I Won The Lottery But Have To Pay To Get The Prize

[R. S. Martin]

This might have nothing to do with religion. And yet it does if you take my Dad's approach to things. He was always "giving people a chance" and saying "You have to trust people." I always took it he meant you had to trust God to protect you from evil people or from people with evil intentions.

 

Well, I got this notice in an email that I had won 25 thousand pounds (I'm not totally familiar with UK currency but something to that amount) from Euro Millions. I had to contact a certain person with my contact info including address and phone number but no credit card or banking info. So I went ahead and did it. NOW I get this wonder congratulatory email with detailed instructions in which 99% is all green lights. But I do have to pay to have some kind of package sent to me in order to get my prize.

 

That's where I draw the line. If I have to pay to get my prize then it's bogus. Reader's Digest is legal and above board. They have all these promotion campaigns but one thing you don't have to do is pay to get your prize. I deleted the Euro Millions email. I trust my intellect. I don't trust god or people who need to be paid to send me prizes I won. End of story.

[SWIM]

This might have nothing to do with religion. And yet it does if you take my Dad's approach to things. He was always "giving people a chance" and saying "You have to trust people." I always took it he meant you had to trust God to protect you from evil people or from people with evil intentions.

 

Well, I got this notice in an email that I had won 25 thousand pounds (I'm not totally familiar with UK currency but something to that amount) from Euro Millions. I had to contact a certain person with my contact info including address and phone number but no credit card or banking info. So I went ahead and did it. NOW I get this wonder congratulatory email with detailed instructions in which 99% is all green lights. But I do have to pay to have some kind of package sent to me in order to get my prize.

 

That's where I draw the line. If I have to pay to get my prize then it's bogus. Reader's Digest is legal and above board. They have all these promotion campaigns but one thing you don't have to do is pay to get your prize. I deleted the Euro Millions email. I trust my intellect. I don't trust god or people who need to be paid to send me prizes I won. End of story.

 

 

That's totally bogus. It is a form of what is known as "Phishing". Not only will they try to get their "fee" they will also, little by little gain enough info from you to steal your identity and drain your bank account.

 

If it's too good to be true, it likely is...

 

Becareful with that kind of email, I wish you had wrote this before you responded the first time, I could have warned you. Now that you have responded, now that email address is in a list of "suckers" and you can expect your spam level to grow expositionally...

 

Might as well change your email address now, there is no way to stop the landslide of spam you are now gonna get...

[Amethyst]

Ruby, it's a common scam. You are right not to trust them. And I agree with Michael, you may want to consider changing your e-mail address. I can send you a Gmail (Google's e-mail service) invitation if you like. I rarely get spam there.

[R. S. Martin]

A Gmail invitation sounds good.

 

They can't get banking info on me or my identity if I don't give any more info, can they?

[Amethyst]

A Gmail invitation sounds good.

 

They can't get banking info on me or my identity if I don't give any more info, can they?

 

They are free. I believe they request name and address info for sign up, but most sites do anyway. PM me with your e-mail address if you want to try it. Otherwise there's also Yahoo, which is free as well -- but I remember getting lots of spam there. That's why I switched. A common strategy is to have at least 2 e-mail addresses, one for those sites that request e-mail to register and then send you tons of ads, and one you give to friends. For example you could keep your old e-mail for the spammers, and only give out your new one to friends.

[I Broke Free]

I won the Canadian Lottery about six months ago. I was going to be a millionaire! This all came in the mail and they even sent me a check for $5000USD to pay to for initial taxes. I thought this was too good to be true as I have never played the Canadian Lottery???

 

A little investigation online revealed the scam. The $5000 check was stolen and would never have cleared, but I was supposed to send them $3000 RIGHT AWAY!!

 

But the time I learned the check was no good they would already have my $3000.

[ShackledNoMore]

It didn't take long for me to decide my yahoo account would be my official junk mail account--I had lots of spam on it from the day I opened it, and I too, have not had any spam problems with my gmail account.

 

Michael pretty much said it all.

 

If the only information they have is your e-mail address, I don't think you're at any greater risk of identity theft or fraud than anyone else (there are a lot of sources that identity thieves and scammers can start from), but I do agree that the overwhelming likelihood is that the e-mail address they got is now marked for spam.

