02070609915

Caution: It seems we're witnessing a resurgence of a widespread mail scam that begins with a letter and then is likely to be followed up by a phone call. (Refer to the alert posted on the Action Fraud website in February for more details.) From what I gather, one might expect a follow-up call from either a Mr Bell or potentially a Mr Price, in my particular case. People may think that this old, clever 'phishing' scam has finally fizzled out. However, it all kicks off with a smartly packaged letter, correctly addressed and featuring a pristine white envelope, allegedly from the 'International FIFA World Cup Online Lottery', adorned with logos from the 2014 FIFA/Brazilian World Cup! The letter claims that a lottery, purportedly held on 9th September this year, has selected this recipient's name from a pool of 3 million participants globally. And can you believe it? The message boasts that they've won a whopping £900,000, with numbers stated as 13-21-27-36-38-45, and a bonus ball of 4! How fortunate! The letter goes on to say: "This programme was devised and marketed by European Lottery, Loteria, El Gordo, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, in order to promote the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and Russia." Funny, as only Russia is slated to host the next World Cup. The text continues, stating, "...For us to process your claim, this information must remain confidential to prevent any misuse of the scheme or deceptive actions from unsavoury individuals and unauthorised parties." Moreover, it mentions a Mr Anthony Price, labelled as the Foreign Service Manager of Westpac Equity Holdings Limited, with a London phone number provided above. While there is indeed a Westpac Group operating in Australia, with a banking presence in the UK as well. It's disheartening that such fraudulent schemes continue to thrive.