foreign lottery draws after discovering his elderly mother is bombarded with up to 15 junk mail applications a day.

The man, who asked not to be named, said his mother is spending as much as $100 a day replying to the letters in the vain hope of getting prize money which the organisers claim she has won.

The letters for lotteries or prize draws in the United States, Canada, Spain and Australia, say the woman is entitled to prizes or cash so long as she sends off money, usually within ten days, to enter a prize draw or lottery.

But so far the woman, who is in her early 80s, has received nothing but a cheap pen worth less than a dollar, tacky bracelets and sunglasses.

Consumer Affairs officials yesterday warned members of the public never to send cash or credit card details unless they are convinced the schemes are legitimate.

They must also ensure the organisers have a licence from their government and can guarantee to return your money.

The son told The Royal Gazette : "My mother's desk is piled high with them.

It's sad because that's all she does.

"She doesn't bother getting dressed in the morning and just sits hunched over them at the table for hours and hours and hours every day. At her age she should be doing more with her life.

"She is getting arthritic and this is making it worse. She is also neglecting her bills and other important mail she should be taking care of because of this.

"If she is filling in even half of these she is spending $50 to $100 a day.

It is really serious.

"I am sure it is a scam, but she seems to have got on some list and she just gets more and more and more of them sent all the time.

"The wording of these things is so astute that people think they've won, and they are sending in their life savings to try to win.

"My mother keeps thinking she has won prizes like cars and cannot understand why the prizes don't arrive.

"I am sure they (the organisers) might be able to validate them in some way, but I don't like my mother to be targeted to this extent. To get about ten or 15 a day is just ridiculous.

"I want to know how many other people in Bermuda are being targeted. The Government should not allow these things to come in.

"We don't need to be targeted, but if it shows people want this, why not have our own lottery?'' Most of the lottery and prize schemes sent to the woman had no telephone numbers and claimed to be operating independently of governments.

Consumer Affairs Bureau officer Karen Marshall said chain letters are illegal in the United States, but Government cannot stop people in Bermuda receiving mail.

She warned people not to send off cash to lotteries which could be scams.

And she advised the man to contact the Better Business Bureau in New York, a consumer information organisation, to get his mother's name removed from the mailing lists.

Warning against lotteries "If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is,'' she said. "I think this is very widespread. If we are getting them you can guarantee people in other parts of the world are getting them. Anyone who has ordered out of a catalogue then nine times out of ten they have had their listing sold on.

"When you order from a catalogue or the Internet you must say you don't want your name sold to a mailing list because that's how you get junk mail.

"If you have to send money to win something, it is a false claim. You should just say to them `OK send me the money I've won'.

"People should not get caught up in thinking they are going to win a million dollars because nobody is going to give you a million dollars.

"If you want to give away $19.95 (the money requested by one of the junk letters) then that's fine, but you're not going to get it back.

"If these organisations won't give you a telephone number where you can call for more information then you've got problems. If you contact the overseas operator to contact them, nine times out of ten they are not there, or if they say its just a warehouse, that's another giveaway. All of these lotteries must have a bond from their Government. If it is a lottery you can ask for verification of the winners, and they must be able to do so.'' Promises, promises: Some of the "guarantees'' of lottery grand prizes which never come true.