Scammers tell lotto bosses they've hit the jackpot

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's lottery boss got a surprise e-mail this week -- from himself, saying he had won his own lottery.


Even more surprising, the directors of the French and Dutch lotteries were also told they had scooped the 1.35 million euro (910,000 pounds) prize.


The hoax e-mail, similar to the so-called 419 scams in which people are promised a major cash payout in return for a deposit, supposedly came from Ray Bates, the director of Ireland's An Post National Lottery.


"It's the first time I've got a 'To Ray Bates from Ray Bates' letter,'" Bates told the Irish Independent newspaper.


Bemused counterparts in France and the Netherlands called the lotto boss after they received similar e-mails, a National Lottery spokeswoman said.


The e-mail asks recipients to call a number -- with a Senegal dialling code -- for details on how to collect their winnings. The Irish Independent said they were then asked to pay a one-off "administration fee" of $610 (334 pounds).


Lottery spokeswoman Paula McEvoy said the organisation was concerned people might be taken in.


"We want to alert people that this is a scam," she told Reuters. "There is a semblance of credibility to it."


The 419 scam, named after an article in Nigeria's penal code outlawing it, swindles hundreds of millions of dollars annually out of people worldwide, who respond to junk e-mails promising them a share of non-existent fortunes.


French lottery company La Francaise des Jeux was not immediately available to comment.