Richard and Debbie Nuttall are genuine EuroMillions lottery winners who scooped a £61.7 million jackpot in January 2024. However, their names have since been used by scammers to target vulnerable people. The scam refers to a fraudulent scheme where impersonators pose as the real-life £61 million EuroMillions winners to trick people into giving away money or personal details.
The Real Winners
- Identity: Richard and Debbie Nuttall, aged 54, are from Colne, Lancashire.
- Win: They won half of a £123 million jackpot while on holiday in Fuerteventura.
- Charity: They are official ambassadors for BK's Heroes, a charity supporting research into brain cancer and kidney disease.
The Scam
"Cruel scammers" have created fake social media profiles (often on Facebook) posing as the couple.
- The Tactic: Scammers send messages claiming to be Richard and Debbie, offering to share their wealth or provide "a helping hand" to people in financial difficulty.
- The Goal: These are advance-fee scams designed to extract personal information or money (such as "processing fees") from victims.
- Victim Example: One single mother in debt was targeted by a fake profile and "bared her soul" to scammers she believed were the real Nuttalls before realizing it was a fraud.
Red Flags
- Unsolicited Offers: Genuine lottery winners do not randomly contact strangers on social media to give away money.
- Verification: The real Richard and Debbie's story has been widely reported by major outlets like the BBC and The Independent.
- Action: If you are contacted by someone claiming to be them, do not provide personal details and report the profile to the platform.