“Then I thought shit, now it’s happening. Now I am deceived”
It was at the beginning of the summer that Lena Östling Andersson got the call. A person claimed to be calling from the Postcode Lottery, said that it was just now neighborly and that Lena had won 36,700 kroner.
Right from the start, Lena was suspicious, and replied that she didn’t believe it. But the person continued to press her saying it was urgent.
– It didn’t feel right, but he kept at it for almost 20 minutes. He was so persuasive and manipulative. He knew everything about me, and I don’t know how they proceed if you actually got a win, says Lena Östling Andersson.
The person on the phone asked Lena to go to his bank, so he could deposit the money into her account. But first he wanted to send an SMS with a QR code that she would scan with her security box, and finally Lena agreed.
– Then it said click and he hung up. Then I thought shit, now it’s happening. Now I am deceived. I called the bank directly and said freeze everything I have, says Lena Östling Andersson.
Elderly most vulnerable
Calls where fraudsters claim to be from the Postcode Lottery have become more common. This year, according to the Postcode Lottery, there have been around 160 calls that they know about. They also believe that there is a number of darkness. Most often, it is older people who are contacted.
The most common methods are either for the scammer to say they are nearby and want to come to the person’s home to hand out a win or they ask for card details.
– I think it’s really mean. These are elderly people who have little savings capital, these criminals get away with it, says Roger Magnergård, press manager at Postkodlotteriet.
Was lucky
According to Roger Magnergård, you should never give out your card or account details, and the Postal Code Lottery never asks for them either. Since they already have the information, the money is automatically deposited into the winner’s account.
When Lena Östling Andersson blocked her account, the bank could not tell if any money had been withdrawn. And Lena was lucky – the bank blocked the account before she lost any money.