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Lottery Scams
Lottery scams usually begin with an unexpected email notification that "You
have won!" a large sum of money in a lottery.
It may say that your email address was collected online and attached to a
random number that was subsequently entered in a draw for the lottery.
You are usually told to keep the notice secret, "due to a mix-up in some of
the names and numbers," and to contact a "claims agent."
If you respond in any way to the email, the scammers will send further
messages or even contact you by phone in an attempt to draw you deeper into
the scam.
 If you contact the claims agent, you will be asked to pay processing fees,
administration fees, legal fees or delivery costs so that the winnings can
be distributed, however, you will never receive any lottery payment!
You may be asked to provide banking details, a large amount of personal
information, and copies of your driver's license and passport.
These requests are supposedly to prove your identity and facilitate the
transfer of your winnings. However, if you comply with these requests, the
scammers will have enough information to steal your identity.
Sometimes the scammers give you the option of opening an account at a named
bank as an alternative to paying upfront fees. However, the bank will be a
fake with a legitimate looking website and will insist on an initial deposit
of $3000 as a requirement for opening the account.
They may even give you a username and password so you can look at the money
in 'your' account [making a web page look like an online bank account, and
creating a password protected web page is easy].
What do they Want From You in the Lottery Scams?
They want your money and your identity.
They steal your identity by using your personal banking, passport, drivers
license or credit card information to open accounts in your name.
They can take out loans in your name and not repay them, get a drivers
license with your name and their photo, or purchase items in your name and
not pay for them.
They commit crimes using your name, and you are left explaining to the bank,
creditors or the police.
How to Recognize Lottery Scams or Prize Scams
-
The information advises that
you
have won a prize - but you did not enter any competition run by the
prize promoters. Usually it is an unsolicited email. If a lottery
offering millions of dollars in prizes has to go out to the internet to
find entrants and enter them for free - how would it make any money to
offer the huge prizes?
- The
lottery is based overseas and you are not a resident or citizen of that
country, and have not bought a ticket while visiting that country
-
You are advised not to tell anyone about your win in the lottery or
contest until all the paperwork is finalized and the winnings have been
deposited into your account. Legitimate lotteries and contests will
never ask you to do that. The scammers are hoping you will keep quiet
and not tell anyone because other people might realize its a scam and
warn you about it
- A
request for payment up front to cover taxes, administration fees etc.
Only lottery scams require payments before you collect any winnings
- The
email advises the winners were selected at random from their email
addresses, through a computer ballot, or from an online directory
-
Lottery scams almost always use free email accounts such as Yahoo,
Gmail, MSN, Hotmail and Live. Legitimate businesses would not use them
Spanish and Dutch Lottery Scams
The letters, faxes and emails advise you of a major win in a recent draw of
overseas lottery. They usually state they are located in Spain or the
Netherlands although there are also versions referring to lotteries in the
United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia.
The El Gordo Spanish Sweepstake Lottery (and variations on this name) is the
most common version
and the lottery letters rely on people confusing them with authorized
Spanish lotteries such as the El Gordo de la Primitiva and El Gordo de
Navidad.
Remember
-
If you did not buy a lottery ticket, you cannot win a
lottery
-
If you receive a check for a lottery you did not
enter, its counterfeit
Lottery Scams Advice
To Complain if You Have Been
a Victim of Lottery Scams
-
If you are in the U.S. you should contact your local FBI office or State
Attorney General’s office. The FBI has an Internet Fraud Complaint
Center, and you can file a report about
lottery scams
-
If it involves a Spanish lottery scam, you should also provide
information to the Spanish
Embassy in the United States
-
The Federal Trade Commission works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and
unfair business practices and you can call them at 1-877-FTC-HELP
(1-877-382-4357) or visit www.ftc.gov.
-
You can also contact the U.S. Secret Service who
investigates fraud cases and can be reached by contacting
your local field office.
Example of One of the Lottery
Scams
The National Lottery
P O Box 1010 Liverpool, L70
1NL UNITED KINGDOM
(Customer Services)
Ref: UK/9420X2/68 Batch: 074/05/ZY369
WINNING NOTIFICATION:
We happily announce to you the draw (#954) of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY,
online Sweepstakes International program held on saturday 12th Febuary,2005.
Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545 188 with Serial
number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers: 11-18-20-23-32-48(bonus no 25.),
which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category i.e match 5 plus
bonus. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £230.640(Two
hundred and thirty thousand, six hundred and fourty pound sterling) in cash
credited to file KTU/9023118308/03.This is from a total cash prize of
£1,845,120 shared amongst the (8) lucky winners in this category i.e Match 5
plus bonus.
All participants for the online version were selected randomly from World
Wide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000
unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online. This
promotion takes place weekly. Please note that your lucky winning number
falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as
indicated in your play coupon. In view of this, your £230.640(Two hundred
and thirty thousand,six hundred and fourty pound sterling) would be released
to you by any of our payment offices in Europe. Our European agent will
immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as
soon as you contact him or her. For security reasons, you are advised to
keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and
your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your
prize. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming
and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned.
To file for your claims, please contact our fiduciary agent:
MRs. Michel Riggs,
Email: michel_riggs@yahoo.co.uk,
Or you can go to our online result site to confirm the value of your
winnings and also get a prize bre akdown:-[LINK REMOVED]
the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY.
Yours faithfully,
Richard K. Lloyd.
Online coordinator for UK NATIONAL LOTTERY Sweepstakes International
Program.
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