TRADING standards officers are warning people to be on their guard against a lottery scam.
The warning comes after a Hartlepool man received a letter from Holland telling him he was in with a chance of winning £200m of European lottery money.
The man became suspicious when he was asked to send various amounts of cash totalling £100, so he contacted trading standards officers.
The man, who does not want to be named, said: "The letter was very plausible and I can understand how some people would be lured into sending money off. Luckily, I brought it to the attention of the council instead."
Trading standards officer Michael Welsh urged anyone receiving a letter like this to put it in the bin.
He said: "Many of these scams pressurise people to act quickly or risk losing their prize and are often personalised to give a sense of authenticity."
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