FIFA has hit out after a York resident received a letter telling him he had won £725,000 in a World Cup lottery.

The global football organisation said the ‘International FIFA World Cup Online Lottery’ had “no connection whatsoever with, or authorisation from, FIFA”.

A spokesman added: “FIFA advises people not to respond or provide any personal information to the contacts listed in the e-mails/letters.”

FIFA was responding to concerns raised by Simon Proctor of York, who contacted The Press after receiving the letter telling him of his spectacular success in the lottery.

He said his suspicions were immediately aroused, not least because he had never bought a ticket for such a lottery.

He wanted to alert other people who might receive a similar letter, worried that they might be asked to agree to pay a fee to receive their winnings or hand over their bank details.

The letter, headed Award Notification, said: “We are delighted to inform you of the International FIFA World Cup Online Lottery Program held on 07/04/17.”

It said his name attached to ticket number 038/76 with serial number 084 drew ‘lucky numbers’ with a bonus ball which won in the 4th category.

“You have therefore been approved the winner for a lump sum payout of Seven Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand Pounds - congratulations!

“Note: This is a tax free draw and all participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from over 3,000,000 individuals worldwide.”

It said the program was designed and promoted by European Lottery and Commonwealth Bank of Australia to promote the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Tokyo Olympic games.

The letter asked Mr Proctor to ring a number in London.

When The Press rang the number, a man confirmed the money had been won and said that a cheque for £725,000 would be sent by Monday.

Mr Proctor said he would wait with interest for it to arrive.

When The Press rang back to offer opportunity for the organisers to comment, a man said: “You have got the wrong number,” and the line went dead.

A spokesman for York trading standards department said that if people received correspondence out of the blue, saying they had won money, they should be suspicious.

“When it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” he said.

“Our advice is to never reveal any personal information.

“Legitimate organisations will never ask for things like bank account details or PINs.

“If you are ever unsure, report it to: public.protection@york.gov.uk.”

Warnings about similar letters being sent to residents were issued as long ago as 2014 by Suffolk Trading Standards, after ‘winners’ were told they had won £500,000 in the “International FIFA World Cup Online Lottery.”