Your local trading standards officers for Chester have recently released a statement for Cheshire West residents to be on their guard at their letterbox because of a scam that has been discovered operating at Chester addresses.  Letters have been sent out that are being targeted at vulnerable older people who may unwittingly hand over money to claim a false prize, which then marks them down as a target for more unwanted spam.

It is understood some home-owners have been duped into responding – or even paying money – to claim the bogus prize. See the full story here…

Have a listen below.

Scammers send out false testimonials and photographs of fictitious winners. They claim to be lottery officials, presidents of banks, solicitors, clairvoyants and use other important sounding titles and names.

Here are just a few of the dazzling words and statements scammers use:Congratulations, Won The Lottery, Guaranteed Winner, Highly Confidential, Unclaimed Prize/ Award, Sworn to Secrecy, Time Sensitive Document.

Once scammers have dazzled and hooked their victims, they trap them in a never ending cycle of letters and payments by asking for taxes, release fees, administration charges and anything else they can think of to keep the victim sending cash. Source:thinkjessica.com

So if you have recently received a letter that’s similar to the above then make sure to bin it.  If you are looking after an older relative in the Chester area, make sure to inform them of this going on in their area too.