 

I guess I do have something to add to what Michael said after all: suppose you get an e-mail from your bank or your credit card company about some matter or another, maybe something that seems alarming and needs attention, maybe they say there may have been fraud or you need to confirm something.

 

These reputable companies do not send e-mail which asks you to click on a link and provide personal information. It's another form of phishing. If you were to click on these links, some of the scammers have very convincing facsimiles of the actual sites.

 

Instead, contact your bank, credit card company, etc., through your normal, known, secure, verified channels, such as the phone number on your credit card. If they have business with you, they'll know, and it will also give an opportunity for the fraud to be reported to them.

[R. S. Martin]

If the only information they have is your e-mail address, I don't think you're at any greater risk of identity theft or fraud than anyone else (there are a lot of sources that identity thieves and scammers can start from), but I do agree that the overwhelming likelihood is that the e-mail address they got is now marked for spam.

 

I'm not seriously worried about spam. I've had the same hotmail address since about 1998 or whenever, and it's on record everywhere with my address and telephone number. I've lived through many versions of hotmail and the level of spam has decreased dramatically over that time. They just forced a new version on me and I hate new websites. I had the idea that gmail might be easier but I'm not sure. The layout would be totally different and I would find that difficult and frustrating. I have an exC account and I think it's gmail. I'm still getting used to it. I use it for anything that doesn't matter if people know I'm not Christian.

 

I guess I do have something to add to what Michael said after all: suppose you get an e-mail from your bank or your credit card company about some matter or another, maybe something that seems alarming and needs attention, maybe they say there may have been fraud or you need to confirm something.

 

These reputable companies do not send e-mail which asks you to click on a link and provide personal information. It's another form of phishing. If you were to click on these links, some of the scammers have very convincing facsimiles of the actual sites.

 

Instead, contact your bank, credit card company, etc., through your normal, known, secure, verified channels, such as the phone number on your credit card. If they have business with you, they'll know, and it will also give an opportunity for the fraud to be reported to them.

 

Thanks for these tips. I didn't know all these details or what all these words meant or exactly how the various systems worked. I saw the word "phishing" on Norton. I got a feeling most of these things were dangerous. It pays to grow up with people who are extremely suspicious of anything and everything new-fangled and unusual. I was taught how to be extremely protective of money. This is perhaps the second "spam" I have responded to in all these years. And I have not yet been burned.

 

IBF, that story about the stolen check--that's scary! I wonder if the money was ever returned to the legitimate owner.

[Mythra]

I always throw stuff like that away. And I am the world record-holder for speed in hanging up on telemarketers.

 

It would really suck if someday it was the real thing and I chucked it into the garbage can.

 

Nah. It wouldn't suck. I'd probably just do something really stupid with the money anyway.

[Mythra]

I get bogus emails all the time like:

 

YOUR PAY PAL ACCOUNT HAS BEEN SUSPENDED - RESPOND IMMEDIATELY

 

or

 

SECURITY NOTIFICATION: YOUR EBAY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN COMPROMISED. YOUR ATTENTION REQUIRED!

 

I don't even open em anymore. I just forward them immediately to spoof@paypal.com or spoof@ebay.com or spoof@amazon.com

 

Gotta be pretty careful these days. There's a lot of crooks out there.

[Brother Jeff]

Yeah, you have to be very careful of scams these days. I don't get a lot of spam at my Gmail account, just penis enlargement offers that I don't need. I'm Kryasst the Lard, and I've got the largest one of those in the universe! Glory! And I get "work at home" scam offers. But I magically created everything from nothing while speaking from Nowhere not terribly long ago, so why would I need to work, even at home?

[Ouroboros]

Ruby, one of my sons got the same email today. He also won some large amount of Brittish pounds and he needs to pay some transaction fee to move the money.

 

Be warned, it's not only some scam but a real criminal organisation behind it. It's the same mob that do the Nigerian scams, and in some cases this can be really dangerous. People lose all their savings and all the credits.

