A Richhill resident has warned the public to be cautious of scams after receiving a suspicious FIFA World Cup Lottery letter advising her that she had won a staggering £900,000!
The resident – who wished to remain anonymous – furnished Armagh I with her copy of the crudely put-together letter dated May 22, 2026.
Luckily, she was more than capable of being able to spot a scam and had seen something similar arrive at her address previously. However, she was au courant enough to know that, sadly, many other may fall prey.
The letter bore an address in Zurich, Switzerland “from the desk of the International Postcode Lottery Commission” and the letterhead appeared to be a poorly snipped version of a ‘power ball’ lottery logo.
It was addressed to the resident by name.
It read: “We are delighted to inform you of the International FIFA World Cup Lottery Programme held on 15/05/26.”
It suspiciously continued: “Due to mix up of names and numbers the results were released on 22/5/26.”
Apparently, the resident – who never entered any such lottery – had miraculously won a 4th place category and had been “approved for a lump sum pay out of £900,000”.
“This is a tax-free draw,” it teased. The lucky resident had apparently been selected randomly in a ballot of over 390,000,000 people!
Again, rather brazenly, it added: “Please to help us proceed with your claims, this information must be kept away from public to avoid unwarranted abuse of the program or fraudulent acts from criminal minded and unauthorised person(s)”.
The cheek!
The winner was then asked to contact the “Foreign Service Manager” in London by telephone to process the apparent winnings. Two telephone numbers were provided.
At the bottom of the letter it appeared to have been signed and stamped by the “Vice President” of the organisation.
Anyone in receipt of a similar letter should air on the side of caution. Scam should always be reported for the protection of the most vulnerable in society.
You can report suspicious correspondence to PSNI via 101 or to Action Fraud via 0300 123 2040.
