Hampshire Trading Standards has retrieved over £26,000 in cash and cheques from an address in Winchester, where people were operating a gambling scam involving receiving payment in return for top horse racing tips which turned out to be useless.
It is believed that over 1,000 punters could have fallen for the con, according to the Hampshire Chronicle News, which also involved asking gamblers to join betting syndicates, only to never see their money again.
The scheme worked by recruiting clients through glossy brochures, which promised an 88 per cent success rate on horse racing tips and football bets.
Trading standards was alerted after it received a flood of complaints and the officials blocked mail to the Winchester address, finding 100 envelopes full of cash which were waiting to be opened.
A lot of the cash recovered ha now been returned to those who were conned.
Ken Thornber of Hampshire County Council said: "These scammers are clever, they target known gamblers knowing they will be tempted by the fantastic offers.
"I am pleased that Hampshire Trading Standards was able to save £26,000 of residents' money in this investigation."
Hampshire Trading Standards has retrieved over £26,000 in cash and cheques from an address in Winchester, where people were operating a gambling scam involving receiving payment in return for top horse racing tips which turned out to be useless.