|
Click
here to play the UK
National Lottery - win on average between
R40 to R200 million
every Wednesday and Saturday - play now!
Lottery
Email Scams - Protect Yourself
|
Pease be on your guard for Internet fraudsters who use Email scams that claim you have won a Lottery
prize, and then ask you to send them personal
information, or to pay any money before your
"winnings" are released. Please DO NOT respond to
these emails, and delete them immediately.
Play
the UK National Lottery Online at PlayUKLottery.com -
the
safe and convenient way - click
here to play |
Warning
from Fraud Watch International
(http://www.fraudwatchinternational.com/internetfraud/lottery.htm)
Lottery
scam emails are increasing at an alarming rate.
It begins with an email claiming the recipient has won a
lottery. They are to contact a claims agent to collect
their winnings, usually at a free email address. The
unsuspecting consumer contacts the claims agent who
sends a claim form to verify their identity. They must
return the form with their personal details along with
copies of their passport and driver’s license to
“verify their true identity.” This is where the scam
begins. The fraudsters now have enough information to
duplicate the consumer’s identity.
Never
give out any personal information.
The
responding consumer receives an email with three options
of how to collect their winnings. They can have the
money wired to their bank account, they can open an
account with a specified bank (bogus), or they can pick
up their winnings personally (normally from Amsterdam).
Most people want their winnings transferred into their
bank account. This involves upfront fees for taxes,
insurance or even legal fees. Victims transfer money as
requested via Western Union. If they do not want to pay
upfront fees, they can open an online account with a
specified bank, who’s ‘policy’ requires a deposit
of around US$3,000. This bank is fake. Alternatively,
victims are able to pick up their money personally by
travelling to Amsterdam, where they are required to pay
a release fee in cash, and receive their winnings in
counterfeit currency.
Scammers
will often say "don't tell anyone about this
win" (by "anyone", they probably mean the
police, so that they won't be tracked down and
prosecuted !), which is a very silly instruction for
them give if you think about it. Who are they to say who
you can and can't tell that you've "won" the
lottery ?
If you have fallen for the scam and actually sent them
money, then you probably have no chance of recovering
the money you sent, especially if it's to a different
country (that fact that someone outside the UK would be
involved in a UK lottery really should have set alarm
bells ringing). If it's within your own country, perhaps
contacting the police might be a start or possibly the
standards trading officers for the county involved, but
most of the time there is little hope of ever getting
your money back.
Suspected
fraudulent emails should be ignored and deleted
immediately.
You
can visit the following informative websites for more
information on UK Lottery as well as other Lottery email
scams:
|
Play
the UK Lottery Online at PlayUKLottery.com -
the
safe and convenient way - click
here to play |
|
