The National Lottery Authority (NLA) in collaboration with the Volta Regional Police Command has successfully arrested four lotto fraudsters there.
Godwin Agbenyefia alias Demon, 19; Reuben Abusah alias Last Burial, 20; Kelvin Kwame Abouzi alias Kartel, 20, and Kingsley Adelekey, 21 were operating from Akatsi and Ho.
The Circuit Court in Ho presided over by Felix Datsomor has remanded the suspects in police custody to re-appear on September 23.
The lotto fraudsters have created several Facebook accounts, WhatsApp and other social media platforms using the logo and pictures of the staff of the Authority and pictures of other people to defraud unsuspecting persons.
In their bid to get-rich-quick, the fraudsters are able to convince people to make mobile money transfers to them in exchange for fake winning lotto numbers.
The lotto fraudsters receive various sums of money from their victims in order to stake lotto numbers for them.
After the draw by the National Lottery Authority (NLA), the fraudsters send photographs of FAKE Winning Coupons (Prize) to their victims suggesting that they have won.
They then demand 20-40% of the amount of money they claim the victims had won before NLA would pay their winning tickets.
Subsequently, after the victims pay the money with the percentage of the fake winning prize, the fraudsters then quickly block the phone number of their victims and vanish.
Sometimes, they manage to convince their victims to send money for registration to qualify for the leaked winning numbers.
The National Lottery Authority (NLA) is advising the general public that has not designed any registration forms for the public to register for winning the lottery.
“The outcome of lotto draws are conducted in an open and transparent manner and the draw is open to the general public for witnessing daily, except Sundays and public holidays.
“It is absolutely false that people and staff of the Authority have access to winning lotto numbers,” it said.
The Authority commended the Volta Regional Police Headquarters for a successful operation.
The NLA said it shall continue to collaborate with the police and other relevant security agencies to arrest lotto fraudsters across the country.
However, it stressed that it is the responsibility of the public to be more vigilant and discontinue engaging the services of the lotto fraudsters.
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