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Lottery Email Scams - Protect Yourself
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Please 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.
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PlayUKLottery.com -
the safe and convenient way -
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Warning from Interpol World Police Organisation
(http://www.interpol.int/Public/FinancialCrime/FinancialFraud/LotteryFraud20050124.asp)
Do not believe you have won a prize in a lottery
in which you never participated.
Lottery
frauds are becoming increasingly commonplace. These
frauds are likely to be advanced fee frauds which aim to
defraud honest people of their hard-earned savings.
Typically, the potential victim, or 'target' receives a
notification by unsolicited mail or e-mail that they
have won a large prize in a lottery even though they
never even signed up to play. Often, the target is the
sole winner or one of a very small group of winners. The
target is asked to maintain confidentiality either for
security or tax reasons in order to avoid duplication of
claims.
Targets
are told that winners were selected by a computer ballot
system or by random searches in open address books and
e-mail address lists. It is usually claimed that the
lottery operates under governmental or international
control using names such as the 'Spanish National
Lottery', 'Sweepstake Lottery Company' to create the
impression of an apparently bona fide lottery
institution.
Usually
a named contact point (claim manager or paying officer)
is assigned to assist the 'winner' to claim his/her
prize. Telephone and fax numbers or Internet website
addresses are provided but postal addresses are rarely
given.
Winners
will be told they have a short time period within which
to claim their prize before the money is returned to the
lottery association or a governmental institution. In
order to claim the prize, the winner must provide
detailed personal information on an application form
provided by the claim manager. Copies of identification
documents are requested in order to prove the winner's
real identity.
The
target is able to choose whether to receive the money by
wire transfer, a new bank account which needs to be
opened, or by meeting the claim manager or one of his
assistants and picking up the money directly.
The target is then asked to pay several advance fees
which are required to transfer the money using Western
Union or other similar companies. These fees might
include licensing fees, registration fees, and various
forms of taxes and attorney's fees.
Advance fees may also be required to open new bank
accounts into which the money is to be transferred. All
may seem plausible to unsuspecting victims and are
required to be paid in cash before the winnings can be
released. The fraudsters take a 'scattergun' approach by
contacting large numbers of people knowing full well
that most people will see through the scam. However, a
certain percentage will be naïve and greedy enough to be
taken in.
Sometimes money will be handed over to the victims at a
meeting, but in all known cases where this has happened,
the notes were found to be counterfeit.
General Advice
Always
be suspicious if you are asked to pay advance fees in
order to get a prize! If it seems too good to be true
- it probably is!
Be
aware that your identity details can be used by the
offenders to commit criminal offences in your name, to
get access to your bank accounts, or to open up lines of
credit in your name.
Recommendations:
- Do
not reply to any of these messages.
- In
particular, do not send any money
- Do
not send or hand over identification documents - not
even copies
-
Never surrender details of your bank accounts or
payment cards
If you
are already in contact with these criminals or have
already paid advance fees:
- Save
all received and sent email and text messages
- Save
all documents of transactions and remittances
-
Never agree to meet the criminals in person in order
to receive a prize - you will not receive any money
and you may be putting yourself in danger
-
Contact your local police immediately and follow
their advice.
Please note that although scammers have used our name
"Dollarluck.com" as well as our website's graphics and
content in their fraudulent e-mails and websites, we are
NOT involved in any way with any of these scams.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further
questions or concerns, and
please allow at least Two (2) business days for us to
respond to your emails.
Our email address:
support[at]dollarluck.com
**Replace
the [at] with the "@" sign.
Visit the following informative websites for more
information on lottery email scams:
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the safe and convenient way -
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