[R. S. Martin]

Yeah, you have to be very careful of scams these days. I don't get a lot of spam at my Gmail account, just penis enlargement offers that I don't need. I'm Kryasst the Lard, and I've got the largest one of those in the universe! Glory! And I get "work at home" scam offers. But I magically created everything from nothing while speaking from Nowhere not terribly long ago, so why would I need to work, even at home?

 

LOL!!!!

[R. S. Martin]

Ruby, one of my sons got the same email today. He also won some large amount of Brittish pounds and he needs to pay some transaction fee to move the money.

 

I guess he responded to it, too, if he got the message where he has to send money. Makes me feel less stupid.

 

Be warned, it's not only some scam but a real criminal organisation behind it. It's the same mob that do the Nigerian scams, and in some cases this can be really dangerous. People lose all their savings and all the credits.

 

How can you tell the difference between a regular scam and a real criminal organization? Because it looks more real and is highly organized?

[Ouroboros]

How can you tell the difference between a regular scam and a real criminal organization? Because it looks more real and is highly organized?

Good question. I guess you have to investigate into what company it is and search online. There might be information at the FBI or US Postal service, since I think it's covered under mail-fraud if it's a scam.

[ShackledNoMore]

Yeah, you have to be very careful of scams these days. I don't get a lot of spam at my Gmail account, just penis enlargement offers that I don't need. I'm Kryasst the Lard, and I've got the largest one of those in the universe! Glory!

From Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions: "He had a penis eight hundred miles long and two hundred and ten miles in diameter, but practically all of it was in the fourth dimension."

[crazy-tiger]

I get bogus emails all the time like:

 

YOUR PAY PAL ACCOUNT HAS BEEN SUSPENDED - RESPOND IMMEDIATELY

 

or

 

SECURITY NOTIFICATION: YOUR EBAY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN COMPROMISED. YOUR ATTENTION REQUIRED!

 

I don't even open em anymore. I just forward them immediately to spoof@paypal.com or spoof@ebay.com or spoof@amazon.com

 

Gotta be pretty careful these days. There's a lot of crooks out there.

I get a lot of them too... it's pretty obvious they're scams since I don't have a PayPal or Ebay account.

[Robbobrob]

I've been keeping a blog of e-mail scams for about a week now. Have about a dozen different ones, and I have played out the lottery one as far as I can go, just to post what the e-mails look like online. The "courier" service got nasty with me when I told them the lottery people had waived my need to pay the fees....it is a fun way to blow off steam for me.

 

I always give them one of two addresses: 4 Yawkey Way, Boston or 1060 West Addison, Chicago. (AKA Fenway Park or Wrigley Field).

 

In just the week I've kept the blog, I have a wide selection of scams, from work at home to lottery to the wife of a desgraced African president to lawyers.

 

The most obvious thing about all the e-mails is how poor their grammar and spelling is. As well as basic professionalism.

[SWIM]

I've been keeping a blog of e-mail scams for about a week now. Have about a dozen different ones, and I have played out the lottery one as far as I can go, just to post what the e-mails look like online. The "courier" service got nasty with me when I told them the lottery people had waived my need to pay the fees....it is a fun way to blow off steam for me.

 

I always give them one of two addresses: 4 Yawkey Way, Boston or 1060 West Addison, Chicago. (AKA Fenway Park or Wrigley Field).

 

In just the week I've kept the blog, I have a wide selection of scams, from work at home to lottery to the wife of a desgraced African president to lawyers.

 

The most obvious thing about all the e-mails is how poor their grammar and spelling is. As well as basic professionalism.

 

 

There is one the wife really bite on once, it was a worm virus. It appeared on MY computer not hers, but she opened it anyway... Had to do a lot of system cleaning virus removal:

 

"You have been detected visiting illegal websites, your IP has been logged" In the letter it says "You must fill out this form and send it back to the FBI within 7 days to avoid further action"

 

She saw this and naturally thought I was surfing in the dark areas of the web, so she clicks the "attachment" (groan)... When she told me about it all "mad" about what I might have done, I just groaned and said "stupid is thick in the air today..."

 

Oh course, as a nice side effect, if gave me an excuse to password protect my computer without her being suspicious of me. Now she can't get in my comp at all due to that incident.

[Ouroboros]

The most obvious thing about all the e-mails is how poor their grammar and spelling is. As well as basic professionalism.

