is asked to do one of two things, either give their bank account details to the sender, or mail the sender a sum of money to cover taxes and administrative expenses. The criminals will then steal the victim’s money and the victim will hear nothing further about their prize.
Unfortunately, more and more Egyptians are falling victim to these crimes and many of these are being contacted by organised criminals using the United Kingdom national lottery company as a front.
People are advised to be extremely cautious of any e-mails they receive purporting to be from the UK national lottery. The only way of entering the UK national lottery is by purchasing a ticket. The UK national lottery does not keep e-mail addresses of ticket purchasers and does not contact prize winners.
The Embassy is not able to pursue individual cases of lottery fraud or enter into prolonged communication regarding these crimes.
For further information about these crimes and what to do if you become a victim, you are advised to visit the following links:
The National Lottery
