Bedfordshire Police warn of lottery winning scam

Police said four victims were robbed of cash and valuables worth more than £50,000 in separate incidents in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire between September 27 and October 24.

In each case, the victims, typically men of South Asian descent, were approached on the street by two people pretending to have a winning lottery ticket that they were unable to obtain due to immigration reasons.

It was stated that one of the men was of Eastern European origin and the other was of South Asian origin.

The two were talking on the phone with a third person who claimed to be from the National Lottery.

They offered to split the winnings if the victim cashed the lottery ticket, but then demanded cash or jewelry as a deposit.

The victims were taken to their homes to collect their valuables, but the thieves drove away after taking their belongings.

Det. of Bedfordshire Police’s Force Intelligence Bureau. Sergeant Greg Davenport said: “These incidents occurred at Greyfriars in Bedford, Marsh Road in Luton, as well as Watford and Potters Bar. “But the methodology of all of them is very similar.

“We would obviously like to hear from anyone with information about these incidents, but it is also really important for people to be aware of these scams and be cautious.”

The force warned people to be wary of anyone approaching them out of the blue claiming to make money and pressuring them to act quickly.

Any suspicious activity should be reported to the police.