Long Melford resident issues warning after identifying postcode lottery scam in post

A Long Melford resident has warned her fellow villagers to be wary of postcode lottery scams, after identifying a letter stating she had won almost £1 million as fraudulent.

Helen Brabner, of Chadburn Road, received a letter in the post on Monday morning, which told her she could claim £900,000 in winnings from a postcode lottery scheme, by contacting a phone number or email.

But, after carrying out research online, she determined the letter addressed to her was not from a legitimate lottery organisation and was, in fact, worded in a practically identical way to a recognised scam.

Helen told the Free Press that, while she does not currently know of anyone else in Long Melford to receive such a letter, she believes it is common for scammers to target one particular area, and urged others to be on the lookout.

“Sadly, I haven’t actually won £900,000,” she said. “It seems these type of letters are doing a sweep of Suffolk.

“We are obviously going to screw the letter up and throw it in the bin, but it would only take one or two people to respond for the scam to work.”

For further information about keeping safe from financial scams, go online to www.suffolk.police.uk/advice/crime-prevention-z or sign up to the Trading Standards weekly email alert at www.suffolk.gov.uk/JoinTheFight.