Yup. We got a regular snail-mail recently with one of the Nigerian scams, and it was obvious because the "Confidential" was misspelled on the outside of the envelope! And then the address label was machine printed (like in mass mailing) and in the letter it said I was handpicked and the "only" one... yeah, right, with a mass-mailer label on the front.

[Scott_In_Michigan]

If you ever get an email and you're not sure if it's bogus or a scam or some other malicious type of thing, there are a number of things you can do.

 

Do a Google search for part of the email. Copy and paste an entire sentence from the email into the Google page and see what you find. It may help if you put the text from the email inside quotes, as that will make Google look for the same exact sentence, rather than just matching up all of the words, regardless of their order.

 

Remember that if the email claims that you won something, and then requires some form of payment, then it is most likely a scam. You may have heard of Nigerian 419 (Advance Fee) scams. That's exactly how they operate. They dangle a carrot out in front of someone, and then slowly scam victims out of advance fees while claiming that those fees are putting the victim closer and closer to the winnings or payoff.

 

For emails from places like eBay, banks, or other places where they request you to click on a link to visit their site, be very wary. Should you decide to click on the link, make sure that you wind up at the correct site. Many of these emails, which involve something called phishing, as was mentioned, will lead you to a website that appears to be the real thing, but in fact is a replica set up to con the naive into submitting login credentials. You can make sure you're at the right site by simply looking at the address bar in the web browser. If, for example, it shows something like http://www.some-scam-site.com/?site=www.ebay.com then that's likely a phishing site! Close the browser immediately and you should be okay.

 

The most important thing is simply to be careful. If you have a hint of doubt about the legitimacy of something in an email, then perhaps there's something wrong. Google searches can track down most scam and hoax emails.

[ShackledNoMore]

You can make sure you're at the right site by simply looking at the address bar in the web browser. If, for example, it shows something like http://www.some-scam-site.com/?site=www.ebay.com then that's likely a phishing site! Close the browser immediately and you should be okay.

Always beware. Some of the scammers have become sophisticated enough to use similar looking URLs with only subtle differences that you'll be likely to miss just by looking at the address bar.

 

I've just searched for precautions against phishing and here is the first good link I saw. It's good advice. It may seem a little paranoid, but it's really just good security practice, and not really any sort of hardship to follow:

 

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Saving...ide/P102559.asp

[R. S. Martin]

Shackled, I read the entire article. It's solid advice and I follow it to the letter. I consider my annual investment in Norton AntiVirus to be some of the most important and wisest use of my money. I subscribe to the automatic updates. This way I know that I am always protected.

 

Back in the days when hotmail was not as secure as it is today and loads of junk mail would show up in my inbox, I learned to tell from the subjectline and address whether it was junk or not. I didn't open junk mail. I was told that opening it marked me for scam. I don't know if that is true but it makes sense.

 

The only advice in the article I don't follow is the bit about opening email attachments. I and my colleagues and profs are always exhanging and handing in papers via email attachments. It's just the way we do things.

 

Scott said:

 

If, for example, it shows something like http://www.some-scam-site.com/?site=www.ebay.com then that's likely a phishing site! Close the browser immediately and you should be okay.

 

I don't think so. Better read the article Shackled linked. When you open something you give information to the scammer. Don't open suspicious stuff!

[ShackledNoMore]

The only advice in the article I don't follow is the bit about opening email attachments. I and my colleagues and profs are always exhanging and handing in papers via email attachments. It's just the way we do things.

I open stuff I get as an attachment, but only if it came from a trusted source, is not suspicious, and has passed a virus scan first (infected files can unwittingly come from trustworthy users). Follow general safe computing practices, and I wouldn't worry at all about exchanging papers with colleagues and profs.

[Ex-COG]

Yeah, you have to be very careful of scams these days. I don't get a lot of spam at my Gmail account, just penis enlargement offers that I don't need. I'm Kryasst the Lard, and I've got the largest one of those in the universe! Glory!

From Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions: "He had a penis eight hundred miles long and two hundred and ten miles in diameter, but practically all of it was in the fourth dimension."

I thought you guys were supposed to take one Viagra pill, not the whole bottle.