WA residents warned about travel scratchie scam
WA residents are being warned not to fall for a fake scratchie scam contained in glossy travel brochures sent from Malaysia.
About 70 of the brochures bound for Australian homes were intercepted by Australia Post at their Perth Airport mail centre and Consumer Protection fears others may have slipped through for delivery.
The brochure contains two scratchie cards and one is always a winner, the first prize being $US270,000, second prize $US180,000 with other prizes of a luxury cruise or electronic items.
But there’s a catch. The “winner” has to phone the Malaysian company and pay fees into an overseas bank account to release the prize.
Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said there is no prize and those who respond will lose their money.
”The only winners in this scratchie scam are the scammers operating the bank account that receives the money from victims”; Mr Hillyard said.
”Claiming the fake prizes may also involve verifying your identity and victims can be asked to send a copy of their passport and provide other personal information which may lead to identity theft.
”This scam has been operating for many years and has been the subject of numerous warnings by Consumer Protection in the past. The brochures and scratchies have the same look but use different names on each occasion.
”Our advice is to ignore these offers and don’t respond or send any money. Dispose of the brochures and scratchie tickets in the bin where they belong.
Tasmania Police last week issued a warning after a 74-year-old man lost $2,120 to the scam. The victim received the same type of brochure and scratchies, but under a different name.
Previous warnings on this scam include: