Southlake advises of lottery and cheque scam

Southlake Regional Health Centre is advising the public that a fraudulent lottery and cheque scam has been found to be circulating as far east as the Maritimes, using counterfeit Southlake cheques.

A letter claiming to be from La Euro Lotto Commission Board advises the recipient that he/she has won $85,810 (or some other amount). In order to receive their winnings, the recipient is advised to cash the accompanying counterfeit $1,500 cheque (or another amount) from Southlake Regional Health Centre and then mail their own $1,500 cheque to an individual in Toronto. To date, incidents of the scam have been reported in Windsor, Thunder Bay, Montreal, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The cheque purported to be from Southlake Regional Health Centre included with the letter is fake, as is the letter from La Euro Lotto Commission Board. The case has been turned over to the RCMP and they are investigating further.

Anyone who receives the letter is asked to: + Not attempt to cash the cheque. + Call the police at 1-888- 495-8501 to report the scam. + Mail the fraudulent Southlake cheque to: Administration, Southlake Regional Health Centre, 596 Davis Dr., Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 2P9; Attention: Jackie Thomas.