Fake Costa Riscan lottery cons £30k out of Perthshire man

Oct 9 2009 by Johnathon Menzies, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A PERTHSHIRE man in his fifties was conned out of almost £30,000 pounds by a fake lottery based in Costa Rica.

As well as the Central American scam, a Big County pensioner – believed to be in her nineties – sent £4000 to bogus clairvoyants in good faith.

These are just two of the harrowing tales uncovered by Perth and Kinross’ trading standards department recently.

According to research by the Office of Fair Trading, £350 million is lost by UK consumers in similar circumstances.

Councillor Willie Robertson, Perth and Kinross Council’s community safety convener, said this was why the local authority is throwing its weight behind a Trading Standards Institute-backed poster campaign designed to raise awareness of the dangers.

Praising the scheme that will see the slogan “Scam mail is blackmail” appear on 1000 billboards across the country, he said: “We have seen a rise in the number of people within Perth and Kinross who have been duped by scams.

“These have cost the victims significant sums of money and, in one case I have been made aware of, will probably cost a person his home.

“The officers dealing with local victims, who have lost sums of money ranging from £2000 to £40,000, are certain they are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.’’