Racing Tipster Scams

Nearly £1m a year is being lost to current bogus tipster mailings in the UK. Each scam - which can last for around five or six weeks - nets the con-artist behind it around £100,000, and an increasing number of affluent horse racing lovers are being caught out. ‘Punters’ pay thousands of pounds for a series of tips under the impression that they would make them a millionaire.

Consumers receive a professionally constructed letter explaining that they would be given a series of 100% guaranteed racing tips that would make them a fortune. Frequently few of the tips come in as winners.

When consumers tried to complain or enforce their money-back guarantee, they cannot reach the "tipsters" by telephone and their letters go unanswered.
Typically, younger and more affluent people are being targeted in this scam rather than the well-documented bogus lotteries or doorstep rogues. A self-professed racing pundit claims to have insider information from trainers and owners, but owing to his success on courses has been banned from placing bets himself.

Victims, after handing over their cash, find the tips are poor or non-existent and when they try to act on the money-back guarantee find that the pundit's name is made up and their address just a mailbox.
And the misery does not end for victims. Once targeted, they are inundated with other offers.  They might include requests to place bets on somebody else's behalf or offers to become part of a horse owning syndicate, which proves to be completely false.

In one case, a con-artist claimed to have 30 years of experience in the sport, despite being aged just 29.

If you believe someone is conning the public with bogus tipster mailings

Tell your local Trading Standards Service and tell us - it may help us to stop them and protect other people.