A merchant navy veteran from Deal who nearly fell victim to a fraud has been praised for sniffing out a fake.

Laurence Stroud, 85, could not believe his luck when he opened up a letter on Monday telling him he had won £385,000.

The Whitstable-born deckhand turned ship's captain read that he'd been lucky on the People's Postcode Lottery (PPL) in the correspondence dated November 1.

The text went on to say the winnings came from a total cash prize of £45million shared among 200 lucky winners.

"I felt elated at first," said the Cold War veteran, who served on ships replenishing stores and fuel to NATO forces in Denmark and Norway.

The claim, now confirmed as a fake by the real People's Postcode Lottery, was made all the more plausible because Mr Stroud and wife Beatrice are genuine players of the lottery.

He is now warning others to be vigilant.

'He called me and said: 'We want you to go to your bank tomorrow at 1pm with a cheque for £2,350'.' Laurence Stroud, Cold War Merchant Navy veteran

Mr Stroud was even thinking about he could spend his winnings but he started to come down from his high when he re-read the letter. A contradiction in the wording had roused his suspicions.

He phoned the number on the bogus letter and a man with a Nigerian accent told him to put £2,350 in a bank account so a courier could safely deliver the money - with insurance.

He recalled: "I said: 'That's quite a lot of money' and he said: 'It's not much in comparison to £385,000.'

Rightly wary, Mr Stroud contacted Action Fraud and Kent Police that same day.

"The police asked me if I had called People's Postcode Lottery. I told them I didn't have their number and they gave it to me."

'The gentleman concerned did exactly the right thing after he received a scam letter - he got in touch with our customer experience team' - David Miller, head of communications, People's Postcode Lottery

When he phoned PPL, his suspicions were confirmed. He was told it was indeed a scam and he had done everything right by contacting Action Fraud and the police.

The PPL adviser told him genuine winners have the funds transferred directly into their accounts and that PPL never asks for payment for winnings to be delivered.

When the Nigerian man called Mr Stroud back on Tuesday, he became more pushy. But the veteran was wise and played along.

"He called me by three different names: Robert, Michael and Graham and said: 'We want you to go to your bank tomorrow at 1pm with a cheque for £2,350'.

"He wasn't asking me, it was like an order."

Mr Stroud told him he is in too much pain to get to his branch but may be able to get there in the evening before it closed.

He told us the Nigerian had said: 'If they ask you what the money is for, tell them it it's for interior decorating or something - make something up.'

Then on Wednesday, The man called him back and said he hadn't paid the money into the bank account.

"I said: 'That's good then because I have saved myself £2350... because this is a scam!'

"He said: 'How dare you, we are the People's Postcode Lottery.'

"I said: 'In your dreams! The bank knows all about you and so do the police!'"

While sniffing out the con, Mr Stroud went to his bank and gave them the account details the Nigerian had given him so the banks could take appropriate action too.

David Miller, head of communications at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “We want to thank the gentleman concerned and Kentonline for highlighting the activities of these unscrupulous fraudsters.

“The gentleman concerned did exactly the right thing after he received a scam letter - he got in touch with our customer experience team here at People’s Postcode Lottery, who were able to provide advice.

“Scams like this one are designed to capitalise on the good reputation of high-profile organisations and we are determined to do everything we can to ensure the public is protected.

“That’s why we liaise closely with Action Fraud, the UK’s National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, and we encourage everyone who receives one of these letters to contact them.

“Remember, you can’t win a prize from a lottery if you haven’t entered and no legitimate lottery will ever ask for payment in order to receive any so-called winnings.

“Our customer experience team are here seven days a week and are always happy to help by providing further advice.”

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