Lottery letter 'insult to dead husband' (From Keighley News)

Lottery letter 'insult to dead husband'

9:50am Saturday 29th November 2008

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A widow is “upset and angry” after she received spam mail addressed to her dead husband.

Joan Smith’s husband William died six years ago, so when the former Second World War landgirl received post in his name she was “very shocked”.

A German lottery company called Süddeutschen Klassenlotterie (SKL Lotterie) sent the letter asking if Mr Smith wanted to buy a ticket.

The exact address of Mrs Smith’s home in Harewood Rise was printed on the paper along with the name of her husband, who was also a war veteran.

The personal letter from “state lottery agent” Johann Peter Boesche, said: “Dear Mr Smith, unfortunately only a limited number of people can participate in my newly developed Lottery PowerTicket System. You are one of them…”

Mrs Smith, 77, said the “insulting” letter had outraged her. She said: “My husband has been dead for six years and this company I have never heard of in Germany is sending him letters. It is so insensitive and has made me very upset and angry.

“I have written them a letter back explaining how they have made me feel but I don’t expect a reply. I think that somebody has sold my name and address on because I don’t know how they would have got it otherwise as I am ex-directory.”

Bizarrely, when the Keighley News contacted SKL Lotterie, customer services spokeswoman Renata Hiemstra said the letter had been sent to Mr Smith because he had played the game before in 2005.

When it was explained that Mr Smith wasn’t alive in that year, the spokeswoman could not explain the discrepancy.

She said: “I am surprised to hear this, I did not know he had died before 2005, but it is impossible for me to check because Smith is such a common name in the UK.

“But he will never be sent any information ever again and we are sorry that this has happened.”

Mrs Smith said that her husband would “never entertain” getting involved in such a scheme, and wanted to warn other people about receiving such letters.

She said: “If anybody else receives a letter addressed to someone who has died, complain as much as you can because it should not happen.

“If someone is selling private and personal information on they shouldn’t be doing it.”

Consumer Direct spokeswoman, Suzanne Kitchen, said that mailing lists are often sold on and bought by third parties.

She said: “The Spanish lottery letters have been doing the rounds for sometime now but I’ve not heard of the German lottery.

“We don’t get many complaints from people who have received letters addressed to a deceased loved one but it’s not uncommon.

“Scams come in many forms, emails, letters, telephone calls and they are getting more sophisticated all the time.

“Never respond to anything you are sceptical about or you could become a victim. Usually if something sounds too good to be true then remember it usually is!”

She also advised that, to stop unwanted mail, people should register with the Mailing Preference Service through the website http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/contact/.

For more information on scams, you can contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

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