Scratch card lottery scam 

Source: Fair Go

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Reporter: Libby Middlebrook

A number of you have written in about a cunning new scam that's doing the rounds.

It's being operated by a outfit called Paradise International Travelling Group, and here's how it works.

A tourism brochure arrives in the post, addressed to you. It looks convincing enough. It's printing on glossy paper, and it's packed with photos of exotic locations.

And here's the clever bit. Inside are two scratch cards for a lottery, celebrating Paradise's 20th year in business.

The problem is, everyone gets the same result. One ticket's a dud, the other a cash prize winner of $100,000 US. Now, a couple of you tried to claim that prize, by calling the phone number on the tourism pamphlet, in China.

But instead of paying out, Paradise wanted driver's licence and personal bank account details. They also demanded payments of up to $5000 up front to cover so called taxes. What nonsense.

To find out more about how to protect yourself, you can go to the Consumers' Institute website, or to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. Their web page has a great section called Scamwatch, where you can find out what the latest ones area. You can also alert others to scams you've come across by clicking on the 'report a scam link' and following the steps from there.