Issue Date:  -  Tuesday, 15 August 2006

Unsolicited approaches - a losing game for consumers Lottery Warning

onsumer Protection and Lotterywest are warning consumers to be wary of unsolicited letters or approaches claiming they have won the lottery or offering them a winning formula for a lottery.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Patrick Walker said consumers had contacted the department after receiving these unsolicited letters and approaches.

“These types of scams take advantage of people’s desire to get rich quick or get a maximum return for minimum output,” Mr Walker said. “One of the major problems with these types of offers is you rarely know who you are dealing with, where they are based and if they are legitimate.

“It is not worth the risk to send your hard earned money to someone you don’t know because you may have little chance of getting your money back if things go wrong.”

Mr Walker said these types of scams often use testimonials from people claiming to have participated and won money in the past.

“These testimonials are designed to make you believe you have a realistic chance of winning. But these testimonials can be easily manufactured,” he said.

 “The facts are that the odds of any one game winning the first division in Saturday Lotto are approximately 1 in 8 million. With Powerball, the chances are about 1 in 54 million.”

Lotterywest Chief Executive Jan Stewart said that with Lotto and other lottery games, there is no system that could guarantee a return on investment.

“Lotteries have always been about outlaying a small amount for a chance at a very big cash prize,” she said.

“Obviously the more games you play, the more chances you give yourself to win, but any formula that claims to reduce the odds by selecting certain numbers is misleading. Any possible combination of six numbers has exactly the same likelihood of being drawn as any other.
                             
“If someone had the formula to win the lottery, why would they need to share it and encourage others to invest in the formula to make money?” she said.
                                                           Mr Walker said anyone who receives unsolicited approaches advising they have won a lottery that they have never entered or offered a formula that can help you win the lottery should contact the Consumer Protection on 1300 304054 or email consumer@docep.wa.gov.au.