Lottery scammers send e-mails stating that the recipient has won a large cash prize in an international lottery. The user’s e-mail address was supposedly retrieved online and attached to a random combination of lottery numbers that ended up being winning numbers in an international draw. To claim the prize, e-mail recipients are invited to contact an ‘agent’. The lottery does not exist. It is a phishing exercise designed to get recipients to disclose personal information and part with their money.
E-mail Scammers – Don’t Pay Money
After victims respond to an e-mail scammer, they will inevitably be asked for bank details, personal information and even copies of passports and driving licenses. Soon after, the scammers will move on to ask for some money upfront to facilitate the transaction. The lottery scam is often a version of the Nigerian 419 scam and shares similar characteristics. These include continuing demands for more money after the upfront fee has been paid to cover ‘unexpected costs’.
Bogus Bank Account
Victims may be offered an alternative to sending money directly to the lottery scammers in the form of a new bank account. The ‘bank’ turns out to be non-existent and stipulates an initial, minimum deposit of around US$3,000 to open the account up. The bogus bank will even have an official-looking website to make it seem above board. As with other forms of the Nigerian 419 scam, victims are often asked to travel overseas to complete the transaction.
Lottery Scammers go out of Their Way to Seem Legitimate
Another common theme of scams such as these is that the e-mail and correspondence will ask the victim to keep details of the win or transaction confidential, often citing ‘security reasons’. Of course, the real reason is that the victim is more likely to realise it is a scam if they tell other people.
Lottery scams vary according to the originating country and in terms of the cash amount or other prize up for grabs. Regardless, the scammers will obviously try to make their e-mail appear legitimate, so will claim links with high-ranking government officials, well-established companies and will use forged letterheads to ‘prove’ their worth.
Do not Respond to Scam E-mails
Some people encourage the practice of ‘scambaiting’, where recipients of scam e-mails respond to them, knowing they are a con. The idea is that by wasting fraudsters’ time, scambaiters are preventing them from targeting other potential victims. The opinion on scambaiting varies, but would-be scambaiters should remember that the criminals behind these online scams are prepared to do what it takes to scam people out of money, which could include violence and intimidation. It is far more prudent not to get into a dialogue with the scammers at all. Scam e-mails can be forwarded to FraudWatch International who will investigate the scam. Most e-mail providers also have the option to ‘Report Phishing’ if their account holders have received a scam e-mail.
Identity Theft Threat
Victims who get into a dialogue with scammers may also be a potential victim of identity theft. Recovering an identity is time-consuming, although can be aided by identity theft insurance. Retrieving money already given to internet scammers, however, is rarely possible.
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