I have recieved a huge response recently, to my posts about Lottery Scams. Many want to know how the scams work. This information is provided by Hoax Slayer:
How Lottery Scams Work
You receive an unsolicited email, which states that you have won a major prize in an international lottery. Supposedly, your email address was collected online and attached to a random number that was subsequently entered in a draw for the lottery. In order to claim your prize, you are instructed to contact the official "agent" in charge of your case. You are also advised to keep the win confidential for "security reasons". This part of the scam is basically a random phishing expedition. 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.
You may be asked to provide banking details, a large amount of personal information, and copies of your driver's licence and passport. Ostensibly, these requests are 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.
Sooner or later, the scammers will request some sort of advance fee supposedly to cover administration, legal or delivery costs. At its core, this scam is just a reworking of the Nigerian loan fraud, in which scammers also eventually ask for upfront fees to facilitate the "deal". Like Nigerian scams, victims who do actually pay the requested fees will probably find that they receive continuing payment demands to cover "unexpected expenses". The requests for money will go on until the victim realizes what is happening or has no further money to send.
In some cases, the scammers give victims the option of opening an account at a particular bank as an alternative to paying upfront fees. However, this "bank" which is completely bogus, will insist on an initial deposit of $3000 as a requirement for opening the account. The fake bank will have a legitimate looking website to reinforce the scam. In other cases, the victim is given the option of travelling to an overseas destination and paying a cash fee to facilitate the release of the funds. However, any "winnings" released to the victim will be counterfeit and therefore worthless.
The details of the lottery scams vary regularly with regard to the name of the lottery itself, the country of origin, the sponsoring organization, the amount of the "prize" and other particulars. The scammers try to add a patina of legitimacy to their claims by mentioning real financial institutions, government departments or well-known companies. They may also provide links to slick looking, but fraudulent websites that are designed to back up information included in the scam emails. If the scammers are successful in establishing a dialogue with a potential victim, they may provide "proof" such as a scanned image of a supposed government official's ID and even photographs of the "winnings" in cash.
Posted by David A at June 4, 2006 05:15 PM
Filed Under
419 Scams,
Scams and Internet Idiots | 505 Words
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Comments
I recieve Scams on a weekly basis and they all say the same thing almost word for word..
Hello Dear,
Good day and please allow me to inform you of my desire of coming into long term relationship with you for our mutual benefit. I got your contact from network directory after a profound searching for a reliable oversea partner to assist me. After going through your profile i decided to contact you.
I am Miss Vanessa Johnson, from Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire in west africa region. I am the only child to late Sir Joseph Johnson. My father died earlier last year as a result of poison. Before the death of my father, he was the chairman in Association of cocoa and gold marchart in abidjan. The death of my father was planned and executed by my wicked uncle because of his greedness over my father's wealth. I lost my mother long time ago when i was a kid.
Before the death of my father in a private hospital here in my country, he called me on his sickbed and told me concerning a fund which amount seven million, five hundread thousand united state of america dollars ($7,500,000.00 dollars) he left in a fixed suspense account in a bank here in my country. My father told me that he deposited the fund in the bank with my name as the next of kin, and he further disclosed to me where to locate the Fund Deposit Agreement Bond which he signed with the bank as at the time of the deposit included with some other relevant documents that covered the fund.
My father adviced me that incase he did not survive, i should seek for a reliable foreign partner or guardian in oversea to assist me claim and transfer the fund into a foreign account for investment such as real estate management etc. so that i could fly to oversea to further my education. As a matter of fact, my father gave-up in the hospital after some days.
Presently, the fund ($7,500,000.00 dollars) is still in the bank here in my country where my late father made the deposit and i have informed the bank director my plan to transfer the money to the account of my late father's foreign business partner for investment purposes. This is why i solicite for your urgent attention to this transaction.
Dear, please i need your maximum assistance so that the bank here will transfer the money to your account in your country or any account that you may provide and i will comeover to your country to continue my education immediately after the transfer while you will help me to invest the money properly.In this regards, you are to stand as my Guardian angel/ my late father's foreign business partner. The 15% of the total fund will given to you as a mode of compensation for your great assistance towards the success of the transaction. Please i need your urgent help because my life is in danger here due to political unrest in my country also the present of my wicked uncle who has been threatening my life.Please contact me through my private email below for more detail on how we should go about this project and for security reason ; vanes_sa77@yahoo.com
I look forward to hearing from you soonest.
Thanks
Yours concern,
Vanessa Johnson,
vanes_sa77at y -------c o m
Posted by: Dennis at June 12, 2006 06:58 PM
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