FRAUDSTERS are using sophisticated tactics to dupe the National Lotteries Board into paying funds to bogus charities, while some genuine recipients are using lotto grants to buy luxury cars.

And the boards of some legitimate charities were becoming too reliant on lottery for funds and neglecting fund-raising.

This was revealed by the board yesterday when it addressed Parliament on its annual report.

Chief executive officer Vevek Ram said the board, which distributed R3-billion to charities and other entities in the 2010-11 financial year, had picked up numerous fraudulent applications for funding.

"You will find a person that has got 10 IDs, with 10 different names and 16 places where he lives and maybe he will make 16 different applications for different projects. That happens a lot," he said.

Ram also said there are beneficiaries who apply under the pretext of needing the money for charitable projects but when the funds are paid out, redirect them towards personal luxuries.

"We find that you give somebody money to plant food and then they would buy a Land Rover."

The board was also dealing with instances of conflict of interest, where some grant recipients were using lotto funds to fund projects that are managed by their own companies.