LANCASHIRE County Council Trading Standards Department is advising the public to ignore the latest mail shot indicating they have won a valuable prize.

Many local householders are now receiving 'official notice' letters indicating they have won a valuable prize which could be anything from a BMW car to a mobile phone. The personalised letters posted from Hungary and promoted by a Dutch company ask consumers to phone a claims number which the small print reveals will take 9 minutes at a cost of £1 per minute.

The odds of winning each prize are detailed in the small print and anyone responding will receive a mobile phone for which airtime has to be bought - making the 'free' telephone subject to a hidden contract charge.

The odds against winning any other prize than the mobile phone are 50,000 to 1.

Said County Councillor Chris Cheetham: "This is the latest in a seemingly endless stream of similar overseas mailshots.

Experience of similar schemes has shown that anyone responding pays more to get their prize than the value of the item they have won.

"Lancashire County Council will be asking the government to control these scams under the new Consumer White Paper.

Meanwhile we would advise anyone receiving similar offers not to spend any money to obtain their prize."

For further information please contact David Brown, Deputy Trading Standards Officer on 01772 263565.

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