ELDERLY people are being warned to ignore letters claiming they have won huge sums of cash with foreign lotteries.

Conmen this week targeted the bank account of an elderly man in Darwen with two scam letters claiming he had won more than £1m on the Euromillions lottery.

The 64-year-old, who lives alone, received letters from Global Security and International Global Chance dated February 2 asking him to fill in his bank and personal details so he could claim 960,000 Euros and 615,000 Euros respectively from the December 1 Euromillions lottery.

The retired paper machinist considered filling in the official-looking forms from Madrid but showed them to his daughter-in-law who recognised the letters as a scam.

There is concern that the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the scam becasue many live alone and don't have much money and are therefore more easily duped.

Vicky Shepherd, of Age Concern Blackburn with Darwen, said: "Age Concern would urge all older people to be very careful when dealing with this type of mail.

"If they are in any doubt about the validity to check it out before committing any money.

"We do not want older people to be duped into spending their money on scams which will be of no benefit to them."

Jim Potts, Chief of Trading Standards at Lancashire County Council, said there had been a recent spate of scam mail across Lancashire targeting elderly people and warned them to be vigilant: "Them seem to have come back with a vengeance since autumn and winter," he said.

"Do not respond in any way because once they do have your name and address they share these names with other unscruplous characters and very often you find people will eventually respond to them."

The Darwen man's daughter-in-law did not want to be named for fear her father-in-law would again be the target of tricksters.

The 43-year-old said: "He was wondering what to do, he wasn't too sure, but somebody else might just fill them in.

"Luckily he's got family and he asked his family before he did anything.

"Just say that we weren't around and he might have filled them in.

"It must be happening to hundreds of people who are on their own."

Chris Allen, head of environmental health and trading standards at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said there had been one report made to his office this year regarding a similar letter where the person concerned had not been fooled.

Scam letters can be sent to 58-60 Lancashire County Council Trading Standards, Guild Hall Street, Preston, PR1 3NU.