HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
KONA PATROL DIVISION
OFFICER ROBERT W.H. SAKATA
PHONE: 323-2124
AUGUST 20, 2003
MEDIA RELEASE
Police are warning Big Island residents about another apparent lottery scam, this one originating in Spain.
A Kona resident received a letter from the “International Lotto Commission” informing her she had won more than $475,000 in a lottery allegedly held by the “El Gordo de la Primitiva Program.”
The catch is that the winner must send a “security company” in Spain 10 percent of the total sum “for handling the affairs of his fund.”
Big Island police caution residents to avoid all schemes in which they are asked to send money in order to collect their “winnings.” Legitimate lotteries don’t require a “winner” to send money.
Police also advise victims of scams to call the police non-emergency number at 935-3311.
In addition, if there is a question of whether a lottery is legitimate or not, residents are advised to call the local Office of Consumer Protection at 933-0910, the toll free number at the Better Business Bureau in Honolulu at 1 (877) 222-6551 or the toll free number of the Federal Trade Commission at 1 (877) 382-4357.
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