Fascination – why people are so vulnerable here
Fortunately, there are reputable providers of class lotteries. The focus here is actually on happiness, there is no rip-off. Time and again, people in Austria fall victim to attempted fraud, especially by telephone. Suddenly the phone rings and a strange voice congratulates the unsuspecting person being called on winning the lottery. Your heart quickly beats faster, in your mind's eye the new Porsche has already been bought. But beware! In most cases there is fraud behind this. Which lottery provider calls its customers personally when they have drawn the right ticket?
A typical example of such a scam was the “Euro Lotto scam” from last year (2021). People were called with the country code of Great Britain or Germany and told that they had won €49,900. In order to pay out the winnings, a transfer of 1,000 euros in the form of Bitpanda vouchers is required. A clear indication of fraud! The following measures can protect potential victims:
- Do not give out personal information over the phone
- do not transfer money to receive a winnings
- always check whether the lottery was played at all
- Google the sender's phone number on the Internet
- If in doubt, ask relatives, friends or the police for advice
The annoying problems with lottery advertising that no one wanted to have
If you want to take part in a competition, you choose the provider yourself and decide on it. Apparently that's not enough for some (dubious) lottery providers. You use telephone advertising to retain as many customers as possible. But where did the tricksters actually get the number? There are many reasons for this; simply providing your telephone number in a newsletter is enough. If you then tick the wrong box, you agree that the number will be passed on and used for advertising calls.
But what do you do when a lottery company calls and asks you to buy a ticket from the company? It's best to hang up and block the number straight away. If you want to play the lottery or take part in a class lottery, find out about your options in advance. The Ministry of Finance also against fraudulent activities in Austria As valuable as the Internet is in many areas, the potential pitfalls are just as great.
Conclusion of a contract by telephone – is that actually possible?
After work, the phone suddenly rings and the person on the other end of the line claims that a contract has been concluded. It is supposedly about free participation in competitions, which in the future will be subject to a fee. The same applies in this case: Hang up immediately, someone just wants to access data. If the victim appears worried on the phone and wants to cancel the supposed contract, the personal data will be compared. There is already a danger, because no one should give their data to strangers on the phone.
To ensure that such activities are illegal from the start, telephone contracts have simply become impossible. Only if a contract was concluded by email or fax is it legally valid.
The fraudsters' approach is clever, as they naturally got wind of the bans. Today they no longer pose as competition providers, but sometimes use the names of consumer advice centers or other reputable institutions. They claim to want to protect consumers from exactly such rip-offs. In reality, they just want to sell an invalid contract for a certain fee.
The most famous scams in Austria – this is how lottery traps can be exposed
When the phone rings and there is a strange person on the other end of the line, alarm bells should go off. There are very classic scams that are repeated again and again. That's the winning trick. The perpetrator on the other end of the line congratulates you on your win and then asks for your personal information. He explains that the data was unfortunately lost and that such a comparison is therefore necessary. Hang up! This is fraud and there is no profit.
Renewing a subscription is the second big trap. Dubious fraudsters announce over the phone that the lottery subscription is expiring and needs to be extended. In order to carry out the extension or terminate the contract, the data will be requested. In fact, reputable lottery providers would never proactively call customers and pressure them to extend a contract. Customers have freedom of choice with reputable and fair providers.
It seems very scary when the debt collection agency suddenly calls. Don't panic, they are probably scammers. They reveal that they are supposed to collect lottery debts on behalf of a (fictitious) debt collection agency. You will be asked to transfer the specified amount to an IBAN abroad. Contact with this scam can be made by telephone, email or post. In principle, payments should never be made abroad. If the debt is not known, the payment request can be ignored. In an emergency, consumer advice centers offer advice and protection.
Conclusion: Reputable lottery providers suffer from dubious competition
For serious providers of lottery games and class lotteries, dubious competitors are a big problem. They not only damage their reputation, but also cause fundamental mistrust among Austrians. There are excellent and renowned lottery providers who actually pay out the money if you win. To do this, however, they do not call the participants or harass them on the phone.
Reputable providers:
https://www.prokopp.at/
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96sterreichische_Lotterien
Further links on the topic:
https://www.lotterien.at/spiele/services/tipps-fuer-sicheres-spiele
https://www.avast.com/de-de/c-gift-card-scams
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