Well apparently I won a lottery that I never entered. Yeah for me! Not! Don't fall for these lottery scams people. No one is just going to give you millions of dollars for no reason especially when you didn't enter a lottery. I live in the United States, how the hell did I get entered in a lottery in the UK? Common sense goes a long way when receiving these email scams. Fortunately the email I received below went straight to my spam folder as it should but I know some of you will receive the same type of email and I want you to avoid it or variations of it.
Finally the other reason I knew this was a lottery scam was because there were multiple people copied to the email which is a sure sign of a massive spamming effort. In any event, I've listed this National Lottery ripoff email below so you can avoid it in the future:
Subject: Uk National Lottery Online Promo
The National Lottery
PO Box 1010
Liverpool L70 1NL United Kingdom
Ref: UK/6648D/09
Batch: 080/07/MK881
Dear Winner,
RE: BONUS LOTTERY PROMOTION PRIZE AWARDS WINNING
NOTIFICATION
We happily announce to you the draw (#1209) of the UK NATIONAL
LOTTERY, online Sweepstakes International program held on Wed
8th octomber 2007, Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:
56475600545188 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers:
03 18 21 24 36 38 (20 Bonus ball) which subsequently won you the
lottery in the 1st category i.e. match 6 plus bonus. You have
therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £1,500,000.00 (one
million five hundred thousand pound sterling) in cash credited to
file QQX/8994298762/01. This is from a total cash prize of
£7,500,000.00 (seven million five hundred thousand pounds sterling)
shared amongst the Five (5) lucky winners in this category i.e.
match 6 plus bonus.
HOW DID YOU WIN??? HOW DID THEY GET MY EMAIL ADDRESS???
The selection process was carried out through random selection in
our computerized email selection system from a database of over
255,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world
which your email,was among the first 5 lucky winners. Please be
informed,Your winning prize has been insured to Reference Number
UK/6648D/09 in a suspense account.
Please do provide with the following information: And send to our
Fiduciary Agent.
CLAIM PROCESSING FORM
1. Full Name:…………………………….
2. Address:……………
3. Nationality:………………….
4. Date of Birth:……………..
5. Occupation:…………………….
6. Phone:……………………….
7. Fax:……………
To file for your claim, please contact your fiduciary agent immediately
via the email below.
UK NATIONAL LOTTERY FIDUCIARY AGENT
Name: Mr.Ben Johnson
Tel: +447014219185
+447045703488
Email: web_claims@yhotmail.com
Remember to quote your reference information in all correspondence.
You are to keep all lotto information away from the general public
especially your reference and ticket numbers. (This is important as a
case of double claims will not be entertained). Anybody under the age
of 17 and members of the affiliate agencies are automatically not
allowed to participate in this program.
CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE MEMBERS AND STAFF OF UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
HOUSE.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs.Ann Ray.
Online Co-ordinator for UK NATIONAL LOTTERY Sweepstakes International
Lottery Program.
N.B: Keep all lotto information from public to avoid double claims.
Avoid lotto scams like this as if it were the plague. It's a total fraud and can lead to some really bad things for you.
If you want to learn more about lottery scams, visit FraudAid.com. They provide some really in-depth information on "How To Tell If You Received A Lottery Scam Letter" that should be read.