Trinidadian fleeced in international lottery scam

Dec.15.06

Unsuspecting Trinidadians have been conned into sending thousands of dollars overseas in order to collect bogus lotto winnings and police are now trying to bring an end to it.

The Trinidad Express reported that a San Juan man lost almost $20,000 last year in one of the scams after he received a letter from the company telling him he had won.{{more}}

To claim his “winnings”, he first had to wire some of his own money to get it.

He made two payments to an address in Britain-one for $5,700 and another for $11,000.

He said Monday that he was told by the con artists that to receive the money, he had to get an “Anti-Terrorist Clearance Certificate”.

He never received his “winnings”. He never got his money back, either.

Thousands of dollars were also spent on phone bills to Britain, where the victim said he spoke to people who claimed to be Customs and Immigration officials.