AN 87-YEAR-OLD pensioner has spoken out after he was nearly tricked out of his savings by foreign lottery fraudsters.

The Worcester man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he wanted to warn others after being taken in by claims he had won about £726,550 by a firm claiming to be the Spanish lottery.

Worcestershire County Council’s trading standards team issued their own warnings to people never to reveal bank details or send off money to claim a ‘prize’ of this nature.

The pensioner, of Northwick, Worcester, said he received a letter from El Gordo Spanish Sweepstake Lottery on Monday, January 19, saying he was one of 13 lucky international ‘winners’ who had bagged an equal share of 10,468,770 euros (£9,445,695).

“I had called the phone number on the letter and they phoned me back,” he said.

“I thought it was rubbish after I had spoken with them.

“I told them I’d never bought a ticket but they said it was a promotion company which had bought a ticket on my behalf – that seemed very odd to me.

“They wanted me to pay £1,420 to have the money transferred and said they would claim 10 per cent of my ‘winnings’.

“I must admit they had taken me in at first but I got on to my bank about it and they warned me not to give any details.”

The shameless scammers even advise ‘winners’ not to show their winnings letter to anyone else so avoiding “unwarranted abuse of this program [sic] by unscrupulous individuals.”

Each letter claims to be signed Juan Gomez Antonia, El Gordo vice president, and urges the receiver to phone a Spanish number in order to find out how to claim their cash prize, before signing off with “congratulations once again!”

Trading standards advice and education officer Linda McCoy said: “Every year millions of innocent people lose money to scams that come by post such as fake lottery and prize draws.

“In this particular case, the official operator of the Spanish El Gordo lottery, Loterias y Apuestas de Estado, has issued a warning about fraudsters using the name El Gordo and forging documentation and bank forms to obtain money under false pretences.”

She said all winners “never receive a penny” and that genuine Spanish lottery winnings were free of fees and taxes.

“If you have received one of these fake lottery letters never send any money as you’ll never see your promised winnings,” she said.

People who have been a victim of the Spanish lottery scam should call Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 for further advice.