A NUMBER of West Devon residents are warning others about scam letters they have received in the post claiming they have won the 'Postcode Lottery'.

Two residents have handed the letters in to the Times, which claim to be from the People's Postcode Lottery and state that they have won £825,000.

The letters have been individually addressed to the recipients, complete with reference numbers, ID number, audit control number, signatures and logo.

The letter states: 'We happily announce to you the draw of People's Postcode Lottery 2015 Award International programs held in Madrid, Spain. Your postcode attached to ticket number: B5690 38910268 255 with serial number 82013 drew the winning [ticket] which subsequently won you the lottery award in the 3rd category.'

The letter states that the money will be dealt with by an agent in London and will be received by the recipient as soon as they have paid a processing fee.

Sergeant Dave Anning, from Tavistock Police Station, said: 'Notifying someone they have won a life-changing sum of money is not something done with a casual letter.

'At the very least such a letter will be registered — naturally scammers don't do this as it costs money! More likely you will be contacted in person. It is also unlikely that any communication will be specific about how much you have won, at least at first.

'Quoting a huge sum of money is designed to activate your greed and persuade you not to look too closely.

'If you should receive a letter, then consider the obvious first. If you didn't enter the competition then you can't possibly have won anything. Amazingly, people continue to believe they have won a prize when they haven't bought a ticket and the draw is based in a country they haven't even been to!

'Next, put your detective hat on.

'Type the name of the draw into a search engine of your choice along with the word "scam". If it is a scam it is highly likely there will be plenty of items on the internet about this.

'Any letter will probably appear quite convincing, but check for tell-tale discrepancies. Is there a landline telephone number for you to contact in the UK? Even if the draw takes place abroad, there will be a local agent to deal with claims.

'A mobile phone number is a dead give away it's a fake. If the grammar or spelling is poor then it's almost certainly fake too.

'Finally, please be aware there is a form of illness where some people cannot resist such letters. They obsess about missing a possible chance at riches and delude themselves into believing they might win. Incredibly this happens even after they have spent decades sending money to people and never receive a penny in return.

'They obsessively reply and this is now being recognised as a form of addiction. It results in people bankrupting themselves and may tear families apart as they refuse to stop. These people are targeted by more and more scammers and quickly become mentally and physically ill with the stress.

'If you think you know someone like this, have a look at the website http://www.scamvictimsunited.com">www.scamvictimsunited.com or just type "current scams" into your search engine.'