Have you received an email from "MRS MARY NKOSI" at "Universal International Lottery" telling you that "your
email address won in the second category" or something similar, and to
contact "Mr. James Ali" to collect your winnings? It is a
scam. No legitimate, legal lottery notifies winners via email (see footnote) The scammers may
change the names and details, but it is still a scam! Just look at the pathetic
spelling and grammar and illogic: a random promotion giving away money to people
who have an email address, in order to "creat awareness for the coming 2010 FIFA
world Cup". What sense does that make?
-
Email address ballot: There is no such thing as a
"computer ballot system" or "computer email draw". No one, not even
Microsoft has a database of email addresses of the type or magnitude they
suggest.
-
"No tickets were sold": You care to explain where the
money comes from? Perhaps the lottery money fairy? Why would a lottery
give away money to "email address randomly selected by a computer ballot
draw system"? This is CLEARLY nonsense: you MUST, repeat MUST buy a
ticket to have a chance of winning any lottery!
-
Terrible spelling, punctuation, syntax and grammar - Scammers
apparently don't know how to use spell checkers. We assume they
dropped out of school before that class. They use almost excessive and random CapItaLiZAtion.
They often can't even spell "February" or know that "22th" ought to
be "22nd". These scammers usually write at the 3rd grade level.
Being non-native English speakers, they also often get first names and
surnames (last names reversed), so you will frequently see names like "Mr.
SMITH JAMES.", instead of "Mr. James Smith", along with the peculiar usage
of periods (full stops) and spaces or the lack thereof. Real lotteries also proofread their emails
and look and read more professional.
-
Using free email account: The scammer is writing to
you from a FREE email account (Yahoo, Hotmail, Excite, AIM, Gmail, etc.). Don't you think a real organization
would use it's own email, it's own domain and website?
-
Keep Confidential - Real lotteries THRIVE on
publicity - they don't want you to keep anything secret - the publicity
causes people to buy more tickets. there is NO risk of "double claiming"
because they can validate where the ticket numbers were sold. The scammer
want you to keep quiet because they don't want the police or
ConsumerFraudreporting to hear about them! It should read: "For our own security, you
are advised to keep your winning information confidential until we have
finished scamming you!"
-
Email notification: NO REAL LOTTERY SENDS AN EMAIL TO
NOTIFY WINNERS. Period. Full-stop. End of story. There mere fact
ALONE that you received an email saying you won a lottery is proof that it
is a scam.
UNIVERSAL INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY SA
UNIVERSAL
INTERNATIONAL
LOTTERY SA
Congratulations!
The Universal
International Lottery Promotion team is proud to inform you that you have won
US$ 950,000.00 Why you have won Your E-mail address is one of 200 lucky
Addresses who have won in the weekly Promotion.
See below how to
claim your prize.
Details on the
Winnings
Your Winning
Reference Number is: LL1/240142
: Batch
Number18/006/1094/LIPDA/SL.
WINNING NUMBERS: 80,
35, 11, 72, 90, 41 (01)
I wish to
Congratulate you on your victory, you are a lucky person to have won this
lottery. Your email address was amongst those chosen this quarter from our new
java-based software that randomly selects email addresses from the web from
which winners are selected.
You are required to
forward the following details to help facilitate the processing of your claims
and certificate which will facilitate the Your winning price is to the tune of
950,000.00( Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand dollar. This correspondence
officially confirms that we are in receipt of Instructions relating to the
payment of your lottery winnings. Provided in attachment is a Non resident
claims form you are required to completely fill the claims form with your
correct information and submit it. We look forward to receive receipt of your
information.
NAME :
COUNTRY:
COUNTRY OF
RESIDENT:
AGE:
MOBILE NUMBER:
Remember, you must
contact your claim agent Mr James,Call him and claim your prize after calling
him send your refrence and batch number and all the above informations to his
email address and call him to let him know that you have contacted him through
email.
Congratulations
once again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions
program.
for claiming of
your prize and remember to quote your reference and Batch Number for easy
processing of your prize. That's it! Our DUE PROCESS UNIT (DPU) will render to
you complete assistance and provide additional information and processes for the
claims of your consultation prize. For due processing of your winning claim,
please contact the DPU Information Officer MR JAMES ALI who has been assigned to
assist you.
You have to note that this program is being sponsored by the FIFA SUPPORT
AFRICAN TEAM, to creat awareness for the coming 2010 FIFA world Cup, which is to
be host by South Africa.
TO FILE YOUR CLAIM...
Contact Processing
Manager: Mr. James Ali
EMAIL :
universalclaimagentboard@yahoo.co.uk
EMAIL :
universalclaimagentzza@yahoo.co.uk
Tel : +27
-83-5132796.
The
International Universal Promotion team Congratulations once again on your
winning.
Yours Faithfully,
MRS MARY NKOSI
(ADMIN SEC)
PLEASE NOTE THAT BECAUSE OF THE
INTERNET LOTTERY
SCAMS,YOU MUST QUOTE YOUR SECURITY CODE (ZA-184/08) SO THAT THE SCAMMERS WILL
NOT BE ABLE TO GET YOUR WINNING INFORMATION.
Please do not reply on this email instead contact your claim officer with
details above.
