The Police would like to warn the public of a new variation of the lucky draw scam which has surfaced in Singapore in the past month.

In a typical lucky draw scam, the culprits would usually call or email the victims and trick them into believing that they have won prizes in lucky draws or lotteries. In this new variation of the scam, the victims are first informed through phone calls that they would be receiving letters containing a brochure allegedly issued by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Through the said brochure, the victims are then informed that they would be given a chance to take part in a “Scratch and Win” lucky draw, with a top prize of HK$500,000 in cash, conducted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board in commemoration of its 30-year anniversary.

In most of the cases, the victims are led to believe that they have won the top prize when they removed the scratch-off label on the brochure, which would reveal the winning lucky draw code of “HK6888”. To claim their prizes, the victims would be required to call a Hong Kong telephone number stated in the brochure. When the victims call the number to claim their “winnings”, they are then asked to pay various fees so that the “winnings” can be released. After making several payments to the culprits, the victims would eventually realise that this was a scam when they did not receive any money.

The Police would like to advise the public that the Hong Kong Tourism Board does not conduct any lottery advertising activity by telephone or mail. If members of public encounter the above scam, they should refrain from calling the telephone number stated in the brochure and not remit any money to unknown persons regardless of their claims. Instead, members of the public should inform the Police immediately. More crime prevention information on such scams can be found on the Singapore Police Force and the Commercial Affairs Department websites at www.spf.gov.sg and www.cad.gov.sg.

<< Click to view a copy of the brochure >>