Scams

Be suspicious of letters that announce you have won thousands of dollars in a Spanish lottery but ask you to keep your win quiet because "due to a mix up in names and numbers" the prize winner information cannot be made public.

These letters are part of an advanced fee scam. On contacting the lottery operator, consumers are asked to provide details of bank accounts and confirmation of their identity. Once the consumer shows interest in collecting their winnings, the lottery operators will ask for money in advance to pay administration costs. This request should send alarm bells ringing as legitimate lotteries do not ask for funds in advance of payout - their operating costs are not deducted from individual prizes.

These lottery letters rely on people confusing them with authorised Spanish lotteries such as the El Gordo de la Primitiva and El Gordo de Navidad.

The Spanish Ministry of the Treasury has advised us that legitimate lottery tickets can only be purchased from authorised ticket sellers in Spain. The official agency that oversees lotteries in lottery (Loterias y Apuestas del Estado) has information on this fraud on its website. Visit http:onlae.terra.es Click on the link on the left hand side called "Otros Avisos" for the warning about these lotteries and information on how to contact this agency. The information is available in Spanish and English.

Remember the following rules if you receive a notification of prize winnings so you won't be caught out:

* You can't win a prize in a lottery you haven't bought or been given a ticket for.

* Legitimate lotteries don't ask for funds in advance of paying out prize money.

* Never provide personal identity information to a company or person you do not know.

Would you like to learn how to play the Spanish Lotto? Then send us an e-mail at: gonzalocanal@wanadoo.es and we'll send you the instructions. We respect your privacy so if we receive an e-mail requesting that your address be removed, we'll delete it and we promise not to store your address. This way, you'll never receive any non requested messages from us.

Send e-mail to Spanish Lotto with questions or comments about this site.