Australians are being urged to look out for a new scratchie scam dropping into letterboxes around the country.
The scam came to light when Wagga radio host Steven Spink revealed on air that he had received an envelope in his letterbox containing a travel brochure and two scratchies. When he scratched the lottery tickets, they showed he’d won $200,000 in cash.
However, something was amiss. The back of the prize-winning ticket claimed “winners may be obliged to submit taxes or any other mandatory charges as a result of the award” — the callmark of a scammer.
Scratchie scams often require the winner to pay a fee or submit their bank account details to claim their prize. While it seems like an obvious warning sign to some, many are tricked because of the scammer’s slick presentation and legitimate-looking scratchies.
Envelopes containing the scratchies are often personally addressed to the homeowner and contain professional-looking brochures, often for accommodation, which are designed to trick you into thinking the competition is legitimate.
They may include contact details for a business overseas and a web address for a fraudulent but professional-looking website.
The ACCC’s Scam Watch says the scratchie scam is nothing new, but people are still falling for its sophisticated forgery.
“Scratchie cards are sometimes used in promotions, lotteries or competitions, beckoning users to ‘scratch and win an instant prize’, for example travel or holidays,” Scam Watch says on its website. “While some scratchie cards may represent legitimate lotteries or competitions, you should be extremely suspicious of any scratchie card that requires a payment to claim a prize.
“Scratchie scams will offer you an instant prize, but when you contact the trader to claim it, you will be asked to provide payment for various ‘fees’ via wire transfer or preloaded money card. The scammer may request bank details and photo identification. In some rare cases you may be asked to travel overseas to collect your winnings.”
There were 54 reports of the scratchie scam in March alone, and $181,502 has already been lost to the scam this year.
The scammers often target neighbourhoods all at once, so if you’ve received a fake scratchie in your letterbox, it’s likely your neighbours have, too.
Last year there were more than 150,000 reported scams in Australia, and victims lost close to $91 million.
The scams can be devastating for many victims. One pensioner was left destitute after taking out the $50,000 loan because he thought he was helping a woman from the United Kingdom bring gold to Australia.
When he finally realised he was being scammed, the woman had taken off with his money and he was forced to dig into his small retirement fund to pay back the loan.
Scam Watch advises people to be wary of transferring funds to people you’ve never met face to face and to never give credit card, online account details, or copies of important personal documents to anyone you don’t know or trust.
Anyone who receives a fake scratchie is urged to contact Scam Watch.