CHINESE DISCO LOTTERY: Identity Theft Scam

The Truth Behind This Legend

THIS IS FROM A MEMO PUT OUT BY MALL SECURITY IN A DELAWARE MALL, BUT IS HAPPENING AT MALLS EVERYWHERE. KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THIS, AND LET YOUR FAMILY KNOW ABOUT IT:


Attention all security personnel and store managers:

Please print and share this memo with ALL mall employees.

Be on the lookout for people approaching customers and offering to sell them scratch off variety lottery tickets. This is a scam. Repeat: THIS IS A SCAM. The lottery tickets are legitimate looking, normal sized scratch off tickets with tan backgrounds, black and green lettering, and the words CHINESE DISCO LOTTERY printed across the top. On the left is is a gray area to be scratched off revealing a prize. On the right is an image of a young Asian couple dressed in 1950’s style clothing dancing beneath a disco ball.

The tickets are almost always being offered for sale by a young nicely dressed male and female who claim they are raising money for university scholarships for underprivileged youths. This is NOT a legitimate lottery. THE TICKETS ARE FAKE: Each ticket claims to be a winner of between $25.00 and $5,000.00. The back of the tickets advise the holder to mail in a copy of their identification, along with various personal information including checking account number and bank routing number. The tickets state this information will be used for direct deposit of winnings. Local authorities verify this information is being used to make withdrawals from the account, open new accounts, as well as more in depth identity theft. They confirm this is occurring nation wide and is well organized.

If you see any activity of this sort, please contact a member of mall security immediately.

Ron Petlansky,
Security Director
Christiana Shopping Mall, 715 Christiana Mall, Newark, DE 19702 (302) 731-9815
Christiana, Delaware


Hey guys, my sister works at christiana mall in the Gap and they passed copies of this e-mail out to employees and told them to be on the lookout for this and to warn their friends/families to not fall for this. Thought I’d share. Pass the word on, identity theft can seriously mess your life up for years. PEACE, KAREN. 🙂

THIS HAS ALSO BEEN REPORTED OUTSIDE OF GROCERY AND CONVENIENCE STORES. A GRASS ROOTS EFFORT TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT CAN PUT A STOP TO THE CHINESE DISCO LOTTERY SCAM. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.


Helen from Trenton NJ


UrbanLegendsOnline.com Findings

Take a look at the following email we received after we asked the folks at the Christiana Mall if they knew anything about this.

From: Stevens, David
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 3:24 PM
To: info@UrbanLegendsOnline.com
Subject: Urban legend about Christiana Mall

Urban Legends Online,

Thank you for the heads-up on the urban legend regarding the Chinese Disco Lottery.

I am Dave Stevens, a Regional Security Director for the Rouse Company, whose office is located at Christiana Mall. I also serve as security director for Christiana Mall. I have no idea who Ron Petlansky, the person identified in your e-mail as the security director of Christiana Mall, is as I have never heard of this individual. Further, I have never heard of the Chinese Disco Lottery. The memo you had questioned was not created by anyone who works for Christiana Mall.

Thanks again, and if you receive any further information, please forward to us for our review.

Posted via email from Urban Legends Online