Two men were arrested in Itapema, in the Southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, on suspicion of operating the so-called 'winning lottery ticket' scam after allegedly moving around BR300,000 obtained through fraud.
The arrests followed an alert from a bank, whose staff identified repeated withdrawal attempts from an account already blocked over suspected irregular activity.
According to police, the suspects, aged 20 and 25, were monitored inside and outside a bank branch.
Officers intervened after one of the men left the agency and met his alleged accomplice, who was waiting in a car positioned to provide warning of police presence.
The case has renewed attention on a scam that has existed in Brazil for more than a century. The scheme typically involves at least two perpetrators approaching victims near bank branches.
One claims to hold a winning lottery ticket but says they cannot collect the prize for any reasons, while the second pretends to verify the numbers or contact a supposed bank official to confirm the prize.
Recent investigations in São Paulo uncovered multiple cases involving elderly victims.
"They choose their victims carefully, usually near places with banks, and they are very well-dressed people," said a local police commissioner.
Additional developments from Brazil's gambling industry at institutional level this week have served to highlight the uneven evolution of Brazil's lottery sector.
Indeed, in Mato Grosso do Sul, the state lottery Lotesul launched an official institutional page on the state government's website, outlining its visual identity, social role and responsible gaming principles, even as its licensing process remains stalled by a ruling from the state audit court.
Caixa has recently filed a legal challenge arguing that a private digital platform linked to an influencer
