Manchester men suspected of lottery fraud

The City of London Police has arrested two students in connection with a suspected £300,000 lottery fraud after a search of their Manchester home.

The arrests were made by officers from the force’s Economic Crime Directorate investigating a fake Canadian lottery. Thousands of letters and emails have been sent to people claiming they had won a prize, then persuading victims to pay an administration fee to claim their fictitious winnings.

When police executed search warrants at a house in the city early on Tuesday morning (May 25th) a number of computers believed to have been used to send out mass-marketing emails were seized. Records found on computers at the residence near Eastlands stadium suggest hundreds of victims may have been conned out of up to £20,000.

Detectives believe those behind the UK fraud may be part of a wider criminal network, targeting people across the UK and around the world with a host of different mass-marketing frauds.

Two men aged 21 and 22 were arrested during Tuesday's search and have since been released on bail pending further inquiries.

Detective Superintendent Bob Wishart, from the City of London Police, said: “We believe we have uncovered a sophisticated crime perpetrated by an international organised crime group, exploiting the latest mass marketing technology on the Internet to target innocent people in their homes and on their computers.

“We will continue to target those groups who choose to operate in the UK, and disrupt their activity".

The Manchester operation comes just days before an international day of mass-market fraud awareness. 

On June 1st SOCA, the National Fraud Authority, the Office of Fair Trading, the Metropolitan Police, the City of London Police and the Serious Fraud Office, are joining forces to encourage victims of mass-marketing fraud everywhere to speak up, make a noise about fraud, and stop criminals succeeding.

According to these agencies the traditional Nigerian ‘419’ scam letter or email, which many people know and avoid, is the tip of the iceberg. Frauds are getting more plausible and more sophisticated as criminals try to stay one step ahead of public awareness and law enforcement action.

Below is advice that should help you stay clear of the mass-marketing fraudsters: 

• Don’t stay silent. If you’ve been targeted by a fraudster and lost money, contact Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.org.uk or on 0300 123 2040 
• Remember - if you haven’t entered a competition, you won’t have won a prize
  • If someone is legitimate they won’t pressurise you and they won’t mind you checking them out 
• Never send money to strangers 
• Never give out personal details or financial information to strangers 
• Never return a call to strangers or unfamiliar phone numbers 
• Look out for bad spelling and grammar, they are often a sign of a fraudulent organisation 
• Ask questions. If someone is elusive about answering, break off contact
• Don’t commit straight away – talk to someone you trust first
• Remember that websites can be faked too, and that someone may claim to work for a well-known company. Always check the real company’s details against the ones you have been given, and ring them direct if you are in doubt

The efforts to combat mass-marketing fraud are also set to receive a substantial boost in June when the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau becomes fully operational.

The City of London Police, working in partnership with the public and private sector, has created one of the most advanced intelligence systems in the world, analysing millions of previously unconnected reports of fraud to identify patterns in offending and provide intelligence packages to police forces across the UK.

Forces such as GMP can use this information for fraud investigations and help them to target serial fraudsters who operate beneath the radar across Greater Manchester.